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Prime Minister Andrew Holness made several comments concerning ‘Fake News’ while addressing a congregation of individuals at the Almond Tree Hotel in St Ann on Sunday (June 23).

Holness would not mince words in his statement, as he urged the youth to not take part in the proliferation of gossip, lies, and rumours for their own ends, chiefly in regard to politics. During this speech, the prime minister would reference an incident in which a young man supposedly made posts on social media that were seen as defamatory and false.

He then claimed that said individual was tracked down and his identity found. This, however, was not an isolated case. Instead, it was part of a wider pattern of youth being recruited to engage in such activities, often by entities with a particular political agenda.

Holness would continue by saying that for too long, he had remained silent on these matters, but at long
last, he was going to make a stand, and in but a short time, results would follow.

In his own words, “We have been tracking, and you are going to see some action shortly. We have too many good news items and achievements that you need to promote without having to resort to attacking people. We deal with policies, programmes and principles…People who don’t have good news, they spread bad news. Where there is no bad news, they create falsehoods.”

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Now, all that the prime minister stated was true. It is undeniable that the society and culture we live in
is one that enables and facilitates the blatant spread of misinformation. Social media has done great
things for humanity. However, like fire, it can be just as deadly as it useful when harnessed by the
wrong people.

With this in mind, should not regulation and investigation into the actions of those that seem to be using it for bad purposes should be supported? Perhaps.

But before that can happen, there is one thing that needs to be considered, and that is our human rights. As a democratic state, we have certain rights and ideals engrained into our constitution. We have rules and privileges that apply to us all, from the prime minister to the beggar on the street.

One of the most important of these is the freedom of speech, thought, and expression.

It is these rights that enable us all to speak our minds without fear of being discriminated and persecuted based simply on what we believe and say. It is what safeguards the ability of journalists and reporters, even the average individual, to cover and detail events as they see it, and therefore be the eyes, ears, and voice of the common people. In areas where freedom of Speech and expression are not truly respected, it has become commonplace, perhaps even expected, for regimes to take advantage of this to spread their own agendas, which are often nothing more than false realities they wish to impose on their
populations.

This can be seen in authoritarian countries like Russia, where President Vladimir Putin has cracked down on the ability for any medium to publish anything negative about him and his conduct.

In his speech at Almond Tree Hotel, Holness mentions how it has reached a point where the pervasion of
‘fake news’ in the media as he calls it is so widespread that he has to personally verify information and
quash rumours, which are so strong that even intelligent people are fooled.

He harkened to the examples of the United States and Canada, which have taken steps to moderate the risk of ‘interference’ companies through their social media platforms can have on the electoral process, stating that he intends to conduct similar methods here in Jamaica.

This though, brings up the million-dollar question: If the Government is to regulate the media and what
can be spread via it, then who is to regulate the government?

Both sides in this issue enjoy a symbiotic relationship, each acting as the watchdog for the other in a way. However, what happens when one side gets too much power and leverage. The prime minister believes we are already seeing this in the media, where independent sources and companies are free to spread their own narratives and agenda that suit their needs.

This may be concerning, but I think it is clear that the opposite is far more dangerous: that of regimes taking the reigns to ensure their own narrative is the one that is heard.

Through all of Holness’ talk of ‘fake news’ and the various examples he had given, not once in that speech did, he mention the specifics of the infraction being committed against him and the government.

Perhaps he simply did not wish to comment on an ongoing investigation, that would be understandable.

However, this also goes to show the potential risk of the ruling party manipulating the people. The prime minister in a speech was able to rally up significant support by harkening to a threat that he couldn’t even specifically name; and promoting the idea that decisive action needed to be taken to stamp it out due to the danger it posed to the people via their ability to misinform or twist narratives for their own ends. We the public still do not know the whole story behind this incident. What is to say this is not the government doing the very thing they are condemning?

And for that matter, we need to discuss what the government potentially sees as a danger. At the Almond Tree Hotel, the prime minister was quite vague about these supposed threats, only stating that they were being done by companies with political agendas and being supported via the youth.

Now first of all, despite what some may tell you, it is not illegal for a company to have political views and an agenda it supports. As humans, we are all motivated by self-interest, and will do what we can to ensure that the outcome is favourable to us. Businesses and companies have always had their favourites, and though their influence is often obscured or hidden, it is there.

Both the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and People’s National Party (PNP) for instance receive party funding and support from various entities and businesses, and it is often through the links that these companies have and their soft power influence, that everything, from decisions in policy to even the outcome of elections, are determined by.

Now, it can be argued that by directly sponsoring anti-government narratives in broad daylight, the
companies in question are being far more open about these actions, which can be seen negatively.

However, this does not take away the potential air of hypocrisy.

Just because the people in question do what you do but against your interests doesn’t make it wrong- not unless you are willing to admit that your own actions are also invalid and incorrect. As the saying goes, ‘If you live in a glass house, do not throw stones.’

It is easy to criticise one when it suits you, but it is hard to maintain that view when it comes to light that your actions are of similar nature themselves, only better hidden. Both parties, not just the governing JLP, make use of these methods, and perhaps it is time for both of them to re-examine their policies in regard to it.

The Government by virtue of being in power does not automatically determine what is seen as ‘legitimate’ and what is ‘fake news’.

Simply because something does not present information exactly how you would wish it to be done is not a reason to launch a crusade against the ‘infringing’ party. A key part of what makes media so valuable and needed is its ability to highlight and present multiple perspectives, to help people see things more than one way.

That means that the Government’s viewpoint can be challenged by others, whether Holness likes it or not. Rather than focus on purging and removing these so-called-threats for their bias and false information, instead maybe the government should focus on educating the people to enable them for themselves to deduce their own conclusions and thoughts, influenced by multiple perspectives, but ultimately of their own volition and free will.

In conclusion, yes, there are often cases of companies and individuals spreading false narratives to fool
others, especially in relation to politics. However, this does not by and large justify a wholesale crackdown and empowering of the government to suppress whatever it sees as untrue and false.

Reality is in the eye of the beholder, and the Jamaican people ought to be trusted to make their own decisions.

By clamping down, the government would threaten to do exactly what they claim to be trying to avoid –
enforcing one view on the people of the country. Rather than be an active watchdog eager to pounce at
any supposed infringement of the truth, let the prime minister truly believe and stand by his words, calling for discernment and reasoning by the masses.