Precedent Set — Germany To Fine Facebook $500K For Every “Fake News” Post They Don’t Delete

facebook censorBy Claire Bernish

Germany — Germany now says if Facebook refuses to deal with “fake news” in a timely manner, it will fine the social media platform €500,000 (around $525,000) for each false or hate speech item it fails to remove within 24 hours.

Thomas Oppermann, chairman of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, suggests a strict law with concurrent stiff penalty might be the best method of combating the plethora of “fake news” now apparently flooding the interwebs.

“Facebook did not avail itself of the opportunity to regulate the issue of complaint management itself,” Oppermann told Der Spiegel in an interview Friday. “Now market dominating platforms like Facebook will be legally required to build a legal protection office in Germany that is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

According to Deutsche Welle, this would allow putative ‘victims’ of fake news or hate speech to contact Facebook and request action be taken.

“If, after appropriate examination, Facebook does not delete the offending message within 24 hours,” Oppermann continued, “it should expect individual fines of up to 500,000 euros ($523,320).”

Germany’s announcement comes on the heels of Facebook’s formally announcing its newest plan to deal with the same “fake news” issue — the company will partner with adamantly left-leaning organizations Snopes, Politifact, FactCheck.org, the Associated Press, and ABC News to vet and label items “disputed.” Corporate media largely lauded that announcement, ignoring entirely the distinct potentiality for the effort to amount to blatant censorship of all ideas not in lock step with the neoliberal establishment.

ll of this, despite Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg declaring shortly after the U.S. presidential election,

Of all the content on Facebook, more than 99 percent of what people see is authentic. Only a very small amount is fake news and hoaxes. The hoaxes that do exist are not limited to one partisan view, or even to politics. Overall, this makes it extremely unlikely hoaxes changed the outcome of this election in one direction or the other.

Zuckerberg and Facebook quickly changed their tune when it became clear the Democrat establishment wished to target alternative, independent, and right-leaning media organizations to shoulder the blame of its own shortcomings in the election of Donald Trump to the presidency.

While corporate media presstitutes praised fealty to Hillary Clinton, alternative outlets reported on the contents of documents leaked to WikiLeaks concerning the former secretary of state — including collusion by those same ‘reporters’ with Clinton’s campaign.

Indeed, though analysts first decried the idea ‘fake news’ or misinformation swayed the election in favor of Donald Trump, hysteria amongst Clintonites and NeverTrump Republicans spread like wildfire online as the volatile situation in the United States threatened to explode into outright conflict. Now, a growing number of Electoral College electors from both sides of the aisle have declared they will not vote — or cast their votes for Trump — until an investigation into Russian election interference can be performed.

Russian hackers and pro-Russia propaganda constitutes the twin, parallel ‘problem’ having befallen the U.S. — unnamed officials in the CIA ostensibly found after an analysis that Russian actors hacked Democrat Party files and provided information to WikiLeaks — but provided literally zero evidence to back up the slanderous claim.

Russian President Vladimir Putin — recently himself named by President Obama for involvement in the unproven hacks — has categorically denied Russia meddled in the election or hacked the DNC. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Judge Andrew Napolitano, and former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray have all — among many others — come forward to denounce the idea of Russian hackers as absurd and baseless.

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“Our source is not the Russian government,” Assange told Sean Hannity in an interview, in which the WikiLeaks founder discussed the inanity of claims Russia had influenced the U.S. election.

Assange elaborated that although his organization prefers to proffer no qualifying details about individuals who provide documents, he felt obligated to set the record straight in this case, so “we’ve had to come out and say, ‘no, it’s not a State party, stop trying to distract in that way, and pay attention to the content of the publications.”

“So, in other words, when you say State party, it wasn’t another State — like Russia, or some other country?” Hannity asked.

“Correct,” Assange replied.

Nevertheless, iterations of foreign influence in elections — whether via hacking, propaganda, or fake news — rattled Germany’s nerves sufficiently to take such staunch measures against Facebook.

In fact, censorship according to government standards is business-as-usual for the social media behemoth, and Facebook has worked with independent media organizations in Germany to remove offensive content and hate speech for some time. But the country’s plot to impose stiff fines on Facebook for disseminating fake news represents a dangerous and slippery slope for users in Europe as ‘fake news’ is often a matter of opinion.

But it isn’t without basis. Germany is effectively looking to the U.S. for methods to avert a crisis with its coming elections — viewing the putative Trump fiasco as a prime motivator for combating disinformation ahead of time, as it is widely believed the credible reporting by American independent media on corruption by the Dems helped hand Trump the presidency.

As Quartz reports:

The move is partly in response to fears that fake news posts could have an affect on the German parliamentary elections taking place in 2017, according to the Financial Times. Facebook has repeatedly said since the Nov. 8 election of Donald Trump in the US that fake news on its site, which has roughly 180 million users in the US and Canada, could not have affected the election.

Although ‘fake news’ is generally viewed as a problematic issue which needs to be dealt with, the more liberty-minded have cautioned vociferously that even light censorship of ideas will cascade into widespread editing of thought.

If given an inch, those in power prefer to take miles — and it would seem Facebook, the U.S., and Germany have started down that lengthy, perilous road.

Claire Bernish writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appeared.

Image Credit: Anthony Freda Art


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21 Comments on "Precedent Set — Germany To Fine Facebook $500K For Every “Fake News” Post They Don’t Delete"

  1. Facebook = seductive diabolical trap to divide and conquer. Zuckerberg in the process of turning the continent of African into a digital slave plantation. http://truthandarttv.com/how-facebooks-zuckerberg-is-quietly-funding-africas-future-global-enslavement

    Lack of infrastructure not an obstacle for the digital Mark of The Beast, leap frogging directly into biometric tracking. http://www.wakingtimes.com/2016/08/26/the-emerging-mark-of-the-beast-system/

  2. Kabuki theatrics designed to destroy western values…history repeats – Germany reverting back to the 1930s era crackdowns brought on by the bankster’s contrived ww1 devastation. This time it’s social chaos via millions of Muslim refugee pawns.

  3. JAWOHL MEIN FUHRER!

      • Ah look it’s Markolf Zuckler!!! Kinda really puts him into perspective doesn’t it?!

          • The truth of it all is as surreal & macabre as this parody..& like $$$…it’s a Grand Illusion just like the orchestration of Zero Mostel playing the producer….. but it has to be taken ‘Seriously’ in order for the Babylonian $$$ Magik Show to cast it’s spell..evidenced by the mass slaughters contrived by the 0.01% Hegelian sorcery…..cheers

          • Yeah, gotta laugh Eddy. They think they’re about to become transhumanist gods, but the joke is on them as they in their reductionist [ad absurdum] hubris are are angling in the final equation to create parodies of themselves as Icarian fools raping the earth and humanity into a karmic destiny of a fiery crash – Mother Nature (the Divine, entropy, etc.) will have her say in the affairs of mankind and megalomaniacs.

          • Only trouble is…they’re gonna try & take take us with them…as the Sampson Option is always on the table…but I can gladly ‘die’ with that …considering I’m an eternal aspect of infinite consciousness having a temporary experience here anyway….as for them…may they be they be exterminated into space dust …never to reappear anywhere in the universe after knowingly selling their ticket to ride…cause they sold their souls…if karma exists?…. reaping what you sew…Isle of View

          • Very well said, Blue. Your luminescence is giving me arc-eyes. You and Eddy both, your colloquies are always uplifting. 🙂
            That being said I must add that I disagree with the enduring main stream perceptions of Hitler and his contemporary Germany
            No depraved misinformation campaign has ever existed that could compare to the continuous maligning, demonisation and vilification of the German population and their Blshevik / bankster antidote leader.
            Look into Genrik Yagoda for the real insane, genocidal maniac.

          • You’re absolutely correct and I sensed a deliberate cartoonish demonizing of Hitler when I was 13 having read a big tome of a two volume biography that rocked my world gleaning some important context into the Big Pic. I know there is A LOT more to the story than what we have been told….though I tend to look for the dualities in these complex paradigms…which I would LOVE to flesh out with you sometime as I trust your logic, judgement, and openness. I noticed one time in conversation with someone else you shared a link to a documentary on Hitler available on YT. I meant to go back and take a note of the title to watch it later but didn’t think of it until months later. Does that ring a bell? I’d like to watch it soon, although, I seem to be getting flooded with links for videos and long reads invariably getting backed up. Forget about my usual daily original research on arms sales, treaties, banking and mergers, neurolinguistic analyses, follow the Elites’ personal money flows, and historical threads – examined in 5 different domains. Ha! 😉 P.S. & BTW, a few months ago, inspired by a prompt from Hanz and some others asking me about my closed profile, both Eddy and I removed the privacy filters on our Disqus profiles. It’s easier to “find” us now if you want to chat or compare notes. 🙂 Keep a close eye on us, your wisdom and sincerity is always a breath of fresh air. Thanks, Doug. Cheers! Blue

          • Yes Blue, there are extreme complexities in the world war subject that are too involved to get into in a short discussion. The one overriding factor has to be the Bolshevik blood cauldron that was spilling over from Russia and frothing into Germany in the 1920’s. I could imagine that the Germans would become increasingly paranoid that the Bolsheviks would take power in German country. Without Hitler that was actually in the process of happening. Hitler showed the world what could be accomplished once the psycho-banker cabal were to be expelled. Germany’s economic growth in the 1930’s was unprecedented and that was why Adolf was on the cover of Time magazine.
            “Judea” publicly declared international war on Germany in 1933 and I have seen accounts from Jwsh writers how German people were battered by Jwsh gangs in America and Europe and they also continually destroyed German products everywhere.
            “Kristallnacht” was an eventual reciprocal response. This fact is never brought up when the Germans are vilified for thrashing Jwsh shops in Germany.
            There is no understanding of the current political scene without thorough understanding of the first half of the last century.
            Hitler, and Germany, sacrificed themselves to create a reprieve for humanity against “Bolshevism” in the west. As you know “The Allies” were already taking over Britain and America after complete annihilation of sanity in Russia. See how Asia – China, Cambodia, etc, – turned out in those times.
            To get a better back ground search out Mike King, his site is Tomatobubble. Then also, the site you referred to is “The Greatest Story Never Told” by Dennis Wise. He made a string of videos to give an alterative perspective of Hitler and Germany. Also read Deanna Spingola books. I have not read her yet but I have listened to many, many of her radio hosting on Republic Broadcasting Network (RBN). Really very informative.
            I’m finishing the draft on another thread with you and I’ll get some more info.
            I have been into your Disqus stream and I was awed! 🙂 You are extremely prolific.
            It is wonderful to exchange with you. Thank you.

          • “Germans would become increasingly paranoid that the Bolsheviks would take power in German country” Well said, Doug. That’s EXACTLY what I came away with when I read the Hitler biography, it was a thorough historical account of the social, economic, and political underpinnings of German history circa ~ 1900 until just after the war. I assume you know about Solzhenitsyn’s 200 Years Together. How about Spirodovich’s 1926 book “The Secret World Government or The Hidden Hand” which speaks to a highly organized and interlocking agenda to create a world govt? Spirodovich was a former Russian military officer who fought the Bolsheviks before emigrating to the US. Here’s the link: http://www.resist.com/SecretGovernment-Spiridovich.pdf Yes, I know now about Tomato Bubble, though, I believe the website editor is only grasping onto one side of the proverbial elephant (blind men). We can discuss that later. 😉 Yes, that’s it! It was The Greatest Story Never Told. Thank you! I need to watch those videos on YT soon. I know Deanna Spingola from explorations of News With Views a long time ago, going back 14 years. Awesome research on NWO on that website and what a stellar group of writers to include Patrick Wood who I often mention for his past work with Sutton and currently the totalitarian technocracy agenda, G Edward Griffin, Charlotte Iserbyte, Sherri Tenpenny and Carolyn Dean both physicians, Edwin Vieira, Dennis Cuddy, et al. Getting back to the Spiridovich book, I feel certain that is the lens we have to use going forward, accepting the fact that Russia was subverted and captured long ago. This (faux) nemeses to the NWO meme (i.e. BRICS) was designed by TPTB to run out the clock while activists sit on their hands. Doesn’t mean that some people who promote this intelligence meme such as the Tomato Bubble aren’t well meaning in their desire to expose tyranny, rather, they’re caught up in the frenzy of cointelpro mind control operations. Great chatting with you Doug. Always a pleasure! 🙂

      • hahaha!….’Fitz’ the profile (lol)

  4. Ok so fake news CNN, Washington post, ABC, NBC those are fake news sights that should be removed from

    Facebook / Fackbook . We have rights still in this country F*ck you Germany

  5. Will this impact Germany’s press freedom ranking?

    Will Germany slip from 16th place (with a score of 14.80) down to the ranking of the UK and USA where press freedom is severely compromised?

    UK 38th place (score: 21.70)

    USA 41st place (score: 22.49)

    https://rsf.org/en/ranking

  6. Mark and every free information sharing platform should be suing Germany for trying to control the free flow of information be it fake or not. It’s nothing more than a ploy by the controllers to silence the masses………

  7. A blatant attack on free speech. I would feel sorry for the Germans if we didn’t have our own hands full of this same totalitarian bs from BOTH “parties”. If I had one wish I wish that people could see that whichever party pushes their “interests” it is in the vein of giving the Federal Govt more power no matter if the decision is to the “left” or ”right”. This is beginning to remind me of the squaring off prior to the War Between the States, irreconcilable differences usually lead to a divorce.

  8. Germany is the decider or rather deceiter, they will tell you wut is fakery and wut is Ze Truth.

    Another tax…big gooferment never sleeps.

  9. friend-thru-the-storm | December 26, 2016 at 6:08 am |

    This is pure Cyber-Fascism-how come a one sided political clique holds so much power,like this? does it own the www now?

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