The fog of ‘fake news’

This appeared in The Washington Post:

Look no further than Manila this week for evidence that autocrats around the world are reading the same handbook. President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has described as a “fake news outlet” an aggressive news organization, Rappler, and the nation’s Securities and Exchange Commission has revoked its licence.

Rappler, a pioneering news site that has been at the forefront of chronicling Duterte’s campaign of extrajudicial killings of drug suspects and abusers, was founded in 2012.

The Philippine constitution requires media companies to be wholly owned by Filipinos. The SEC complaint is that Rappler received investment from the Omidyar Network, a fund created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, who is not Filipino. The news organization denies wrongdoing and says Omidyar’s investment does not convey ownership.

What’s worrisome about Duterte’s attack is not only the use of government to close down a news source but also his deployment of the delegitimization that lies behind the moniker “fake news.” This is a twisted way to undermine confidence and trust in the news itself. When confronted with discomfiting reporting, or when facing a news media that attempts to hold them to account, the illiberal tyrants shout “fake news” so often that people grow weary and confused about what is true.

President Donald Trump’s use of “fake news” shows not that the United States is overflowing with untrustworthy news, but that it is possible for a leader to use smokescreens and kick up dust to the point where it obscures truth.