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by nanidin 1184 days ago
A well informed electorate is a prerequisite to democracy. Fake news and undue outside influence absolutely must be protected against.
2 comments

A well-informed electorate isn’t a prerequisite to democracy. This is precisely why fake news proliferates - it’s relatively easy to elicit an emotional response, and that tends to win over critical thinking.

While fake news and undue outside influence absolutely must be protected against, the line is hard to draw. For instance, would Snowden have been considered undue influence, would Wikileaks have been considered fake news, at least sufficiently enough to cross the ban threshold?

There are pros and cons to both approaches, and it really doesn’t come down to whether or not people agree with a statement that contains such vague terms. It comes down to interpretation of those terms.

The government is free to add philosophy to standard curriculum so people aren't so helpless.

It's funny it's not there already, with all the talk of the "need" for more critical thinking.

Democracy theatre.