In his latest blog, broadcast attorney David Oxenford reminds broadcasters not to go too far with jokes and pranks on Friday, April 1. He points out The FCC’s rule against broadcast hoaxes prevents stations from running any information about a “crime or catastrophe” on the air if the broadcaster knows the information to be false, it is reasonably foreseeable that the broadcast of the material will cause substantial public harm, and public harm is in fact caused. Oxenford writes, “Air a program deemed a hoax, and expect to be fined by the FCC.”
