Column: Crackdown on “fake news” dangerous to free expression of ideas

The recent crackdowns on so-called “fake news” by media companies such as Facebook are disheartening to myself and many Americans. The reality of the situation is that major media platforms are engaging in blatant censorship of dissent. While censorship is legal for companies and individuals to engage in, it is a danger to American democracy. The foundation of a free society is the ability to express and hear unpopular opinions. If we do not have that right, democracy will die. In this column, I will make the argument that the people of the United States, not the government nor the corporations, have the right to choose what we believe.

The main company behind the crackdowns is social media giant Facebook. It has been frequently reported that Russian and Iranian operatives have been using fraudulent Facebook accounts to produce propaganda. However, it is unspecified what criteria is used to determine which accounts are considered fraudulent and what content is considered propaganda. In fact, according to the textbook definition of the word propaganda, it is anything that has been designed to persuade people to hold a specific belief. If the Israeli government posted content in support of American foreign policy, I bet it wouldn’t be removed.

This is just part of a recent wave of what I like to call “bubbleism.” Bubbleism is essentially living in an ideological bubble and the refusal to hear or be exposed to ideas different than one’s own; this phenomenon is a symptom of the digital age we are living in. There is so much information and so many viewpoints on the internet, that if one looks long enough, they can find information and viewpoints that match up exactly with their own preconceived notions and then only seek out that information. This is what led to “alternative facts” and the division we witnessed in the elections of 2016. Generally, people are more civil in real life than on the web; in real life, almost nobody would swear at a neighbor for voting for somebody else, but sadly, it’s a common occurrence online.

The fact that the most recent wave of censorship is coming from major corporations such as Facebook is indicative of the shift of power from government, which is controlled by the whole of the American citizenry, to corporations, which are controlled by a very powerful handful of people. The First Amendment only protects citizens and the press from censorship engaged in by the government, not individuals or corporations. However, we can still choose not to use media platforms that engage in censorship.

The only reason Facebook is giving for the removal of content is that the content is coming from a foreign enemy of the United States. These tactics are very similar to the tactics the government used to censor dissent in the 1950s, when holding communist ideas was essentially a crime. America’s leaders claim to be against Russian authoritarianism but use authoritarian tactics themselves to quell dissent. It is irrelevant that the content is coming from a nation that is not aligned with the United States; we should still have the right to view it.

I do not believe in the ideas of Vladimir Putin or the Iranian government, but I do believe in defending our right to unpopular opinions. If we become insulated from ideas that do not originate in our country or do not align with our political beliefs, then we will lose out on so much opportunity. Humanity does better when we are able to share beliefs and ideas, so that we may all learn from them. Ideological insularity never works out well, so my advice to you all is to respect the ideas of those you disagree with, because an idea deserves merit merely from being the product of the human brain, regardless of the brain’s political ideology.