[bcrl]

Some countries actually have laws that prevent broadcasters from knowingly broadcasting false news. Canada is one. It is, however, a condition that is restricted to broadcasting licenses.

In the distant past when newspapers were locally owned and operated, those who owned printing presses lived in the communities that they worked in and published in. Globalization has removed that link. My theory is that losing that link has distorted the nature of publishing. It is now cheaper (more profitable) to publish false news than it is to publish well researched journalism. There is no local reputation to protect. Who needs to pay for fact checkers and editors to reach out to trusted sources to verify a story when the story itself isn't even true? Let's just throw whatever at the wall, and, hey, we can sell more ads if it blows up on social media!