Is Fake News Protected Speech?
There is lawsuit started by families of the Sandy Hook tragedy. They suing a guy named Alex Jones and his website Infowars and radio show. Alex has said many times that Sandy Hook was staged and did not happen. His website and radio broadcasts are not some obscure place for a few. It is massive. Donald Trump came on as a candidate and praised this guy. Infowars is the place for conspiracy theorists. The moon landing was fake, 9-11 was staged, the Oklahoma City bombing was staged and so on. Infowars followers have actually stalked families of victims of Sandy Hook and asked them to prove that it was true, that they lost a child.
The lawsuit has huge 1stAmendment consequence. His speech is protected if he truly believes it. But should he have to prove his theories? Can you just say things that are not true and have no consequences? President Trump seems to be able to do this. He says a lot of the news organizations tell fake news when in fact he is the leader in it.
I am a strong defender of the 1stAmendment. It is a bedrock principle of our democracy. However, limits have been imposed over time. The one most stated is not being able to yell “fire” in a crowed movie theater. This is for public safety.
The challenge with making someone prove what they believe is true is that where do you stop? Even though there is freedom of religion, should religious people have to prove what they believe is true in order to preach in public? This is an example where putting limits on speech can have unintended consequences.
I do believe there should be consequences for your speech if it can be proved to be false and causes great distress. The families of Sandy Hook do not want to relive this tragedy in a court room. It will be a media circus.
Alex Jones is a despicable person. He says a lot of stuff but can’t show facts to support it. He brings emotional distress on people who have had events happens to them that most will never experience. What is even more disturbing is that he has a vast following. That is sad. Anyone with even a bit of intelligence and common sense would see what a fraud he is. But, our President has shown that intelligence and common sense are in short supply.
I hope the families of Sandy Hook are able to prevail in their lawsuit against Alex Jones. Freedom of speech is vital, but truth is even more vital.
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