In a paragraph (or two), post a comment on one of the above readings and/or videos (you could follow up on some of the questions I ask). In your post, try to also provide an example of your own, either of an interesting case involving the First Amendment (freedom of speech/press) or a case of “Fake News” that has gone viral . Due Monday, Oct. 11.

 

  1. Just yesterday, another investigative site (the Pandora Papers) posted highly embarrassing information on how the leader of Jordan and other wealthy people across the globe hide their vast fortunes from the public eye.  This is investigative journalism certainly doing “its job” as a watchdog. (Can you explain why doing so is so important?)

It is important because it has given massive information and detail as a the journalist, and explaining Jordan and other wealthy people’s motives on money. The journalist is most definitely doing well on their job as a watchdog getting information and details from the interviewee.  It is also important to publish it out in public and expose the former leaders from hiding their secret and King Abdullah is one of the former leader who use secret shell company to hide his wealth. This also include exposing other dozens of current and former leaders whose overseas investments were exposed. For example, Prime Minister Andrej Babis of the Czech Republic, who is said to have bought property in the south of France using a complicated offshore structure. Some former leaders also avoid paying taxes, like Tony Blair for example, he’s the former British prime minister, who avoided paying taxes worth more than $400,000 when he and his wife Cherie take over London’s property by purchasing the offshore company that owned it. These are very important information that can catch readers and audience’s views on what their former leaders are up to.

 

2. Does the First Amendment allow FAKE NEWS?  Facebook (and Twitter) famously allowed the spread of false information during Donald Trump’s presidency but finally kicked him off their sites for lying about the election results (that Biden didn’t win) and generally riling up his supporters with false assertions (leading to the Capitol riots). 

The First Amendment stated that it allows freedom of speech. This is the statement: 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. The whole purpose of the freedom of speech is to speak what’s on your mind and speaking up on your own beliefs and opinions on the certain situation. But the government stated that it no one was ever allow to slander or spread false information about someone else that isn’t true.  So, no the First Amendment doesn’t allow “Fake News,” and one of the example was about Mr. Trump. He posted a video on January 6th, and it is a stoked violence and it posed a risk to public safety. Basically what he posted was “We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election,” Mr. Trump falsely claimed in a video posted to Facebook.  This post caused chaos between Trump supporters and Biden supporters that the Facebook have to ban Trump and block all his post and his account, because he violated the safety policy of Facebook. This is an example text that support the First Amendment will not allow fake news posted, and that includes other fake news, not just in Facebook, but other website, social media platform, or place to publish the news.