French President Emmanuel Macron brought a joint session of Congress to its feet in affirmation of his comments about joining with the U.S. in a war against fake news. Europeans have long criminalized insulting, harassing and intimidating speech with some disturbing results and now are targeting fake news. Macron wants laws that would stop fake news on the social media. “Before we protect free speech by killing it, however, Americans should look at what Macron and his colleagues have done in across the Atlantic in achieving ‘true choices and rational decisions,'” writes law professor Jonathan Turley. “Macron helped plant a lovely European oak on the White House grounds, but his effort to plant the seed of European speech regulation should be rejected as an unwelcomed and invasive species.” (The Hill, April 26, 2018)
Macron talked about the importance of defending democracy in fighting fake news, “Without reason, without truth, there is no real democracy, because democracy is about true choices and rational decisions. The corruption of information is an attempt to corrode the very spirit of our democracies.” (The Washington Post, April 25, 2018, by Callum Borchers)