Sonia Arrison

Digital lies & the future of America

This is a good article by Harvard professor Harry Lewis.  He worries that the ease of spreading lies on the Net puts us at risk of losing “a thoughtful, analytical, educated citizenry, capable of sharing responsibility for the long-term welfare of the nation.”  Here’s a excerpt from his piece:

“If he wins, Barack Obama is going to be sworn in on a Koran instead of the Bible. Trig isn’t Sarah Palin’s baby, it’s her daughter Bristol’s. Obama refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Here’s the list of books Palin wanted to ban from the library …

All these claims — none of them true — turned up in the e-mail inboxes of millions of Americans this summer. In spite of both campaigns’ efforts to correct the record about their candidates, the rumors linger on and spread.”

September 29, 2008 | Comments |

Comments to “Digital lies & the future of America”

  1. MikeRT Says:
    September 30th, 2008 at 11:52 am

    I really, really cringe at saying this, but maybe we really do need to have some enforcement of the libel and slander laws.

  2. beingajoe Says:
    October 1st, 2008 at 6:27 pm

    There are sites tracking this kind of info also:

    http://www.palinspin.com - the scandals, incompetence, lies and deceptions of Sarah Palin!
    http://www.obamamate.com - social news for the Barack Obama nation

  3. Ben Says:
    October 6th, 2008 at 3:12 pm

    What country's libel/slander law?

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