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

Both public and private involvement to regulate this is necessary to increase likelihood of fair and reasonable regulation over either sides political alignment

I can't trust the government to regulate social media, there is too high a chance they censor left wing news and views.

Yes, but give social media companies a chance to self regulate first.

Social media companies shpuld be fined

No, to protect free speech, but teach people about what is fake and real.

Yes but only to the extent of political, health and scientific news.

Only to the extent of political, health and scientific news.

No, this would be a breach of privacy

There needs to be some regulation but not by the government

No, the government needs to spend more on getting out the factual message

I think it should be regulated but not just over fake news, bullying & hate speech seems to be a more important target. There should also be age restrictions in place as so much of these issues seem to stem from teenager - young adult age groups

More regulation needs to be done on the internet as a whole, we could look at utilising technology to create an AI that is able to verify information, references, sources et certra and provide a score on the validity of the website, article, information et cetra so people could make more informed decisions.

No the government should improve education levels and promote positive reporting of news by media outlets

Hold them legally responsible and they will regulate themselves.

People shouldnt be gullible nimrods. There is not one unbiased news program in Australia making it impossible to get balanced views like myself

Neither I don’t trust social media or believe all the information the government provides us is correct

This is a difficult question that requires nuance

Not necessarily regulate per say but at least hold the social media sites accountable for any misinformation, especially if they go viral

No, but an independent unbiased body should stop the spread of Fake news and Misinformation.

No, but there should be funding put towards fact checking sites and information hubs to help citizens easily identify misinformation

No, though the algorithm that continually feeds the same content (click bait) should be banned, so users are exposed to all information not just one that feeds the same narrative (bias)

The government should make it illegal for social media companies to remove news that the company doesn’t agree with only removing illegal activity

There should be legislation that holds social media companies accountable if harmful misinformation is spread

No, but they should put in place something to make sure that the social media companies make sure there is no fake news

Social media should be regulated the same as television, radio and advertising. Anything blatantly false or defamatory should be removed and the platform should be fined

Yes, but the government should have an external independent organisation regulate and prevent fake news and misinformation.

No, the government should not determine what is fake or real news & No, social media companies are private and should not be regulated by the government.

Somewhat yes.

Web platforms should be required to fact check and declare results for any high reach content.

No, but social media companies should be monitored by social conscience.

Lying should be made illegal at a news & media level

No, the government should not determine what is fake or real news but an independant body should be set up to regulate social media sites and fake news/misinformation.

Yes, but only if they also regulate traditional media outlets

No, but it should be regulated through independent, non-partisan third parties

No, the government should not determine what is fake or real news. Social media companies also should not determine what is fake or real news.

No, but social media sites and all news outlets should be regulated by an NGO

Social media sites should regulate the posts that are on their sites.

Government action should only be taken if the fake news or misinformation in question is becoming influential across a significant majority. Often, fake news is debunked online quickly by audiences anyway, so mass government intervention is unnecessary.

these processes need to be in place, but they should be undertaken by an independent organization.

Yes, but the government should make companies liable to self-regulation

If they do then the need to do the same to msm too

No, but an opinion or fact note could be made to reduce misinformation

No, because the controlling government could use it to push out opposition truths

they should confirm what is fake or real news

i don’t care

Companies should be required to police this

Yes, however, the government should hire an independent group to do the regulating so that political interference is not involved.

Yes, social media needs to be screened for fake news, however this would need to be carried out by an external agency or body that has no political ties, the same way the judicial system is separated from government

Yes, social media companies are politically biased and need to be regulated, however the same applies for government-backed institutions