Supreme Court’s exasperation against hate speech is just the tip of the iceberg

As lines between hate speech and free speech become blurred, it will become difficult for the public to differentiate between the reliable and the fake, thus seriously hampering public discourse and meaningful debate.

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ON Friday, a division bench of the Supreme Court directed police and other authorities, responsible for public order, to immediately and suo motu register cases against hate speech makers without waiting for a complaint to be filed.   While the bench's exasperation over the climate of hate prevailing in the country should hopefully have some effect, one wonders whether it is dealing with a mere symptom of a problem that runs much deeper. 

The turn of the decade seems to have brought with it a monstrosity in the form of fake news. The issue has become further complicated with over-simplistic and reductionist views. The absence of consensus owing to the prevalence of several competing terminologies and definitions has allowed for easy percolation of the problem. While experts muddle over the theory, the behemoth roams freely, weakening the hold of democracy. 

The internet revolution inspired new interpretations of the freedom of speech and expression; it has also begun to birth the insidious ability to alter, bend and mislead facts, and even culminate hatred and vengefulness. With the help of the internet, the public sphere has, in recent years, observed amplified citizen discourse. For a long time, the media facilitated this dialogue, as it does in any well-functioning democracy, but the public sphere has now become a breeding ground for misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and hate.