CAN FALSE NEWS BE MADE A CRIME ?

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 40, 21 October 1946, Page 4

CAN FALSE NEWS BE MADE A CRIME ?

REALISING the importance of absolute accuracy in the news circulated by'Press and wireless, certain people have suggested penalising the author of false information. The idea is attractive inasmuch as it would force the authorities *t*o recognise the citizen’s right to the actual facts, and would tend to increase the sense of responsibility of the purveyor of news. In practice, however, knowing that any item of news might land him in prison, the journalist will be led to submit his text to the authorities before allowing it to be published. Hence the authority dispensing punishment and impunity will be the same, and inevitably it will soon beled to tolerate only the news that will be useful to it. The State Agency will thus be re-established and news will secretly become government-inspired, with all the drawbacks which that implies. Moreover, to admit the positive offence would make it necessary to admit the negative offence also, which is more serious since it is always intentional —deliberate suppression being decided upon in full and after reflection. Under an appearance of liberality and* the pretext of high morality, political censorship would thus be re-established.