Dear Editor,

I am the parent of a son who is 15 years old. My son is very intelligent and finished at the top of his class in prep school. I am pleased that this trend has continued during his high school years.

However, I must admit that I have been perturbed for a while by the number of instances in which I’ve had to inform him that the information contained in videos he has seen on YouTube, which are posted by bloggers or so-called vloggers, are totally untrue.

Recently, my son called to my attention a video which alleged that the Government was paving the way for the “gay agenda” in schools and paedophilia to legally infiltrate Jamaican society and laws have been taken to Parliament to concretise the move. The offending YouTuber posted artificial intelligence-generated news articles to support the narrative.

My son is being raised in a conventional Christian home. He already understands that buggery is illegal in Jamaica, but there are calls across the world for tolerance of the personal choices of adults in respect of what transpires in a bedroom. However, he was disturbed that his Government would move in the direction, falsely suggested by the YouTuber, of imposing this lifestyle on the upcoming generation. He was even more aghast and stunned at the false notion being promoted by the YouTuber that paedophilia could be legalised in Jamaica.

I had to assure my son that no such moves have been made and the entire ostensibly convincing YouTube video posted by the vlogger was false. This is one of several examples when I’ve had to intervene to correct my son who was at risk of believing fake news from people who appear to post without concern for the truth in an effort to monetise controversial content.

I recently read an article online which noted that fake news can reduce the impact of real news. The article noted that a BuzzFeed news analysis found that the top fake news stories about the 2016 US Presidential Election received more engagement on Facebook than top stories from major media outlets.

I hear concerns about freedom of speech and constitutional rights following comments made recently by Prime Minister Andrew Holness about the prevalence of fake news and the need for regulation of the emerging industry, which is centred around damaging disinformation.

However, I am strongly of the view that in a world in which fake news and disinformation have the potential to undermine trust in serious media coverage and the truth, Government intervention is required to legislate against those who knowingly mislead on key issues and often cause significant disturbance and dislocation among vulnerable and undiscerning sections of the population.

Tanya Hylton

tanya.hylton01@yahoo.com