Fake News, Real Power: Why the US Can’t Regulate Political Misinformation

TJ King

‘Fake news’: Two words you cannot seem to escape these days. It seems to have dominated news, politics, and social media. The phrase itself is daunting- the idea that media intentionally is betraying your eyes and ears- trying to skew what we deem ‘truth.’ It is all very Orwell-Esque if you ask me, but it has not always been this way. Although it may seem like a concept from 1984, fake news is a term that was recently coined and made popular by Donald Trump.

In modern American politics, truth is not denied, rather redesigned. The First Amendment, built to protect speech from tyranny, now serves as the shield to allow truth to be systematically distorted. The First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” While this law has served as a testament to freedom and equal rights, it has long been exploited. The Supreme Court sees speech as the heart of the First Amendment, meaning that false information and hate can be spread across America with little to no punishment. 

The doctrine of free speech has long served as a power to the people- allowing them to say what they want about the government with no punishment. The doctrine was crafted as a safeguard- to protect against tyranny and dictators who sought to regulate bad press. However, the Constitution was drafted in 1787, and the power of technology has allowed speech to travel farther than ever before.

As digital media developed throughout the 20^th century, the way people access news became extremely convenient. Instead of reading the news, you could listen to it, then you could watch it, and now you can simply see it by looking at a notification on your phone.  As media developed, the number of competitors dwindled, leaving social media and news sources to a select number of organizations. These social media and news platforms no longer merely host the news or recent political discourse, they actively structure it. Algorithms prioritize content that maximizes engagement, rewarding sensationalism and emotional resonance over accuracy. As a result, misinformation does not simply coexist with the truth; it outperforms it.

As mentioned above, the Constitution was designed to protect individuals from state censorship, not to regulate an information environment dominated by private corporations with unprecedented control over political communication. Astudy by an MIT scientist found that false stories were about 70% more likely to be retweeted than true ones, and the truth took around six times as long to reach popularity. This study, done in 2018, pales in comparison to the number of doctored photos and videos there are now to correspond with fake news.

Just recently, the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro resulted in thousands of fake videos and images circuiting online. These videos and photos spread far and fast, and seven of them have garnered more than 14m views on X alone. As fake videos gain traction, they are promoted in the algorithm, keeping people scrolling for longer and interacting with more extreme content.

The current president of America, Donald Trump, has become infamously known for his use of AI images and support of deregulation. Despite coining the term, Trump spews fakes news from his platform, especially when it sews division. From lying about protests to sharing unfounded conspiracies accusing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz of an assassination, Trump finds profit and loyalty in sharing fake news.

As the amount of fake news and videos rises, countries around the world combat it. Examples include the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), Germany’s Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG), and various laws that incarcerate individuals for intentionally spreading information meant to cause civic unrest. The US lacks any sort of policy. The legal paralysis enabled by the Constitution has shifted regulatory power away from democratic institutions and toward private platforms. Social media companies now operate as the de facto gatekeepers of political discourse, determining which narratives are promoted, suppressed, or removed.

As Trump has no plans to regulate AI, fake news, or the spread of political misinformation, the machinery of falsehood is likely to carry on unchecked. The balance between freedom of expression and blatant misinformation meant to confuse the public is a slippery slope. As fabricated narratives are increasingly reinforced by AI-generated images, videos, and “evidence,” the boundary between truth and fiction becomes ever more indistinct. This leaves us with a troubling question: what is the true value of free speech when it is weaponized to deceive, destabilize, and erode public trust? Is the cost one democracy can continue to afford?