Germany Create ‘Fake News’ Agency To Counter Alternative Media

Germany has approved plans to set up a national ‘fake news’ agency in order to counter subversive news from alternative media outlets. According to DerSpiegel, the Federal Interior Ministry is preparing to establish a “Defence Centre against Misinformation” – tasked with pushing pro-government propaganda on the internet, and stifling free speech. Wsws.org reports: The “Defence Centre” will be set up in the Federal Press Office under Steffen Seibert, who, six years ago, moved seamlessly from his position leading the “Heute Journal,” one of the most important news programs in Germany, to his position as a government spokesperson. The new centre is supposed to strengthen the “political power of defence” of the population and force social networks such as Facebook, Google and Twitter to censor content posted by users. “The acceptance of a post-factual age would amount to political capitulation,” an internal paper quoted by Der Spiegel said. The paper insisted that “authentic political communication” remains “crucial for the 21 century” as well. Accordingly, wide-reaching measures would have to be formulated to deal with the disinformation campaign, fake news and the manipulation of public opinion. Numerous politicians support the campaign against supposed fake news on the Internet and demand stronger laws. Parliamentary President Norbert Lammert [...]

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