Why we must regulate social media and criminalize fake news — Part 1

When I started this article, I had a few questions and some provocative issues I wanted to present. However, as I started writing, and writing usually has a life of itself, it started to appear several other questions and issues I felt I had to address. As a result, the article became too long and it is now going to be published in three parts (“Anatomy of disinformation and fake news”, “How we made it to this point and the role of online platforms”, and “Why and how we should regulate social media and criminalize fake news”). Each part can be read independently, but to understand the whole and to connect all the ideas, you should read all three.

1. Anatomy of disinformation and fake news

Disinformation, according to Merriam-Webster is “false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth”, many times by governments or entities with vested interests. And misinformation, according to Dictionary.com, is “false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead”. In other words, it is false or inaccurate information usually created by someone who intended to deceive and it is spread by people who believe in it but did not create it. Both are harmful to a healthy society and the cause of most of our societal issues in the past decade since social media became part of our everyday life. This article will consider fake news and disinformation. If there is no disinformation and fake news, misinformation will not occur.

At the heart of disinformation is the fake news. According to Dictionary.com: “false news stories, often of a sensational nature, created to be widely shared online for the purpose of generating ad revenue via web traffic or discrediting a public figure, political movement, company, etc”.) — text written in a journalistic style published usually by non-mainstream or non-credible sources, sometimes without an author, and without connections to any source for verification that elicit an emotional response. Entities and individuals who create and promote fakes news had the clear intent of misinforming their followers. Usually, websites that promote fake news don’t have a editors/staff list, articles have no author, and there are no sources to be verified. Quite frequently, these publications are connected to fringe groups, who use it to promote their ideas and they constantly attack the mainstream media…