'Fake News and the First Amendment:' A panel discussion at Sonoma State University

What is “fake news?” We all seem to have different definitions of what it is, but most of us seem to agree that it's a problem. According to a recent poll, 64 percent of adults say fake news causes confusion about current issues and events. Given that two out of five people in America get all their news online, where fake news is most prevalent, this number is particularly concerning. But how do you identify it and what can be done to confront it?

These were some of the questions and issues addressed by a panel of professionals in media, politics and law at a sold-out public forum at Sonoma State University on Tuesday, Sept. 19. The panel, titled “Fake News and the First Amendment,” included David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition based in San Rafael, Annika Toernqvist, digital director for Sonoma Media Investments, Sonoma State political science professor Dave McCuan and First Amendment attorney Karl Olson. The moderator for the event was Paul Gullixson, editorial director for The Press Democrat and faculty adviser to the Sonoma State Star.

The panel, which included a Q&A session with the standing-room-only crowd, delved into such issues as the First Amendment limits on regulating fake news, what mainstream media are and should be doing to address the problem and how fake news may have influenced the outcome of the 2016 election, with the help of bogus Facebook and Twitter posts created by Russian companies with ties to the Kremlin.

The Sonoma State Star, the student newspaper on campus, sponsored the event along with the First Amendment Coalition and The Press Democrat.

See the video here, or below: