Running head: FAKE NEWS AS A THREAT TO THE DEMOCRATIC MEDIA ENVIRONMENT Fake News as a Threat to the Democratic Media Environment: Past Conditions of Media Regulation and Their Contemporary Applicability to New Media in the United States of America and South Korea Jae Hyun Park Duke University FAKE NEWS AS A THREAT TO THE DEMOCRATIC MEDIA ENVIRONMENT 1 Abstract This study uses a comparative case study policy analysis to evaluate whether the media regulation standards that the governments of the United States of America and South Korea used in the past apply to fake news on social media and the Internet today. We first identify the shared conditions based on which the two governments intervened in the free press. Then, we examine media regulation laws regarding these conditions and review court cases in which they were utilized. In each section, we draw similarities and differences between the two governments’ courses of action. The comparative analysis will serve useful in the conclusion, where we assess the applicability of those conditions to fake news on new media platforms in each country and deliberate policy recommendations as well as policy flow between the two countries. Keywords: censorship, defamation, democracy, falsity, fairness, freedom of speech, ​ intention, journalistic truth, news manipulation, objectivity FAKE NEWS AS A THREAT TO THE DEMOCRATIC MEDIA ENVIRONMENT 2 Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................................... 4 ​ ​ Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 6 ​ ​ Research Method ..................................................................................................................... 6 ​ ​ Data Collection and Analysis ................................................................................................. 10 ​ ​ ​ ​ The Democratic System and the Media Environment ............................................................... 11 ​ ​ ​ ​ United States .......................................................................................................................... 11 ​ ​ ​ ​ South Korea ........................................................................................................................... 12 ​ ​ Literature Review ......................................................................................................................... 14 ​ ​ Free Press and the Media’s Social Responsibility ..................................................................... 14 ​ ​ ​ ​ Shortcomings of the Free Press Ideal ........................................................................................ 15 ​ ​ Responsibility of the Media to Inform Truth ............................................................................. 19 ​ ​ ​ ​ Defining Journalistic Truth ........................................................................................................ 20 ​ ​ ​ ​ Truth and Objectivity ............................................................................................................. 20 ​ ​ ​ ​ Intentional Falsity in Journalism ........................................................................................... 22 ​ ​ Definition of Fake News ....................................................................................................... 24 ​ ​ Fake News in the Contemporary Media Environment .............................................................. 25 ​ ​ ​ ​ Emergence and Influence of Social Media and the Internet as News Sources ..................... 25 ​ ​ Current Fake News Climate .................................................................................................. 28 ​ ​ ​ ​ Empirical Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 30 ​ ​ ​ ​ Legal Background of Media Regulation ................................................................................... 30 ​ ​ ​ ​ Media Regulation Facilities ................................................................................................... 30 ​ ​ ​ ​ Constitutional Limitations of Free Speech and Free Press .................................................... 31 ​ ​ ​ ​ Media Laws on Fairness and Objectivity .............................................................................. 32 ​ ​ ​ ​ Media Laws on Defamation .................................................................................................. 34 ​ ​ Comparative Analysis of Legal Backgrounds ....................................................................... 35 ​ ​ Court Procedures .................................................................................................................... 37 ​ ​ ​ ​ FAKE NEWS AS A THREAT TO THE DEMOCRATIC MEDIA ENVIRONMENT 3 Case Studies ............................................................................................................................... 38 ​ ​ ​ ​ Defamation – United States – New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) ........................................ 38 ​ ​ ​ ​ Defamation – South Korea – MBC v. KCC (2008) ................................................................ 48 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Fairness – United States – Red Lion v. FCC (1969) .............................................................. 51 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Fairness – South Korea – KBS v. KCC (2010) ....................................................................... 60 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Comparative Analysis ............................................................................................................ 67 ​ ​ ​ ​ Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 69 ​ ​ Free Press Then and Now: Changes in the Media Environment ............................................... 69 ​ ​ Definition of Media ................................................................................................................ 69 ​ ​ ​ ​ Existing Policies that Regulate Social Media and the Internet .............................................. 70 ​ ​ ​ ​ Integrating Media Regulation Conditions to the Fake News Discussion .............................. 73 ​ ​ Possibility of Policy Change ...................................................................................................... 77 ​ ​ ​ ​ Attitude Toward Government Intervention ............................................................................ 77 ​ ​ ​ ​ Determining Responsibility for Fake News ........................................................................... 78 ​ ​ ​ ​ Preventive and Reactive Approaches ..................................................................................... 80 ​ ​ ​ ​ Policy Recommendations ........................................................................................................... 81 ​ ​ ​ ​ Regulatory Approach ............................................................................................................. 81 ​ ​ ​ ​ Grassroots Approach .............................................................................................................. 83 ​ ​ ​ ​ Policy Flow Recommendations ................................................................................................. 85 ​ ​ ​ ​ Limitations and Future Potential Research Questions ............................................................... 87 ​ ​ ​ ​ References .................................................................................................................................... 88 ​ ​ FAKE NEWS AS A THREAT TO THE DEMOCRATIC MEDIA ENVIRONMENT 4 Introduction Purpose of the Study In recent years, many democratic countries have faced an increase in the dissemination of false information under the façade of legitimacy, primarily through newly introduced platforms, mainly social media and the Internet. Citizens of democratic societies often refer to such news information as “fake news,” distinguishing them from filtered and propagated news that serve the public interest. Fake news is a threat to the democratic system that utilizes the media as the fourth estate. The potential of falsity in news information takes away the public’s agency to participate in the government judiciously, disposing of the very reason the media exists in a democratic environment in the first place. Especially during elections, false information can distort the democratic process as it hinders citizens from accessing the necessary information to formulate educated opinions about their candidates. However, fake news possesses qualities that make it inevitably appealing to the public. The often provocative and extreme nature of fake news content feeds on “fundamental human tendencies that lead to the embracing of false news and information over true news and information” (Napoli, 2018, p.14-19). Moreover, due to the advancement of media technology and accessibility across the world, social media platforms and other online platforms can deliver news – whether truthful or not – quickly, easily, and universally. Despite the potential threat fake news presents to the democratic system, few democratic countries have legally combatted the issue. Governments of countries