Fix to Fake News Is Better Media, Not More Regulation, Safeguards, O'Rielly Says
The solution to fake news is for mainstream media outlets to do a better job convincing the public of their utility and the thoroughness of their content, said Commissioner Mike O'Rielly in a speech on media content regulation at a Media Institute luncheon Thursday. Steps like hiring fact checkers and use of algorithms intended to give lower priority to fake online news run the risk of limiting discourse or catching up legitimate news coverage in the net, he said. Some media outlets and social networking organizations announced plans in recent months to tackle fake news (see 1701040025).
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O'Rielly said in light of the resignation earlier this month of Universal Service Administrative Co. CEO Chris Henderson (see 1705040055), now might be the time to look at putting out for bid work done by USAC. Given the fundamental problems with USAC, which administers FCC USF telecom subsidy programs, the fix "is not just bring[ing] a new person at the top," he said.
Political conservatives would be particularly concerned about efforts to scrub the Internet of fake news since "somehow the ground assumptions and the benefit of the doubt seem to lean exclusively in one ideological direction over others," the commissioner said. He said traditional news outlets "could just as easily find themselves on the losing end of an ... algorithm." He said the use of fact checkers to monitor online communication is likely similar "to how the internet must operate in China." The best response "to speech you don't like, for whatever reason," isn't restrictions but favoring more speech, O'Rielly said.
"The First Amendment is having a moment," O'Rielly said, pointing to The Washington Post adopting its "Democracy Dies in Darkness" front-page motto earlier this year and UNESCO marking World Press Freedom Day last week. The FCC meanwhile is "a great partner" in guaranteeing a free press by not intervening in content regulation, he said. To applause, he said he opposes any resurrection of the fairness doctrine or regulation of news content. O'Rielly questioned whether fake news rises to the level of being a primary issue of importance in media circles, compared with declining advertising revenue among legacy outlets, the decline of newspapers or the outdated media ownership rules.
Part of the difficulty is the morphing definition of "fake news," O'Rielly said: It's gone from false news reports on "sketchy websites set up to visually mimic mainstream news outlets" to a critique of coverage "of a certain presidential campaign" to a broader critique of the mainstream media as biased. Now, "fake news" "seems to mean whatever anyone wants it to mean," he said.
O'Rielly​ said the result of efforts to combat fake news "may very well be to bury disfavored content" or unduly promote some speech "with a visible seal of approval." Online outlets are within their rights to do so, O'Rielly said. That leaves open the question of whether such tactics would actually address fake news problems or otherwise are positive directions.
Asked about the likelihood of the FCC adopting the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard this year, O'Rielly said something by Halloween is "very doable." He also said the agency might not need to adopt a standard but something broader that gives broadcasters flexibility to do what they like. Earlier this week, the FCC received comments on a petition for 3.0 (see 1705100072).