Should Governments Create Laws To Limit The Publication Of Fake News?

Argumentative Essay Name Institution Date Argumentative Essay: governments should collectively create laws to limit or prohibit the publication of fake news Digital technology has given us the opportunity to capture and disseminate news. Although fact-checking features enable us to detect fake news, news outlets have failed to fact check fake news. Lies have been institutionalized, making fake news a big business. The government has taken drastic steps, creating laws to limit or prohibit the publication of fake news. However, such laws threaten individual rights and freedom of expression, making them unrealistic. It would be more effective for social media and advertising platforms to take action against the problem than to rely on the government. Facebook has played a major role in circulating information consumed online and fake news spread on these online platforms. Facebook is a major source of misleading information reinforced by politicians. Facebook plays a prominent role in American politics. Many accounts on social networks are used to spread false news invented to tarnish the names of political officials and public figures. The just concluded US presidential election is an example of how fake news became persistent, harming people's reputation (Berghel, 2017). With such a wide audience, politicians and groups of individuals use social media to spread propaganda to create fear, confuse and paralyze the public understanding of political, social and economic issues affecting citizens. Experts predict that Facebook will ultimately replace news media because of its capacity to connect consumer directly with citizens, providing real-time and contextualized stories that are not properly verified (Anderson, Rainie & Caiazza, 2017).  Although a growing number of European countries have taken action against disinformation online, such laws threaten individual rights and freedom of expression. Various governments have tried to curb fake news by developing legal means to protect democracy. For example, the French president introduced laws against fake news, giving judges the powers to remove or block certain content deemed to be fake, more so during election periods (Berghel, 2017). Many people raised concerns about the potential infringement on freedom of expression. Citizens worry about the government's role in fighting disinformation. Although such laws are meant to protect democracy, the laws might infringe individual rights hence, becoming a risky model (Anderson, Rainie & Caiazza, 2017). For example, in the US, The First Amendment provides strong protection against any law intended to threaten freedom of speech and freedom of the press, such protection is difficult to challenge (Polletta & Callahan, 2017). Defamation is one of the difficult issues to be resolved in the courts. Defamation means making a false treatment to damage once reputation. Defamation can be applied as a remedy for fake news, but only to a certain extent (Polletta & Callahan, 2017). According to law, a public f...