Ukraine-Russia War: Vladimir Putin's attacks on free speech reveal he is a liar but also something important about a free society – Scotsman comment

The advent of social media was a revolution in communication akin to the invention of the printing press.
Russians protest against Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine but in Krakow, Poland, not Russia, where they would be quickly arrested (Picture: Omar Marques/Getty Images)Russians protest against Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine but in Krakow, Poland, not Russia, where they would be quickly arrested (Picture: Omar Marques/Getty Images)
Russians protest against Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine but in Krakow, Poland, not Russia, where they would be quickly arrested (Picture: Omar Marques/Getty Images)

But among many positives, the sudden ability of anyone to publish information to the entire world gave rise to an upsurge in lies, far-right propaganda, and a host of other horrors, followed quickly by demands for action.

However, as we talk and think about how to deal with what is a serious issue, it is important not to lose sight of the importance of free speech to a free society.

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine provides a horrifying example.

On the one hand, Vladimir Putin’s regime claims it is liberating Ukraine from Nazis who posed a threat to Russia and were carrying out a genocide of Russian speakers.

On the other, the free world says there was no genocide and this was just a pretext for Russia to launch a war of conquest, killing thousands of innocent people for no good reason.

Clearly one side is lying, but who should onlookers, with little knowledge of the truth on the ground, believe? A key test is which one allows freedom of speech and which does not.

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Russia’s invasion was accompanied by a new law in which anyone guilty of spreading “fake news”, in the eyes of the state, could be sentenced to 15 years in prison.

We can be confident that Putin is not telling the truth precisely because he needs such a Draconian punishment, among others, to prevent publication of anything that contradicts his paper-thin lies.

In most situations, particularly when they involve large numbers of people, the truth is robust enough to survive challenges by liars and conspiracy theorists without the need for laws enforcing a particular government line. Neil Armstrong was the first person on the Moon in 1969; 9/11 was not an ‘inside job’; the world is not run by alien lizards posing as humans.

Dictators like Putin see democratic free speech as a weakness to be exploited through disinformation campaigns. While we need to get wise to such strategies, it is vitally important to preserve the free flow of information and opinions and to resist any temptation to resort to Putin-style crackdowns on what the government of the day declares to be “fake”. We, the people, must decide what is true, not our rulers.

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