Green TV: An interesting development from the U.K., where a new television channel dedicated to showing films about the environment will accept material from corporations and broadcast it unedited and free of charge: it has already aired films from energy giant nPower and Ben & Jerry’s.

The BBC frets that “for businesses that traditionally have had to convince cynical journalists and editors that their eco-friendly intentions are genuine, Green.tv could offer a free pass. Here, they can brag about their environmental credentials directly to people who care about green issues, without being concerned about editorial controls.”

Our friends at PR Watch—the guys who are up in arms about “fake news”—seem equally suspicious, covering the story under the headline Green—or Greenwash?.

But the Greentv people seem to be taking the position that most of their viewers are adults who can make their own judgments. Founder Ade Tomas “is sure his enterprise will be self-policing—and that its viewers will soon use its blog to prick holes in any film peddling lies or misleading praise of companies that fail to deliver on their lofty promises. ‘Our audience is pretty aware and cynical,’ he says.”

I suspect he’s right. And companies that share PR Watch’s contempt for the intelligence of the viewing audience will find that any attempt to dissemble backfires quickly.