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The Solution to Fake News is Education, Freedom of Expression, Access to Quality Information, and More Free Time.

“If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence“, Judge Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

The solution to fake news is free speech, an educated population with enough leisure time to read and a willingness to do so. Historically Scotland in general, and the Scottish weavers in particular, set a good example. As independent workers, they had leisure time to read and they debated amongst themselves while working their looms. Many had to flee subsequent to the 1820 Rising.


Photos from the Paisley, Scotland, museum
William Wallace, aka “Braveheart” is believed to have been educated in Paisley Abbey.

“If any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly know, be true. To deny this is to assume our own infallibility….“, John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, 1859.

“… such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing.“, Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1791

“free speech is man’s only weapon against half-truths…“, Thomas Paine, 1799

“Fear of serious injury cannot alone justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears,” Judge Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357, 376, 1927

“We have to uphold a free press and freedom of speech — because, in the end, lies and misinformation are no match for the truth.“, US President Obama, 2014

“For if Men are to be precluded from offering their Sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences, that can invite the consideration of Mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of Speech may be taken away, and, dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the Slaughter.“, George Washington, address to the officers of the army, Newburgh, New York, March 15, 1783; reported in John C. Fitzpatrick, ed, The Writings of George Washington, 1938, vol. 26, p. 225.

“freedom to think as you will and to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth; that without free speech and assembly discussion would be futile; that with them, discussion affords ordinarily adequate protection against the dissemination of noxious doctrine“; Judge Brandeis, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357, 375, 1927, at 375.

“Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript

The problem with trying to control “Fake News” is that truth can be labelled as “fake news”.

We know that Russia and Trump have both taken the habit of calling the truth “Fake News”.

However, the Ukrainian news services Ukrinform alleges that criticisms of Holtec spent fuel canisters are “fake news” by Russia. But, common sense tells us that huge canisters with only a half inch thick shell to protect from high level nuclear waste is inadequate. Furthermore, the canisters are welded shut and have no sensors to monitor for leaks, unlike the Castor casks of their German competitor. Donna Gilmore of San Onofre safety has documented in great detail, as well as summarizing, the dangers of Holtec spent fuel casks here: https://sanonofresafety.org There is also information on the Mining Awareness blog if you type Holtec into the search window. Apart from being poorly designed, Holtec has apparently made asking for quality exemptions from the US NRC its favorite game. Thus, the following article is portraying the truth as a “fake news” lie ostensibly because the source is Russia or believed to be Russia: https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/2209158-russian-fake-news-poses-threat-to-eu-business.html

Note how big these spent fuel casks are in comparison to the men in the photo, below. It is unfathomable that anyone could think one half inch sufficient thickness to protect from high level nuclear waste, especially over time.

The handling of nuclear waste by the US, the UK, France, Russia, etc. is so unbelievably awful, and increasingly so, that it appears to be fake news, but it is still possible to use government documents to document that it is the truth.

And, who would believe that the US and Russia would nuke their own people with above ground weapons testing, but they did.

Who would believe that nuclear power stations are allowed to legally discharge long-lived, lethal, radioactive materials into the air and water on a routine basis using the lie of dilution as the solution – once again in the public record, if one looks.

Who would guess that high levels of radioactive materials are allowed in food and water all of the time and more in the event of a nuclear disaster?

Who would believe that the Fukushima nuclear disaster is ongoing and that Japan is allowed to legally discharge radioactive waste into air and water and export it in food, but they are.

It all sounds like fake news, but these are still easy to document truths.

Russia has often pointed these things out about the US, while remaining silent about its own nuclear mess.

Just because something comes from Russia doesn’t mean it is a lie.

Recall German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s warning on the nature of truth and lies – that it is better for an honest man to tell a lie, than a liar to tell the truth. By mixing truth and lies, Russia, like Nazi Germany, is damaging truth, and free speech. Recall that Hitler and Stalin made a non-aggression pact, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, and divided Poland between themselves. Putin is a product of Soviet Russia and their KGB.

“If any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly know, be true. To deny this is to assume our own infallibility. … Though the silenced opinion be an error, it may, and very commonly does, contain a portion of truth; and since the general or prevailing opinion on any subject is rarely or never the whole truth, it is only by the collision of adverse opinions that the remainder of the truth has any chance of being supplied … Even if the received opinion be not only true, but the whole truth; unless it is suffered to be, and actually is, vigorously and earnestly contested, it will, by most of those who receive it, be held in the manner of a prejudice, with little comprehension [of] or feeling [for] its rational grounds.“. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, (1859).

“Those who won our independence by revolution were not cowards. They did not fear political change. They did not exalt order at the cost of liberty. To courageous, self-reliant men, with confidence in the power of free and fearless reasoning applied through the processes of popular government, no danger flowing from speech can be deemed clear and present, unless the incidence of the evil apprehended is so imminent that it may befall before there is opportunity for full discussion. If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence,” Judge Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357, 1927.

“Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing.“, Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1791

“For if Men are to be precluded from offering their Sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences, that can invite the consideration of Mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of Speech may be taken away, and, dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the Slaughter.“, George Washington, address to the officers of the army, Newburgh, New York (March 15, 1783); reported in John C. Fitzpatrick, ed, The Writings of George Washington (1938), vol. 26, p. 225.

“free speech is man’s only weapon against half-truths that enslave“, Attributed to Thomas Paine, 1799

“But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing,” Thomas Paine, Rights of Man

“Within judgment, discernment involves going past the mere perception of something and making nuanced judgments about its properties or qualities“.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discernment

While there is no doubt in our minds that US Congressman Quigley is well-meaning in his intent, this is risky business, as explained above:

“QUIGLEY STATEMENT ON INTEL OPEN HEARING WITH TECH COMPANIES
Nov 1, 2017 Press Release
WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, released the below statement following the Committee’s open hearing with tech companies:

“There is no question that we need to ensure social media advertisements are held to the same standard as those on television and radio, and that that benchmark needs to be set and strengthened across mediums. However, while there has been a major focus on paid ads on social media, today I also asked Facebook, Twitter, and Google about their role in addressing the free weaponization of misinformation on their platforms.

Oftentimes, after fake accounts are pulled down, the fake stories generated by these accounts have already been spread thousands of times and continue to be circulated by legitimate users, whether it be everyday Americans, Fox News hosts, or the President of the United States. These fake stories live long after a fake account is removed.

Appreciating the First Amendment right to free speech, the social media leaders in the room today still need to play an active role in flagging disinformation spread by verified, influential users. Serving as a platform for free expression comes with responsibility, and I welcome the opportunity for a coordinated government and industry response to address vulnerabilities that make our democracy susceptible to future attacks.”

During his line of questioning, Rep. Quigley raised a real-time example regarding algorithms used to push misinformation to the top of users’ feeds. You can watch his full line of questioning here: https://youtu.be/-A2t6TT_loY
Issues: 
First Amendment, Russia Investigation, Defense & National Security, Transparency and Government Reform https://quigley.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/quigley-statement-intel-open-hearing-tech-companies

“Those who won our independence believed that the final end of the state was to make men free to develop their faculties, and that in its government the deliberative forces should prevail over the arbitrary. They valued liberty both as an end and as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty. They believed that freedom to think as you will and to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth; that without free speech and assembly discussion would be futile; that with them, discussion affords ordinarily adequate protection against the dissemination of noxious doctrine; that the greatest menace to freedom is an inert people; that public discussion is a political duty; and that this should be a fundamental principle of the American government. Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357, 375 (1927), at 375. .

References
[1] https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/2209158-russian-fake-news-poses-threat-to-eu-business.html

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Louis_Brandeis
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech
http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/www/Spritz-yule/bronner.html