Liars

A powerful analysis of why lies and falsehoods spread so rapidly now, and how we can reform our laws and policies regarding speech to alleviate the problem.

Lying has been with us from time immemorial. Yet today is different-and in many respects worse. All over the world, people are circulating damaging lies, and these falsehoods are amplified as never before through powerful social media platforms that reach billions. Liars are saying that COVID-19 is
a hoax. They are claiming that vaccines cause autism. They are lying about public officials and about people who aspire to high office. They are lying about their friends and neighbors. They are trying to sell products on the basis of untruths. Unfriendly governments, including Russia, are
circulating lies in order to destabilize other nations, including the United Kingdom and the United States. In the face of those problems, the renowned legal scholar Cass Sunstein probes the fundamental question of how we can deter lies while also protecting freedom of speech.

To be sure, we cannot eliminate lying, nor should we try to do so. Sunstein shows why free societies must generally allow falsehoods and lies, which cannot and should not be excised from democratic debate. A main reason is that we cannot trust governments to make unbiased judgments about what counts
as "fake news." However, governments should have the power to regulate specific kinds of falsehoods: those that genuinely endanger health, safety, and the capacity of the public to govern itself. Sunstein also suggests that private institutions, such as Facebook and Twitter, have a great deal of
room to stop the spread of falsehoods, and they should be exercising their authority far more than they are now doing. As Sunstein contends, we are allowing far too many lies, including those that both threaten public health and undermine the foundations of democracy itself.

"Liars are causing devastating problems. They are endangering public health. They are threatening self-government. They are destroying the reputation of good people - and inflating the reputation of people who are not so good. Nonetheless, falsehoods ought not to be censored or regulated, even if they are lies. Free societies allow them. Public officials should not be allowed to act as the truth police. A key reason is that we cannot trust officials to separate truth from falsehood; their own judgments are unreliable, and their own biases get in the way. If officials are licensed to punish falsehoods, they will end up punishing dissent. The best response to falsehoods is usually to correct them, rather than to punish or censor them. At the same time, governments should have the power to regulate the most harmful lies and falsehoods. In brief: False statements are not constitutionally protected if the government can show that they threaten to cause serious harm. Public officials should be able to restrict and punish lies and falsehoods that pose serious threats to public health and safety. To protect the democratic process, public officials should be able to restrict certain lies and falsehoods. They should be able to safeguard people's reputations. Private institutions, including television networks, magazines, and newspapers, and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, should be doing much more to slow or stop the spread of lies and falsehoods"--

"A passionate and forceful argument from America's pre-eminent legal scholar that our law ought to do more to protect the public from the harms of falsehood." -- Robert Post, Sterling Professor of Law, Yale Law School

"An increasing amount of what we hear and read is demonstrably factually false, and the acceptance of falsity has grave consequences for democratic decision-making. Drawing on legal doctrine, psychological research, and an impressive command of the dynamics of modern media, Cass Sunstein offers a
sobering explanation of why factual falsity is increasingly prevalent in contemporary public discourse and why American free speech doctrine may do more to exacerbate than alleviate the problem. This book is essential reading in the modern political and media environment." -- Frederick Schauer,
David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Virginia

"An insightful, balanced, and readable book, by one of America's leading legal scholars -- whether you ultimately agree with its suggestions or not, you will learn much from its analysis." -- Eugene Volokh, Gary T. Schwartz Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law