
Germany Considers Fining Facebook $522,000 per Fake News Item - MichaelBurge
http://heatst.com/tech/germany-considers-fining-facebook-522000-per-fake-news-item/
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throwaway420
Anybody else get the feeling that Germany is joining the newfangled "fake news
is really bad" brigade because Merkel is now being roasted mercilessly online
due to recent events and Germany has elections coming up soon? It wouldn't be
hard to manipulate public opinion if you literally decided what news would be
allowed to be displayed on social media.

Who decides what news is true or not? Is that healthy for a free country? What
realistic option is there for companies to immediately comply to any
government demands or face financial death?

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MichaelBurge
Clinton pushed the same narrative her first speech after losing, and the
Wikileaks show her talking with Merkel. I think there's a group of world
leaders that get together and decide to push the same story at the same time.

There was a real problem with clickbait sites that generated entirely fake
stories. But let's be honest: Politicians aren't going to let a term with such
rhetorical kick like "fake news" be used to narrowly target a few rogue
clickbait farms in Algeria. Once they've convinced people there's a problem,
they'll use the term much more broadly whenever it benefits them.

This is no different than using "national security" as a pretense for passing
a surveillance law. "Never let a good crisis go to waste" and all.

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throwaway420
There are different types of "fake news".

When the establishment is talking about "fake news", I don't think they truly
give one tiny hoot about a clickbait site that invents an entirely fake story
out of thin air. In fact, I think it's actually beneficial to them because
then it becomes easier to discredit many other ideas by association.

I think they're far more concerned with labeling actual true stories from the
alternative non-corporate controlled media as fake news. I think this is what
the censorship is all about.

