With no clear terminology and established ambiguities, how feasible is it to define a particular piece of news as ‘fake’?
KUALA LUMPUR, 26/3/2018. A commuter walks past an advertisement reading “sharing a lie makes u a liar”
at a train station in downtown Kuala Lumpur. picture by Hari Anggara.
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s last month, the Malaysian Parliament passed the Anti Fake-news Bill 2018, the concern over freedom of press as an institution is on the rise. Section 2 under the Malaysian Act defines fake news as “any news, information, data and reports, which is or are wholly or partly false, whether in the form of features, visuals, or audio recordings or in any other form capable of suggesting words or ideas.” This comes as a precedent to Germany’s Network Enforcement Act and such legislations in other European countries, France and Italy. Following such legislations, India witnessed the contentious release of a circular by the Union Ministry for Information and Broadcasting extending its regulation over journalistic freedom. The circular was however withdrawn within 24 hours owing to widespread media action and protest.
The dissemination of false information is a rising concern in the world today. Politicians, journalists and scholars have expressed their deep concerns over the problem of fake news. Troubling the authenticity of media channels, it creates apprehension and distortion in the minds of the readers. The question that we seek to address herein is whether legislation is the solution to the problem of fake news? With governments over the world exercising authoritarian control over the press, should more power be given to the government to regulate the content available for display on media platforms?
“There is a growing need for the Press to counter the problem of fake news. To ensure freedom of journalists, Government should collaborate with civil society activists for a fair and comprehensive solution to the problem.” Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Senior Journalist & Author
The fundamental complication with fake-news legislation is its verification mechanism wherein the government acts as an arbiter. Placing the government in such a position enables it to classify information disorders in a manner which suits its interests. Reporters are of the opinion that stringent legislations of this kind, not only suppress journalistic liberty, but also threaten the position of press as one of the founding pillars of democracy. Such laws also limit the free flow of ideas and opinions across various channels of social media. The newly enacted Malaysian law, penalises not only the creator of fake news, but also covers any person who disseminates such content in the media. As per the 2018’s Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders’, Malaysia ranks 145 among 180 countries of the world. The newly enacted legislation shall potentially worsen its position in the index. Malaysia does not stand alone when it comes to fake new regulation, as countries like Germany and France also introduced legislation that particularly targets social-media platforms. The European Union is also on its way to issue a “code of practice” against online disinformation for tech companies to comply with, failing which they shall be facing the threat of stringent regulations and sanctions.
It is to be understood that everything covered under news is not simply factual or statistical. Media serves as a forum for debate wherein contrary ideas are presented and argued upon. The poor use of statistical data or a public statement constitutes misinformation. Essentially, there is no fine line that separates misinformation from disinformation. Hence, there may be relative interpretations, or descriptions based on subjective analysis as far as media reports are concerned. A legislation of this sort gives the government, a scope for wide interpretation of this term which thereby poses a threat to the freedom of journalists. The terminology of ‘fake-news’ itself is an issue of controversy and wide contention. Being a subject of personal narrative based on individual understanding, no news can truly be regarded as fake until and unless it is of objective nature when seen from all perspectives.
“In a democracy, such issues have to be a two-way street, the media has to act responsibly in reporting, and at the same time, the government cannot act arbitrarily in curbing the freedom of press.” Prof Sridhar Krishnaswami, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, SRM University
Government regulations and legislations have been largely subject to abuse when it comes to the Freedom of Press. Thus, media channels should be independent in dealing with the problem of fake news. Artificial Intelligence has the potential to serve as the most effective and fair tool in combating this problem. Through the use of ‘mis-information’ detection software, media channels can constructively combat any such dissemination, such that neither the freedom of the media is infringed, nor the free flow of fair and accurate information is interrupted. This shall not only safeguard journalistic freedom, but also uphold the dignity of press as an institution.
