Jeffrey Zeldman has an idea.

Just as they once united to stamp out cigarette advertising, radio and TV stations and advertisers must get together and agree that false statements in political advertisements will not be tolerated. If you run a political ad that proves to be a lie, your network will pay a steep fine, and the advertiser will pay an even steeper one.

He prefaces his idea with this:

So here’s my idea. One that could actually work, if America’s networks remember they are Americans first, revenue seekers second. (emphasis mine)

That’s a big “if,” Jeffrey! But the good news is, I don’t think it’s a necessary one. It is we as consumers who grant these networks the right to exist by watching them. If we want them to stop running untruthful ads, we should coordinate our influence as consumers to create an incentive for them to stop.

What if we all promise to watch all election coverage from the first network that pledges to turn away ads that FactCheck rates as dishonest?

If someone starts this campaign on The Point, I’ll join it in a heartbeat.

-Filed in Ideas, The Point