Media

Mark Cuban wants media companies to clearly label ‘fact-checked news’ and ‘opinion’

by Joe Concha - 11/04/19 10:26 AM ET

Billionaire Mark Cuban on Sunday vowed to vote for any politician who advocates for a law compelling media companies toward clearly labelling “fact checked news” and opinions.

Cuban went on to say such a law “would reduce the partisanship in this country almost overnight,” in a series of tweets on Sunday night.

Any politician that says they will push for a law that says no tv or streaming network can brand,market or name themselves a News Network unless the 6 most viewed hours of every night is >80% fact checked news and opinion is clearly labeled as opinion only, gets my vote

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) November 3, 2019

IMO, It would reduce the partisanship in this country almost overnight

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) November 3, 2019

The tweets come as President Trump has often labelled publications like The New York Times or The Washington Post as “fake news.” Democrats have also attacked media companies over what they call unfair coverage.

A recent report from the nonpartisan RAND Corporation found that journalism in the U.S. “has gradually shifted away from objective news and offers more opinion-based content that appeals to emotion and relies heavily on argumentation and advocacy.”

Cuban received some blowback on social media for his proposal, with most questions focused on who would be in charge of fact-checking.

Come on Mark, who exactly is going to ‘Fact Check’? You want the government deciding what the truth is?

— MonkerGuy.com – NEW! Optimal Poker Strategy – GTO (@MonkerGuy) November 4, 2019

This is basically censorship https://t.co/zdC2sxao14

— Aaron Bandler (@bandlersbanter) November 4, 2019

Who’s gonna fact check them, the government? hahaha. You’ve been to the DMV, right Mark? And the Post Office.

Apparently you’ve never heard of the “Fairness Doctrine.” An impossible can of worms best not opened.

— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) November 4, 2019

Cuban defended his stance by noting that news opinions should be clearly labelled the way other products are.

I have. And I know what it did. Do you ? We already have laws saying you can’t mislabel products. I’m not saying a network can’t air whatever they want. Just that they have to be honest about what they are airing.

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) November 4, 2019

Cuban, 61, has weighed a run for president in 2020, but has said that it would take “a perfect storm” for him to consider jumping into the race.

Tags Donald Trump Mark Cuban