The Knight Institute invites submissions for its spring symposium, “Lies, Free Speech, and the Law” to be held at Columbia Law School, on April 14-15, 2022. The symposium will explore how the law regulates, or should regulate, false and misleading speech. A more detailed discussion of the theme of the symposium is below, followed by logistical information for those who wish to participate. Concern over the role that lies and deception of all kinds play in public life in the United States has reached new heights in the last few years. Lies, half-truths, and conspiracy theories zip around the social media platforms, while fact-checking and other efforts to minimize their spread appear to rarely dent their power. What some describe as an epistemic crisis of truth has prompted calls from many quarters for the social media platforms, and perhaps also the government, to take stronger action to curb harmful lies about the outcome of the presidential election, the efficacy of coronavirus vaccines, and the seriousness of COVID-19, among other matters. […]
Source: Call for Papers: Lies, Free Speech, and the Law | Knight First Amendment Institute