This week we were asked to write a blog post on one of the eight values of freedom of expression. After reading over the values, I decided to choose the marketplace of ideas otherwise known as the discovery of truth. This value was highlighted by John Milton in his book Areopagitica. Milton is fighting for freedom of speech where you can print and publish whatever you want without needing the seal of approval from the government. Milton took this stance after he had issues with the English licensing board that had censored Milton’s writings about divorce. Milton argued that the government should not be restricting speech, particularly prior to it being published. Milton felt that truth would ultimately win out over lies and that government censorship would be more harmful than the publication of something that might be false. Areopagitica - Wikipedia
I am really torn on whether I agree with Milton or not. Although I agree people should have the right to free speech and limited government oversight or censorship, I also have the concern people of publishing stuff that is not true. In this day and age, with the Internet and social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, anyone can be considered an author and a publish whatever they want. There are so many different voices in the marketplace, it is hard to determine what is a credible source. For example, I am able to post this blog online with no one reading through it and censoring it. In many ways, that is a great thing but there are possible disadvantages, for all you know I could be lying and saying some outlandish fake news. Without restrictions, it is possible for something to be published that can cause harm to the people around you. An example of this can be in the coverage of the current Coronavirus pandemic. All-over social media I've seen different news articles telling me the best way to treat the virus. Everything from drinking bleach, to increasing vitamins, taking steroids, zinc or ivermectin are suggested as ways to get rid of the coronavirus. Media personalities such as Joe Rogan are promoting their own treatments https://www.instagram.com/p/CTSsA8wAR2-/ While some of these may be valid, there are so many ideas, that it is causing confusion rather than the truth rising up. This is resulting in real danger to people. Hospitals and poison control centers are seeing an increase in calls about possible poisoning from different treatments. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/08/25/ivermectin-livestock-deworming-drug-poison-control/5583817001/
https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/05/cdc-misusing-bleach-try-kill-coronavirus/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/08/24/some-americans-are-tragically-still-drinking-bleach-as-a-coronavirus-cure/?sh=2f19e7366748
This is a real danger and leads me to wonder if maybe the government should be able to limit some of what is published to protect its citizens.
However, I also worry that if we censor everything that is posted or read or written we could turn into a dictatorship. In other countries, you cannot talk or publish things without it being approved by the government and it must follow all the government rules and regulations. In North Korea or Russia, I could not go and write a blog about why I believe gay marriage is the best thing to happen to the world but here in the United States I have the freedom to do so. Dissenting views in those countries are not allowed and the governments censor writers. https://news.trust.org/item/20210831165627-n237e/
It seems like there is not an easy answer to this issue. One idea is to have the various social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter to regulate the content that is posted to their platforms but even that has potential risks and downsides. How does a media platform determine what is true or false? Do they employ fact checkers? What if the fact checkers are biased? Another issue with big tech being able to censor what I post online is some large tech companies are working with the government. For example, last week it came out that Joe Biden and his team are working closely with Facebook which means the government is working with Facebook to look at my posts and to regulate and censor what I am putting out online for others to read. This is basically another form of government censorship, even if it being done by the platform. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/08/joe-biden-has-had-it-up-to-here-with-facebook-covid-misinformation
I am honestly not sure what the correct answer to this is, but I hope that one day I will.
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