THE Government have stepped up their attempts to tackle extremist propaganda and Fake News. Theresa May plans to call on investors to pull funds from Facebook and Twitter if they fail to remove extremist content, when she speaks to the global wealth controllers at the Davos economic summit. Furthermore, the government announced that they would be a setting up a new communications Unit to tackle fake news and foreign state intervention.
The problem with Facebook and Twitter, is that they tend to allow far-right and fascist extremism to thrive but censor anyone who speaks the truth.
Their attempts to tackle extremism is already flawed.
Government propaganda unit?
Should the government decide what is real news and what isn’t? The problem with a government-controlled unit that tackles fake news is that it could be used to censor factual and important information that reaches the public. There is also the problem is that it could become what it was conceived to stop, a unit that peddles fake news or a government propaganda unit. Especially if you consider that the English government have, throughout history, suppressed documents to cover up abhorrent acts of terrorism against foreign states.
If you combine the fact that Theresa May will call for investors to pull funds from Facebook or Twitter if they fail to tackle extremist content with the new communications unit, there is legitimate concern that the government are attempting to pressurise media outlets to only allow pro-government information and suppress information that would scrutinise the government and its allies abroad.
