The FCC, which recently has busied itself going nutters over indecency and trying to give the green light to a new era of media consolidation, has developed a new policy that will help TV viewers recognize government propaganda.

On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that television broadcasters must disclose the origin of video news releases that they air.

Produced and paid for by the government, video news releases have become a controversial part of President Bush’s communications strategy. The videos are produced to look just like real news segments, but instead of real reporters doing real reporting, the clips are staffed with actors presenting a government-approved script.

The Governmental Accountability Office found that the Bush administration had violated federal law by creating and distributing propaganda. The president and his staff have decided to simply ignore that finding.

Television news programs are expensive and many stations around the country have used these fake news segments to help fill their programs, without telling their viewers that the information was produced by the government with the intent of influencing public opinion. The stations themselves deserve rebuke for cutting corners, cheating their viewers and helping government agencies present their make-believe news reports as the real thing.

But the government is restrained by law from producing and distributing domestic propaganda. Given that the Bush administration has no intention of reforming its practice, the FCC has placed the responsibility for disclosure squarely on the shoulders of broadcasters.

The new rule might not put an end to the propaganda, but, hopefully, it will help viewers recognize it when they see it. Perhaps the shame of having to identify the fake news segments for what they are will shame stations into not broadcasting them.