Arrested developments

Prosecuting social media platform chiefs for fake news is illogical

Thanks to social media, misinformation, the noun that has transitioned in the post-truth world as “fake news,” has become an endemic issue in all societies. Ruling dispensations have struggled to frame responses to this phenomenon, and the tools they choose to do so reflect their levels of self-confidence or paranoia. In that context, the recommendation of an inter-ministerial panel headed by the home secretary for criminal proceedings against social media company chiefs for spreading fake news via their platforms suggests an extreme reaction. The suggestion lacks merit for several reasons. One, the definition of fake news is not always clear.