The Pew Research Center found that 48% of Americans want the government to step in to restrict misinformation on social media. This means that close to half of Americans are in favor of the U.S. government technically violating the First Amendment to stop the spread of misinformation. Under the First Amendment of the U.S constitution, the free speech of all private actors is protected, meaning it would apply to the tech companies in question as well as those who post on those platforms.
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- The 48% is a nine-point jump from 39% in 2018.
- The percentage of respondents that believed freedom of information should be protected, even if it means some misinformation is published, decreased from 58% to 50%.
- The percentage of respondents who believe that social media platforms themselves should make the efforts to restrict misinformation is at 59% today vs. 56% in 2018.
Source: Who should stop misinformation? | Inside Daily Brief – August, 21st 2021 | Inside.com