Should the government regulate social media sites, as a means to prevent fake news and misinformation?

the government should fund bodies that do this work, with a team of experts, rather than trying to do it themselves

It should be regulated but not by the government. Preferably a third party designed to ensure regulation without bias.

Yes, however, a team of representatives should be put together that work for but are not influenced by the government

Social media should be regulated and verified for fake news & disinformation but it should be a seperate& independant body that does this, not the government

No, this can become a slippery slope to censorship. However, increased pressure should be put on social media companies to combat fake news and misinformation including the addition of a mandatory disclaimer if something is discovered to be fake news or proved untrue.

It needs regulating and education needed on how to read social media in order to make informed decisions, do one’s own research. Getting harder to do so

No they should be able to fine social media companies if they are proven to share fake news or misinformation.

It's a very slippery slope when giving the government the power of changing information, and thus you have to be cautious

No, instead we should invest in creating fact checking, trustworthy sites and educate people regarding misinformation and disinformation, propaganda and mind manipulation of masses through social media and internet.

I believe fake news and misinformation is rampant. I don't believe it should be removed but warnings should be put on videos containing this information

Yes there is too much fake news and misinformation however there is still importance in having diversity of opinion available rather than the government becoming the authority deciding what information is available. Basically, everyone can have their opinion but their opinion can't be based in complete nonsense. Like if fianna fail is head of government then I shouldn't not be able to see rational and valid criticisms of their practices because they seem it misinformation but it's all fierce nuanced

There should be a regulation service by government but they should not have the ultimate decision on this.

Yes, but only on completely objective points of information. Under no circumstances should opinion be regulated

No but there should be community guidelines and fact checked answers beside false information/statistics/statements

No, the government should not be involved, unless there is genuine harm/threat to public security, health, or fundamental rights

Socail media in general should be regulated especially to children but I don’t think that should be the government responsibility

yes i agree that there's a lot of fake news and misinformation spread online but i fear that government censorship could affect free speech

No, but they should do more to provide reliable alternatives from evidence-based, non-partisan research, with references. Or, an assessment of which news sources are reporting what and which political direction those news sources lean. People need more context for the information they consume.

I don’t want a spread of misinformation but the government being in such great power appears as suffocating

The government should work to combat misinformation, without having to directly police social media networks

No, there is too much fake news but i don't think the government should control what is real or fake news

Government dictating what is and isnt fake news outside of common sense is a slippery slope however disinfomation is becoming more and more convincing, it should be closely monitored and actively disproven to

No. Filtering 'fake news' opens the way for a corrupt politician to manipulate the news to fit their narrative.

No, but a similar system to community notes on Twitter should be implemented, information on who and where info was posted should be made clear.

i think they should be regulated , but not by the government as they can influence what is true and what is false

Yes, but there should be independent oversight to prevent the government from over exerting its control over social media sites.

No, but the government should provide the state with better media literacy education to better identify what is and isn’t fake news

No, not in totality, but the government should have the power to prosecute creators of AI-generated deepfake content

No, but media literacy should be a mandatory subject in the education system to allow people to decode the information better

There should be more laws in place for social media regulation but I don't believe the government should have sole control over it

In between, government shouldn’t determine what’s real or fake unless it has huge importance to an issue or how the public take the news but there should be some relegation on certain kinds of information being spread

No, regulation should come from an independent third party organisation, otherwise anything could be censored

I think all media and nee should be regulated for what the post, I don’t think the government should do it though

Social media should have stricter regulations and should be peer reviewed before being posted, but no government should be able to dictate what is fake and what is not completely.

Social media needs to be controlled in a way I don’t think the government should be responsible for it because that could pose issues with control but there definitely needs to be regulation

The government already have RTE to spread FF/FG propaganda, we don’t need them taking over everything

Social media sites should be regulated to stop fake news and misinformation, but perhaps by an external body rather than directly by the government.

They should enter the conversation - but not control it. With the exception of fake news which contravenes the law - is racist, incites violence etc

social media companies are their own private agencies but the government should engage more online as a reliable source of news to avoid disinformation

I believe something should be done but dont k ow if it should be up to the government to decied as they ca spin the news as they want

Yes, but external regulation is also needed, I do not trust the government not to also spread misinformation

Regulation of social media companies should be centred around their energy and data usage, not around the content of their applications.

The government is one of the main distributors of misinformation and fake news. Rte constantly cherry picks and promotes false narratives. They should be held accountable along with all other msm networks

Social media companies should responsible for moderating their news, and be held accountable for misinformation and it’s consequences.

No, social media should not be regulated by the government, but the government could use social media to inform its residents and citizens if what is fake and what is real

Social media companies should be subject to managing misinformation and disinformation but from a separate body than the government. Social media and AI regulated under similar regulations

No, but support funding for public service announcements etc where fake news could be debunked with investigative journalism and evidence of research

Only if it’s reported as fake news and the government could still twist the narrative of social media

They should remove any fake news that have no credible evidence but if they regulate everything then free speech should be removed

The government should put the pressure onto the social media company’s to enforce stricter regulations

Yes, but it should be highly regulated, only news that is guaranteed as fake and is harmful to society should be banned, and not just news and information that goes against the the current consensus and beliefs so as to allow for space for change.

No the government shouldn’t regulate it however there should be independent audits to ensure no fake news

I believe social media companies need to regulate fake news certainly not government parties as they stand to gain too much power depending on their agenda

Yes, but only in regards to fake information that endangers public health and safety (eg. conspiracies about COVID-19).

Social Media companies act as a Speakers Corner, let any tosspot with two cents to throw allow them to do so. People with a larger following need to be under more scrutiny and social media companies are wising up to that like Twitter with "Community Notes" which are fact checked by independent agencies ensuring accurate information

Allow a neutral body to do so rather than a politically motivated government or profit motivated corporation

I do believe there needs to be regulations to reduce the spead of misinformation, however I do not believe the government should decide what is or is not misinformation

The government should be on its own regulate social media companies but also it cannot be left up to the companies themselves. Therefore, it should be a coordinated approach across the EU or broader or another independent assessor.

No, but probably need legislation to regulate social media and protect user's right

I believe government censorship or intervention with media is a dangerous game and infringes on people’s right to privacy and right to freedom of speech, what needs to be done is a reformation of education system include classes on media literacy and fact checking, critical thinking is very important.

A person publishing slander in social media is to be responsible, not the media itself. In case of just expressing an opinion, all opinions should be allowed.

i think that the government stating whether or not something is fake news could be exploited by politicians to ensure nobody says anything bad about them.

fake news and misinformation is always going to be present, no matter if the government attempts to regulate it or not, possible hate speech laws could combat this but also it’s a huge grey area, regulation isn’t really a fix to fake news though

Have very little belief this could be defined properly by anyone in Irish politics

No, but international authorities should be the ones to regulate social media

No, the government are the main suppliers of fake news.

No, because it would be a risk if the government does not have the public interest at heart. So yes if there exists a solution that avoids the risk of censorship on the wrong people. More political education and anti capitalism anyway.

No, but they should ensure that social media companies are adhering to their regulations surrounding the spreading of fake news

No, I do think there needs to be more regulation around fake news on social media, but don't trust our government to do it properly.

No political based news

No, fact checkers should be allowed to scrutinise narratives with their political leaning publicly displayed

No but social media should display fact checking from popular fact checkers from left, right, and independent bodies.

Regulations are necessary but all information regarding everything that gets flagged should be made public each quarter by law

Yes but must publicly announce what it is that they mean to regulate

Regulation of fake news by the government is a good idea, but could then lean dangerously close to the route of censoring if given too much power

Yes, a regulator should be appointed

Misinformation spread by US Jewish/Israeli lobbying groups and greedy foreign corporate interests with interests in destroying Irish democracy need to be watched very carefully.

No, the government should not determine what is fake and real but intentional misinformation should be an offence to which both the account and platform should be liable.

No, as it would set a dangerous precedent. Instead, users should be simply informed and advised to be cautious.

Yes, the government should be able to delete and ban certain things off of the internet

Yes, to prevent the gathering and abuse of personal data and also to uphold freedom of expression

How can social media platforms balance the need to stop harmful content without silencing free speech?

Do you think social media companies have the power to shape political and social opinions through content regulation?

Have you ever shared or come across content online that was later taken down? How did that affect your trust in the platform?

Should individuals be allowed to decide for themselves what information is true or false, or should authorities step in?

Better education to help more at risk individuals understand the difference and the risk of misinformation

Have you ever witnessed or experienced online content being removed or censored, and how did it make you feel?

no, government should not have control over information released by social media sites, this is a form of censorship. However, the government should provide information on how to interpret information.

Do you think fake news is such a serious issue that governments should regulate what gets posted online?

How do you feel about governments deciding what kind of content should be removed from social media platforms?

there should be more regulation just not full control

An independent fact checker should regulate

If there is evidence of fake news, make it known to those reading it.

When social media companies censor content, do you think they are protecting users or limiting free expression?

Do you think the threat of major fines encourages companies to act responsibly, or does it make them overly cautious?