#RUSSIA: Duma Seeks To Control Negative Media With "Fake News" Law

[world politics news]

 

Spreading "fake news" about the Russian military can be punishable by up to 15 years in prison if a new bill is passed in Russia, state-owned news agency TASS reported Friday. 

On Friday the State Duma passed a law introducing punishment for spreading fake news about the Russian Armed Forces and the military operation in Ukraine, statements that discredit the armed forces, and calls for sanctions on Russia. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#SOUTHKOREA: Debate Continues On "Fake News" Bill

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Lawmakers Monday continued to debate the timing of a final vote on a bill on penalizing the press for “fake news,” with fierce opposition from those outside the ruling party likely pushing the date back.

In face of fierce protest from the media and opposition People Power Party lawmakers, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea was debating within its members whether to walk back from its plan to push the bill through the National Assembly within this month’s provisional session.

The bill has faced severe criticism, with opinions divided even within the ruling party. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ETHIOPIA: Legislators Approve Bill Banning Hate Speech And Disinformation

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Ethiopia’s House of Peoples  has approved draft legislation on hate speech and disinformation.

About 300 members of Parliament attended the session that approved the legislation. Twenty-three members of the Parliament opposed the bill, and there were two abstain voices – according to state media Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC).

The discussion in the Parliament highlighted that “Good values and relationship between Ethiopians are being eroded because of hate-speech and dissemination of false information. Hate-speech and disinformation are also posing a threat to the country.”

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#SINGAPORE: Law Gives Gov't Sole Discretion To Define, Ban, "Fake News"

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Singapore's Parliament has voted 72 to 9, with three abstentions, to pass the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill.

Heated debate focused primarily on the definition of what constituted as false or true, with critics such as the Asia Internet Coalition saying the legislation gave the government "full discretion" and this level of "overreach" poses as a significant risk to freedom of expression in Singapore.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Sec. Of Digital Media Accuses Yellow Jacket Protesters Of "#FakeNews," Conspiracies, Disinformation

[world politics news]

France's State Secretary for Digital Media, Mounir Mahjoubi, has criticized those using online media to spread the popular Yellow Vest uprising for using "fake news" and disinformation in their continued protests against the country's social policies. "What's dangerous about conspiracies is that it hampers sincere mobilization," Mahjoubi, who cited researchers who claim ties between the protests and the "Alt-Right" in the US and in European nations. It's been widely reported that the protesters come not only from the conservative Right, but also from France's Socialists and hard Left.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#MALAYSIA: Crackdown On "Fake News" Increasingly Used As Cover For Crushing Dissent, Free Press

[world politics news]

Inflammatory stories masquerading as real news pose a particularly toxic threat in Asian countries with long-standing religious and ethnic divides, but promises by some regional leaders to tackle the problem carry equal menace.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#GERMANY: Syrian Refugee Suing Over Use Of Famous Merkel Selfie By "Fake News" On Facebook

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Syrian refugee Anas Modamani took one of Germany's most emblematic selfies in Sept. 2015, with him alongside Chancellor Angela Merkel. But his photo has been posted with language suggesting he was part of the Brussels and Berlin Christmas attacks, and posted on Facebook with these false stories. Now, in a case that will have long-ranging implication for social media, Modamani is taking Facebook to court, demanding that they ban the photo permanently from the site.

[FULL STORY HERE]