By Jonathan L. Smith
In a 1961 speech to the National Association of Broadcasters, FCC Chairman Newton Minnow said that television had become a “vast wasteland of blood, gore, and boredom.” I wonder what he would think of the rumors, innuendo, and flat-out lies that are propagated today on social media. Maybe he would think it is all an infinite expanse of garbage.
Even so, social media has overtaken TV as the most used source for news by people, with 54% of adults saying that they get their news from social media at least sometimes. Even more interesting, 71% of the subset of younger adults (18-29) get their news exclusively from digital devices.
Certainly, information is being shared quicker and wider than at any time in recorded history. However, it is also easier for incorrect and incomplete information to be shared, both intentionally and unintentionally.
Our Constitution guarantees each person the right to say anything without prior government restraint, but there are limits and there can be ramifications. For instance, one may not falsely yell fire in a crowded theater, which was used as an analogy by the Supreme Court in the 1919 case Schenk v. United States to demonstrate the limits of free speech.
Even more on point is the line of case law dealing with defamation, particularly libel, defined as, “A false, defamatory statement that is published in a fixed form, such as writing, print, pictures, or online content.” A person may sue for libel for false accusations on social media, but they can only sue the writer, not the platform. Facebook, X, Instagram, etc. all have broad immunity from liability in such instances under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. That means the deep pockets are untouchable.
The social media writer defaming someone will usually be an individual without significant means and will probably be impervious to a lawsuit or its resulting monetary judgment. Someone with nothing to lose will not care about being fast and loose with facts or even telling known lies about others.
Gone are the days where someone needed to make a substantial investment (printing press, TV station, radio station, etc.) before being able to disseminate information to the masses. Today, one only needs a device and an internet connection.
Those making such an investment in the past were careful about what they published, not only from the fear of being sued, but from the fear of being ostracized from community groups, losing readers/viewers/listeners, or possibly getting punched in the face on a town’s Main Street.
The world has changed from the use of technology and electronic devices, and people have changed with it. Newspapers were on the front lines in the battle against technology and we have lost them, for the most part, as the leader in news gathering and reporting.
Their business model has suffered, and they have had to make cuts in staffing. That leaves them relying on Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) to try to extract stories out of board meeting videos and other sources. Those attempts have shined a bright spotlight on the unreliability of such news gathering and reporting.
Our community NEEDS and DESERVES trusted news sources. While others may be first with a social media post, our goal with LincolnCountyDailyNews.com is to be RIGHT. We want to be the trusted news source that you look for after seeing something that does not seem right, or that you seek out to get the complete picture.
I have been involved with local news and information dissemination for over forty years. Abigail Roberts, our main news reporter, has been covering the “hard” news in Lincoln County since 2015. You have read her fair, balanced, and timely reporting for over ten years now. You know her and you trust her.
We will never be what a local newspaper was in its heyday, but the modern media economics do not allow that. We will cover what we think is important and we guarantee that you will be able to rely on the facts as reported. We do not want to be sued, ostracized, or punched in the face, but, more importantly, we want to right and dependable.
