Fake News and Freedom of Expression: An Iranian Perspective

After a brief description of what fake news is and how it has been developed historically, we have claimed that fake news as we know it is generally a social media phenomenon. Despite the fact that Iran is considered a developing country, and not still a developed one, one might think Iran is less likely to fall prey of complicated fake news industry that negatively affect prosperous and affluent countries. But the vice versa is correct. Doing an extensive survey on previous research on fake news in Iran, we have shown how fake news will hinder unprecedented facilities for freedom of expression and even will make people contemplate giving up their freedom of expression in order to avoid or get rid of fake news. A naï􀇅ve view could see a bright future for unbiased and disinterested news gathering and publishing, but research has shown in a totally unregulated media sphere, it is fake news that is more radially available and more quickly becoming viral.