FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein has called for the curtailing of "fake news"—the practice of including undisclosed corporate video news releases (VNRs) in television newscasts.

"It has gotten to the point that it’s often impossible for viewers to tell the difference between news and propaganda," Adelstein told reporters in a press conference on Friday, April 8.

Adelstein's remarks come in response to a report by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) suggesting that the practice of using surreptitious VNRs has become widespread.

The CMD study says that 77 television stations, reaching more than half the U.S. population, have aired VNRs without revealing to viewers the true origins of the material.

Appearing with representatives of the CMD, Adelstein said that the FCC's main concern is that local TV stations do not tell viewers that these segments are really corporate press releases or advertisements.

"That is a betrayal of the public trust and the law," Adelstein said. "I wonder how many of these local stations will apologize to their viewers for misleading them."

The report spotlights stations owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Fox Television, and Clear Channel Communications as among the biggest users of VNRs.

As an example of this practice, the Center cited an October 2005 two minute segment aired by KTVI-2 in St.Louis, Missouri, on keeping children safe during Halloween. The feature includes product placement shots of Snickers, M&Ms and Halloween bouquets produced by 1-800-FLOWERS.

According to the CMD report, what KTVI-2 did not tell viewers was that Masterfoods, the makers of Snickers, and 1-800-FLOWERS paid a media company to produce the story.

The CMD and Free Press, a media advocacy group, have filed a formal complaint with the FCC calling for the agency to crack down on undisclosed VNRs. They want all VNR footage to include a continuous frame-by-frame ID tag indicating its true source.