While the fairness doctrine might seem like a fair way, allowing the public to be better informed on matters of great controversy, in reality, the doctrine can allow a opinionated group or with strongly vested interests to spread disinformation, thus working against the public interest. Although the intent of the policy was to do just the opposite, the authors determined that the Fairness Doctrine contributed to the distribution of false advertising and false information about the effects of smoking tobacco. Furthermore, the authors determined that the fairness doctrine allows unproven theories or opinions to be viewed as scientific fact by an audience that can be easily persuaded. In 1987, the Federal Communication Commission eliminated the fairness doctrine. The reason given by the Commission for the policy change was the proliferation of media and Internet access to which the public can turn for information on controversial issues. The audience is no longer limited in terms of sources as in