Re:Google to restrict political adverts worldwide
by shakna on Thursday November 21, 2019 @07:45PM
(#21601397)
> Based on your questions and comments I get the feeling I am communicating with someone who does not know that journalism exists or how it is supposed to work.
I'll try not to take offense at that.
I'm just someone who has lived under an authoritarian regime where what is "truth" has been actively manipulated by the powers that be - dissenting opinions were made illegal.
> "What is truth anyway, man????" is not much of an argument.
That wasn't the "crux" of the argument.
No advertising company should be in the business of deciding what to report as truth. If they are, complying with local laws about what is "truth" may in fact be completely antithetical to the pretense of fact checking.
The most sensible solution for someone like Google is banning political advertising altogether - not putting themselves in a position where they may be required to act as propaganda mouthpieces.
It's true enough that Google will experience some pressure to kowtow to the governments or powerful interests who have the ability to lean on them, and that is probably a pretty good argument to get out of the business of political advertising altogether. "What is truth anyway, man????" is not much of an argument.