Yelling fire in a crowded Twitter?
New York City Councilman Peter Vallone (via Twitter, naturally) says he’s talking to the Manhattan District Attorney about the possibility of charges against hedge fund analyst Shashank (@comfortablysmug) Tripathi, who intentionally spread false and alarming rumors via Twitter on the night of Hurricane Sandy. (Andrew Sullivan provides a good summary of the whole saga.) GigaOm’s ...
New York City Councilman Peter Vallone (via Twitter, naturally) says he's talking to the Manhattan District Attorney about the possibility of charges against hedge fund analyst Shashank (@comfortablysmug) Tripathi, who intentionally spread false and alarming rumors via Twitter on the night of Hurricane Sandy. (Andrew Sullivan provides a good summary of the whole saga.)
New York City Councilman Peter Vallone (via Twitter, naturally) says he’s talking to the Manhattan District Attorney about the possibility of charges against hedge fund analyst Shashank (@comfortablysmug) Tripathi, who intentionally spread false and alarming rumors via Twitter on the night of Hurricane Sandy. (Andrew Sullivan provides a good summary of the whole saga.)
GigaOm’s Jeff John Roberts examines the free-speech implications:
This doesn’t mean, however, that the state or city shouldn’t consider criminal charges against Tripathia — or anyone else who uses a broadcast channel in an emergency to endanger or incite. But any government action would, of course, be subject to the law of free speech.
“Lies are constitutionally protected except in very rare exceptions. Someone recklessly tweeting is beyond the reach of the law except in rare exceptions,” said Ken Paulson, a lawyer and former USA Today editor at the First Amendment Center, in a phone interview.
Paulson added that Twitter is typically so much loose talk and that “anything you want to outlaw on Twitter, you’d have to outlaw in conversation.”
There’s some precedent for this in other countries, but it’s not promising for those who want @comfortablysmug brought to justice. In 2011, Mexican prosecutors attempted, unccessfully in the end, to file terrorism charges against two Twitter users who incited a panic by posting false rumors about murders and kidnappings in Veracruz. The Indian government has also faced criticism for its heavyhanded response to SMS rumors of ethnic violence that set off a mass panic over the summer.
While some of @comfortablysmug’s false reports were picked up by the mainstream media, including CNN, they don’t seem to have had consequences nearly as dire as the rumors in Mexico and India. (He has apologized and resigned from a local political race on which he was working, though that’s unlikely to salvage his reputation.)
But with media outlets and readers increasingly relying on social media as a source of information during ongoing news stories, the question of whether there should be legal consequences for false reporting is sure to come up again.
Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
More from Foreign Policy
Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America
The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.
The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense
If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.
Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War
Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.
How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests
And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.
Sign up for Morning Brief
Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter with what’s coming up around the world today. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
