Fake News and Freedom of the Media
Based on:
Journal Article (2018)
Analyse the contemporary understanding of fake news with that of freedom of expression and see in what cases fake news can be prosecuted or punished and in which case fake news should be left alone.
Brief by:
The aim was to reach governments, policy makers, diplomats and security experts with background information and research done on what is fake news and how it relates to freedom of the media.
This is because they would treat fake news, in most cases, as such: as a threat to security or as something which is bad, but they would not necessarily put it on a balance with a need to respect human rights and freedom of expression in particular. The general notion of propaganda appeared again in international relations and debates on freedom of the media in around 2014. This became more specific when politicians started to talk about fake news in America around 2016-2017 and therefore I decided to focus more on disinformation, keeping in mind that it is part of propaganda.
The research was needed because a new emerging phenomenon appeared when politicians, such as Trump, started talking about fake news as a way to label any media contrary to his views as fake news. There are two aspects: fake news as disinformation and fake news as a political populist way to label the media which you do not like.
Key findings
Fake news as a label is terrible, as a phenomenon it is quite complex and whenever you treat fake news you have to keep in mind freedom of expression.
Freedom of expression is not only about freedom of expressing truths or truthful facts, but it also includes freedom to express falsities and false facts.
I looked into the documents of international organizations, intergovernmental organizations starting with the League of Nations and proceed in the United Nations mostly in the post war era where false news were considered a threat to peace and then I also looked at the definitions of freedom of expression and freedom of the media and also the value of human rights in today’s world and put them next to each other to see how they relate to each other.
Another important layer of discussion was related to the European Union because they pay the most attention to fake news in international politics.
The main evidence used was the documents of the League of Nations, United Nations, European Union and the Council of Europe. Also, I benefited a lot from discussions I had with diplomats in Vienna on propaganda and disinformation.
Proposed action
It is high time for governments to draft such a pledge, a commitment, in order to not spread misinformation themselves and to explain why and what is disinformation and how it can be controlled
The best instrument to fight misinformation is to have the issue on the agenda of every family, not just every government
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Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Carmen Gabriela Lupu for preparation assistance
We would like to extend a special thank you to Carmen Gabriela Lupu, for their invaluable contribution in assisting the preparation of this research summary.
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Fake News and Freedom of the Media
Cite this brief: Richter, Andrei. 'Fake News and Freedom of the Media'. Acume. https://www.acume.org/r/fake-news-and-freedom-of-the-media/
Brief created by: Professor Andrei Richter | Year brief made: 2023
Original research:
- Richter, A., ‘Fake News and Freedom of the Media’ 8(2) (pp. 1–34) https://www.swlaw.edu/sites/default/files/2019-03/Fake%20News%20and%20Freedom%20of%20the%20Media%20-%20Richter.pdf. – https://www.swlaw.edu/sites/default/files/2019-03/Fake%20News%20and%20Freedom%20of%20the%20Media%20-%20Richter.pdf
Research brief:
Analyse the contemporary understanding of fake news with that of freedom of expression and see in what cases fake news can be prosecuted or punished and in which case fake news should be left alone.
The aim was to reach governments, policy makers, diplomats and security experts with background information and research done on what is fake news and how it relates to freedom of the media.
This is because they would treat fake news, in most cases, as such: as a threat to security or as something which is bad, but they would not necessarily put it on a balance with a need to respect human rights and freedom of expression in particular. The general notion of propaganda appeared again in international relations and debates on freedom of the media in around 2014. This became more specific when politicians started to talk about fake news in America around 2016-2017 and therefore I decided to focus more on disinformation, keeping in mind that it is part of propaganda.
The research was needed because a new emerging phenomenon appeared when politicians, such as Trump, started talking about fake news as a way to label any media contrary to his views as fake news. There are two aspects: fake news as disinformation and fake news as a political populist way to label the media which you do not like.
Findings:
Fake news as a label is terrible, as a phenomenon it is quite complex and whenever you treat fake news you have to keep in mind freedom of expression.
Freedom of expression is not only about freedom of expressing truths or truthful facts, but it also includes freedom to express falsities and false facts.
I looked into the documents of international organizations, intergovernmental organizations starting with the League of Nations and proceed in the United Nations mostly in the post war era where false news were considered a threat to peace and then I also looked at the definitions of freedom of expression and freedom of the media and also the value of human rights in today’s world and put them next to each other to see how they relate to each other.
Another important layer of discussion was related to the European Union because they pay the most attention to fake news in international politics.
The main evidence used was the documents of the League of Nations, United Nations, European Union and the Council of Europe. Also, I benefited a lot from discussions I had with diplomats in Vienna on propaganda and disinformation.
Advice:
It is high time for governments to draft such a pledge, a commitment, in order to not spread misinformation themselves and to explain why and what is disinformation and how it can be controlled
- Disinformation is a practical problem for many in today’s world, especially with the development of social networks and online information. I believe that such an effort would help debunk misinformation when it is dangerous.
The best instrument to fight misinformation is to have the issue on the agenda of every family, not just every government