What to Do About Fake News

Singapore recently adopted a law that targets the spread of fake news online. It requires sites like Facebook to have warnings on posts the government deems false and remove comments that go against public interest. Some people are concerned with this because it could conflict with the First Amendment and free speech. 

I do not think the U.S. should adopt any laws similar to this. If the government is able to remove things they feel are fake, they could remove anything they want. If something is true but is critical or contains information they don’t want the public to know, they could claim it is fake and remove it. This would violate the First Amendment because it would not allow for freedom of speech. If someone posts a fake news story a fine is a good way to punish them. However, there are so many fake news posts a day, it would be nearly impossible to track down everyone and fine them. And making jail time the punishment would be taking it too far and would result in way too many people in jail. 

Something should be done to address the problem of fake news. I think it's a good idea to have warnings on posts that are fake. Many people don’t realize that something they see or share is fake. Having a warning would make people more aware of what they are looking at. I think it would also encourage people to spend more time looking into the things they post before they post them to check that they are accurate and true.