Defining fake news and its problems The anatomy of a prescribed crime
Abstract
Fake news has been at the epicenter of public debate since 2016. It is an issue that has taken on huge proportions despite being nothing new, not even an exception to the news production rules. At the same time, there is a tendency for states to legislate in order to criminalize this phenomenon. However, an adequate definition of fake news does not seem to exist at the moment. This article, by interpreting twenty definitions of fake news, attempts to gather and analyze the causes that make the aforementioned criminalization of fake news fragile at its root. Through the analysis of these definitions seven basic problems arise. The same problems make the legislative work difficult. These have to do with: (a) whether the falsification concerns the news or the whole public debate, (b) who is responsible for the news falsification, (c) whether the reproduction of a news story is less problematic than its initial production, (d) how disinformation can be proven to be intentional, (e) whether misinterpretations of an event can be considered as falsifying, (f) whether news satire falls within fake news, and (g) whether the relevant charges are used to achieve propaganda purposes and goals.
Article Details
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Ταστσόγλου Μ. (2026). Defining fake news and its problems: The anatomy of a prescribed crime. Science and Society: Journal of Political and Moral Theory, (46), 90–127. Retrieved from https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/sas/article/view/34213
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