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…