( CNN ) -- For more than half a year , super PACs and other third-party advertisers have aired misleading attacks against Republican Massachusetts incumbent Sen. Scott Brown and his probable Democratic opponent , professor Elizabeth Warren . ( You can see a sample of these ads at FlackCheck.org. ) . By calling on these groups to stay out of their contest , Brown and Warren are attempting to do something about `` air pollution '' in their state . There 's a way that Massachusetts viewers and TV and radio stations in the state can help them achieve that goal . The same option is available in the presidential contest , in which the leading Republican presidential contenders have called repeatedly on their third-party champions and challengers to forgo deception . Like those of Warren and Brown , their complaints are justified . In South Carolina and in Florida , the pro-Romney super PAC that calls itself `` Restoring Our Future '' wrongly accused former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of supporting legislation facilitating abortion in China and of being `` fined '' $ 300,000 for ethics violations when instead he was required to reimburse the costs of the investigation . The same pseudonymous group also invited the false conclusion that former Sen. Rick Santorum had voted to restore voting rights to felons who were still serving time . To this mix , in South Carolina the pro-Stephen Colbert super PAC that styled itself `` Making a Better Tomorrow , Tomorrow `` added a funny but flawed ad that showed `` Mitt the Ripper '' shredding the names of companies that had met their demise under ( here 's the misleading part ) someone else 's watch . Romney 's history at Bain elicited another third-party volley in Florida in the form of an American Federation of State , County and Municipal Employees ' ( AFSCME ) ad that wrongly attempted to enmesh the former governor in Medicare fraud at a Bain-owned company . Not to be outdone , the pro-Gingrich super PAC cloaked in the name `` Winning Our Future '' has trafficked out the false allegation that Romney 's health reform in Massachusetts is `` government-run health care '' ( a claim repeatedly debunked by fact-checkers ) that `` sent costs spiraling out of control , hiking premiums , squeezing household budgets '' when , instead , as Politifact noted , `` cost increases for individual households are largely due to the fact that health care costs have been rising across the country . '' While recent court decisions ensure that uprooting super PACS from the political landscape is a fool 's errand , making their deceptive televised claims vanish is easier . The reason ? Where , with some exceptions , TV and radio stations are required to air ( and are barred from censoring ) federal candidates ' ads , no such requirements govern the messages of outside groups . And , significantly , stations have the right to insist on the accuracy of the `` independent expenditure '' ads they accept . So the answer to `` air pollution '' by super PACs is simple : Television and radio stations should just say no to misleading third-party ads . To increase their incentive to do so in a world where ad revenue bolsters the bottom line , viewers might want to tweet or blog ( or send something once known as a letter ) applauding responsible station action or decrying business as usual . To find out which Florida TV stations have aired ads flagged by the major fact checking organizations , go to FlackCheck.org . Join the conversation on Facebook . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Kathleen Hall Jamieson .
Candidates for U.S. Senate in Mass . are seeking to prevent deceptive super PAC ads . Kathleen Hall Jamieson : Such ads could be stopped nationwide if TV stations refused to air them . She says stations are required to air candidates ' ads , but not those of independent groups . The Supreme Court is expected to rule on a case that challenges the constitutionality of campaign finance laws and limits on how much money can be spent by outside groups.