Beautiful Question. The jurisprudence behind What Fake news is around the world is getting increasingly blurred on account of many many issues, truths and ugly realities the world is faced with. Shall we begin the discourse please?
I am not sure about where I stand on this issue. I need to read and think some more before I gave an answer.
Fake news is a variant form of constitutionally protected speech rights or expression. This is so because, free speech is within the framer's intent intended to extend to offensive speech, unpopular speech, minority speech, or speech generally that lacks a general consensus on the popularity or correctness.
I do believe that for a liberal Democratic society to thrive, society must t be eternally vigilant in protecting fundamental human rights like freedom of speech and expression, however, offensive, nauseating or disgusting. The only CONSTITUTIONALLY VALID REASON FOR DEROGATING ON FREE SPEECH RIGHTS IS WHERE THE SPEECH IN QUESTION IS HATE SPEECH!
Hate Speech laws and jurisprudence in the 21st century western democracy is being severely abused and its legislative objective diminished and misinterpreted by Security agencies of States.
What amounts to hate speech in order to strike a balance with the idea that offensive speeches are protected under the constitution, will be restricted to or ascribed a strict meaning: Hate Speech therefore will be speech that calls for violence, death , threat I violence or harm against a person or a group of persons, and such speech when uttered is likely to create an atmosphere of CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER where VIOLENCE is likely to occur or from which other persons may likely act on such speech to cause mayhem, death or inflict grievous bodily harm on people.
The Supreme Court in USA in he case BRADENBURG v OHIO restates the tests for determining HATE SPEECH. And I align myself with that brave decision.
But for fake News, the inky antedote to it is REAL NEWS. There are plethora reasons why fake news thrive:
* Government unwillingness to give information on specific government matters affecting society.
* Deliberate denial, silence of the State on public related rumours affecting state or official matters.
* Establishment media who deliberately suppress politically incorrect speeches
* Internet or Online Censorship of Conservative voices and views as well as perspectives can fuel fake news.
* Establishment Media with Anti people agenda can be Vibrant PURVEYORS OF FAKE NEWS by withholding information or refusing to give adequate attention to certain types of news for the fear that it Amy ruin the narrative that they intend to push.
* The government has NO BUSINESS LEGISLATING AGAINST FAKE NEWS, if that fake news does not constitutionally satisfy the TESTS FOR HATE SPEECH.
* Social Media Online censorship carried on by GOOGLE, Facebook, TWITTER against conservative news outlets in an attempt to clampdown on fake news is actually a Iron-fist clampdown on online speech, presence and a denial of constitutionally guaranteed rights to speech.
Where Fake news exists, government must do all it can to provide expedited avenues for citizens to crosscheck such information and to enable them make a decision as o which news item to believe as real news or fake news. Secrecy or Silence or Shunning minority voices of dissent or conservative, unpopular, and politically incorrect voices, will only magnify the plausibility that the fake news is real.
A READY VIBRANT EXAMPLE OF FAKE NEWS MEDIA OUTLETS around the world will include
1. State owned or run media organizations that are likely to see themselves as extensions of the arms of government and therefore, are willing to suppress information, discard them or present them as fictitious imaginations of conspiracy theorists.
I dare say Suppressing information or news to further a narrative amounts to purveying and peddling in fake news as well.
2. Privately owned Media Establishment Corporations can also be guilty of Fake news especially where the news they try to censor or get the government to censor are politically incorrect, conservative, unpopular, and minority expressions or speeches that do no accord with the establishment narrative.
News agencies like CNN for example, New York Times, NBC, CNBC, Washington Posts are CLEAR PURVEYORS OF FAKE NEWS even though they are accredited or acknowledged media organizations by the public.
These news outlets believe they are the arbiters of what is true and what is false. And thus, official narratives are only endorsed when they are not in conflict with their agenda.
Another problem that could give a vibrant structure for the prosperity of fake news by suppression of real news or unpopular, conservative or minority news, is the acquisition of most of the big news corporations by one entity, and thereby, creating monopoly and Antitrust issues.
When you have major news media owned by one entity, the population will only get as news that narrative which the establishment corporations determine to be news worthy.
In America, for example, there's a WAR for the minds and the hearts of hundreds of millions of Americans by the Establishment media and conservative media agencies.
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