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Vlad's got a new 'fake news' law and Donald is gonna want one for his very own
Authoritarians don't like having their authority questioned, and now Russian President Vladimir Putin has instituted penalties with potential jail time for journalists and citizens who cross him. Putin created a new state-run watchdog agency to monitor the internet for media outlets and others spreading so-called "fake news," according to Bloomberg News.
The new agency has the authority to block access to sites it deems to be in violation of the law if they do not quickly remove the content. Sites that relay “unreliable socially significant information” can be fined up to $1.5 million rubles, or $23,000; and people can be both fined or jailed for up to 15 days if they are found guilty of purveying "clear disrespect for society, the state, the official state symbols of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Russian Federation and bodies exercising state power.” Putin signed the legislation into law despite the fact that thousands protested in Moscow, and Donald Trump would almost surely do the same if he could.
Just Monday morning Trump was lamenting the "Fake News Media" for supposedly scapegoating him for the New Zealand massacre, and he has repeatedly taken up the cause of making it easier to bring libel lawsuits against media organizations. After publication last year of legendary journalist Bob Woodward's Fear: Trump in the White House, for instance, Trump called America's libel laws "a sham and and a disgrace."
But just imagine if he could skip over the libel laws altogether and simply create his own watchdog agency with the authority to punish people. Just like Trump has repeatedly raised the prospect of having a U.S. president "for life," having a law that insulates that "president" from criticism would not only be dreamy, it would be a given in Trump’s regime.
The new agency has the authority to block access to sites it deems to be in violation of the law if they do not quickly remove the content. Sites that relay “unreliable socially significant information” can be fined up to $1.5 million rubles, or $23,000; and people can be both fined or jailed for up to 15 days if they are found guilty of purveying "clear disrespect for society, the state, the official state symbols of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Russian Federation and bodies exercising state power.” Putin signed the legislation into law despite the fact that thousands protested in Moscow, and Donald Trump would almost surely do the same if he could.
Just Monday morning Trump was lamenting the "Fake News Media" for supposedly scapegoating him for the New Zealand massacre, and he has repeatedly taken up the cause of making it easier to bring libel lawsuits against media organizations. After publication last year of legendary journalist Bob Woodward's Fear: Trump in the White House, for instance, Trump called America's libel laws "a sham and and a disgrace."
But just imagine if he could skip over the libel laws altogether and simply create his own watchdog agency with the authority to punish people. Just like Trump has repeatedly raised the prospect of having a U.S. president "for life," having a law that insulates that "president" from criticism would not only be dreamy, it would be a given in Trump’s regime.
[link:https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/3/18/1843106/-Vlad-s-got-a-new-fake-news-law-and-Donald-is-gonna-want-one-for-his-very-own|
Trumps wet dream
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