scholarly journals Social Media, Freedom of Expression, and the Legal Regulation of Fake News in Croatia

2021 ◽  
pp. 141-174
Author(s):  
Derenčinović Davor
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Media Freedom

Governing Fake News: The Regulation of Social Media and the Right to Freedom of Expression in the Era of Emergency

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-41
Author(s):  
Donato VESE
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Media Censorship

Governments around the world are strictly regulating information on social media in the interests of addressing fake news. There is, however, a risk that the uncontrolled spread of information could increase the adverse effects of the COVID-19 health emergency through the influence of false and misleading news. Yet governments may well use health emergency regulation as a pretext for implementing draconian restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, as well as increasing social media censorship (ie chilling effects). This article seeks to challenge the stringent legislative and administrative measures governments have recently put in place in order to analyse their negative implications for the right to freedom of expression and to suggest different regulatory approaches in the context of public law. These controversial government policies are discussed in order to clarify why freedom of expression cannot be allowed to be jeopardised in the process of trying to manage fake news. Firstly, an analysis of the legal definition of fake news in academia is presented in order to establish the essential characteristics of the phenomenon (Section II). Secondly, the legislative and administrative measures implemented by governments at both international (Section III) and European Union (EU) levels (Section IV) are assessed, showing how they may undermine a core human right by curtailing freedom of expression. Then, starting from the premise of social media as a “watchdog” of democracy and moving on to the contention that fake news is a phenomenon of “mature” democracy, the article argues that public law already protects freedom of expression and ensures its effectiveness at the international and EU levels through some fundamental rules (Section V). There follows a discussion of the key regulatory approaches, and, as alternatives to government intervention, self-regulation and especially empowering users are proposed as strategies to effectively manage fake news by mitigating the risks of undue interference by regulators in the right to freedom of expression (Section VI). The article concludes by offering some remarks on the proposed solution and in particular by recommending the implementation of reliability ratings on social media platforms (Section VII).

scholarly journals Fakebook: why Facebook makes the fake news problem inevitable

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-530
Author(s):  
Paul Bernal
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Mass Data ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Internet And Social Media

The current ‘fake news’ phenomenon is a modern manifestation of something that has existed throughout history. The difference between what happens now and what has happened before is driven by the nature of the internet and social media – and Facebook in particular. Three key strands of Facebook’s business model – invading privacy to profile individuals, analysing mass data to profile groups, then algorithmically curating content and targeting individuals and groups for advertising – create a perfect environment for fake news. Proposals to ‘deal’ with fake news either focus on symptoms or embed us further in the algorithms that create the problem. Whilst we embrace social media, particularly as a route to news, there is little that can be done to reduce the impact of fake news and misinformation. The question is whether the benefits to freedom of expression that social media brings mean that this is a price worth paying.

scholarly journals Hoax Digital Literacy on Instagram

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-186
Author(s):  
Dedeh Fardiah ◽  
Ferry Darmawan ◽  
Rini Rinawati
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
New Media ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Specific Content ◽  
Media Messages

The development of communication technology brings forth new media with various multiplatforms. Information spreads instantaneously to all corners of the world through abundant media devices. In social media spaces, every individual can produce informational content and disseminate it, so it appears as a new phenomenon of citizen journalism. Individuals act as both producers and targets of social media content simultaneously. Ironically, due to freedom of expression on social media, various hoaxes appear intentionally or unintentionally and are widely distributed. This study aims to explore the official Instagram account that handles hoaxes in West Java Province and provide a digital literacy education in their post. This study uses the content analysis method, which efficiently investigates media content on both printed form and digital posts. In addition, it also uses descriptive content analysis to describe in detail a message or a specific content. The study object is Instagram @jabarsaberhoaks with an analysis unit of information items about hoaxes and various digital literacy on Instagram @jabarsaberhoaks in 2020.  In total, their number reaches 900 posts. The result of this study shows that the most common hoax is fake news, such as manipulated content, misleading content, fake news, and fabricated content with health, political, and economic themes. Explicitly or implicitly, digital literacy education about hoaxes can be obtained by accessing the information contained in Instagram accounts. The implication is that it is necessary to study the extent of this educational content responded by the public, so media messages can effectively and efficiently be in the form of educational media about interactive hoaxes.

scholarly journals Social media in Uganda: revitalising news journalism?

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 380-397
Author(s):  
Florence Namasinga Selnes ◽  
Kristin Skare Orgeret
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Media Freedom ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
Professional Norms

The article discusses the role of social media in relation to the traditional journalistic sphere in Uganda. Through an analysis of how journalists in three Ugandan newspapers use social media in their daily work, the article discusses how social media affect conventional sourcing practices, reportage and professional norms. The article is particularly interested in how Facebook and Twitter serve as alternative channels through which sources with less access to traditional means of communication get their message(s) across to journalists. The findings are discussed in light of the present development of social media legislation in Uganda. The discussions feed into a larger reflection on social media’s potential to create avenues of access in a semi-democratic setting where attempts to curtail media freedom and freedom of expression are frequent.

Fake News and Social Media Censorship

2021 ◽  
pp. 69-92
Author(s):  
Adebowale Jeremy Adetayo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Ripple Effect ◽  
Fake News ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Censorship

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a surge of fake news on social media. This dilemma has caused a ripple effect in society with increasing censorship on social media, which threatens the freedom of expression. The populace cannot effectively progress until they understand the threat posed by fake news and censorship. To protect our fundamental rights of expression, society must learn from librarians. The chapter explores the role of librarians in mitigating fake news. The chapter also identifies possible societal consequences of fake news. The chapter concludes that librarians should inoculate the public to pre-empt them from accepting fake news.

scholarly journals Fakebook: why Facebook makes the fake news problem inevitable

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-530
Author(s):  
Paul Bernal
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Mass Data ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Internet And Social Media

The current ‘fake news’ phenomenon is a modern manifestation of something that has existed throughout history. The difference between what happens now and what has happened before is driven by the nature of the internet and social media – and Facebook in particular. Three key strands of Facebook’s business model – invading privacy to profile individuals, analysing mass data to profile groups, then algorithmically curating content and targeting individuals and groups for advertising – create a perfect environment for fake news. Proposals to ‘deal’ with fake news either focus on symptoms or embed us further in the algorithms that create the problem. Whilst we embrace social media, particularly as a route to news, there is little that can be done to reduce the impact of fake news and misinformation. The question is whether the benefits to freedom of expression that social media brings mean that this is a price worth paying.

scholarly journals Disinformation as a Tool Aimed at Weakening Consolidated Democracies

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-85
Author(s):  
Artur Kozłowski ◽  
Klaudia Skelnik
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Democratic State ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Individual

This scholarly article indicates threats to the stability of political systems of consolidated democracies resulting from disinformation. The article presents threats resulting from the effects of disinformation in four areas: state, society, politics and law. The authors demonstrate the exposure of society to manipulative effects of fake news, which affects  human emotions, reasoning and behaviour due to the use of created images of reality. It has been pointed out that fake news as a targeted manipulation tool, while aiming to achieve its goals, exploits the imperfections of the human mind. For this reason, the individual and thus the society need support to protect themselves from the manipulative threat coming from this phenomenon. Protection from fake news must be provided with the respect of freedom of expression, the values of society, the individuals’ liberties as well as legal rights. Disinformation is not a new phenomenon in itself, but the development of the Internet and social media allows for an unprecedented scale of social manipulation. The article also indicates that disinformation is often directed at civil liberties and destabilises the principles of social life and citizens’ trust in public institutions, authorities or the media, regardless of whether its source is third countries or it is “produced” internally. In a democratic state a citizen should be able to make informed decisions and independently assess whether the information encountered in the social media is true or false.

scholarly journals Pengaruh Hoax di Media Sosial Terhadap Preferensi Sosial Politik Remaja di Surabaya

MEDIAKITA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinda Marta Almas Zakirah
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Deterrent Effect ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Fake News ◽  
The Government ◽  
Share Information

Easy access to social media has several impacts that can harm others. Irresponsible people are now abusing the freedom of expression, for example, the spread of fake news or hoaxes. Even though the government has made regulations and threats, it does not provide a deterrent effect for the perpetrators. This hoax news is intentionally created to influence or change the perception of readers. Surabaya is one of the cities where the majority of the population has access to social media, especially for today's youth. This study focuses on how hoax news on social media affects the mindset of adolescents in Surabaya and how adolescents respond to hoax news in social media. This study uses a qualitative method with Habermas's public space theory approach. The results showed that the emergence of hoax news can influence the views of Surabaya teenagers regarding the object being reported, then when spreading fake news or hoaxes, they do not do editing first, and there are several factors that influence teenagers to spread fake news, namely, for fun, share information and think that the news obtained is important news for other readers.Keywords: hoax, social media, public space, preferences

scholarly journals Activism as political action in Uganda: The role of social media

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florence Namasinga Selnes ◽  
Kristin Skare Orgeret
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
The Political ◽  
Media Freedom ◽  
The Media ◽  
Political Divide

The article discusses political activism in Uganda and the role of social media. It focuses on two specific cases, the 2011 ‘Walk-to-Work’ and the 2017 ‘Pads4Girls’ campaigns in order to contribute to better understanding of the ever-evolving dynamic between political activism and the media in such campaigns. A disputed presidential election in 2011 in Uganda prompted opposition politicians to call nationwide protests. The architects of the protests hoped this would eventually lead to the downfall of Museveni’s newly elected government. The ‘Pads4Girls’ campaign on the other hand, was spearheaded by a female academic activist and provoked unprecedented response from politicians across the political divide, activists and unaffiliated individuals who added weight to the campaign. The article’s discussions feed into a broader conversation on the interaction of media and politics in semi-democratic contexts such as Uganda, where attempts to curtail media freedom and freedom of expression are frequent.

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