The jig is up!
A new law proposed in Ireland would make disseminating fake news on social media a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, according to a report from The Irish News.
Lawmakers in the Republic, which struggled for centuries to gain independence from Britain, fear fake news campaigns could influence future votes there, as bogus online stories have in the 2016 US presidential election and the 2016 “Brexit” vote.
“Evidence suggests that an army of fake social media accounts is being amassed to disrupt the democratic process in the future, with journalists and prominent public figures highlighting an upsurge in the number of dubious accounts following them on social media platforms,” James Lawless, a lawmaker in the nation’s Dail lower house, told The Irish News.
“It’s highly likely these dormant accounts will spring into action during a future election or referendum campaign, as happened in Britain and the US.”
The law would punish anyone who knowingly uses automated bots to run 25 or more phony social media accounts for political action. Low-level punishments may include six months in jail or a roughly $600 fine, while serious offenses carry an up-to five-year jail sentence and fines of nearly $12,000.