Tom Hayes: Do we have a right to truth?

The 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which we often describe as the right of the "Freedom of Speech" which also prohibits interference in religion or the media is being abused in pursuit of corporate profits. Remember how the Bill of Rights starts?

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Sounds good, right? We can't know exactly what the founding fathers had in mind with the 1^st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but we do know that misinformation distorts debates and delays progress. I've come across a story that explains a lot of the shameless prevarication we've seen from the Fox network over the past 6 years or so.

In brief, back in February 2003 a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting or falsifying the news in the United States.

"The court implied there was no restriction against distorting the truth. Technically, there was no violation of the news distortion because the FCC’s policy of news distortion does not have the weight of the law..."

Never, ever doubt that a commercial media outlet is driven by profit.

In Florida, the Court held that a threat by Jane Akre (part of a Fox “Investigators” team at WTVT in Tampa Bay) to report the station’s actions to the FCC did not deserve protection under Florida’s whistle blower statute, because Florida’s whistle blower law states that an employer must violate an adopted “law, rule, or regulation."

The decision reversed an earlier judgment against Fox.

We can't know what the founding fathers had in mind when they drafted the Bill of Rights but it seems unlikely that their intent was to protect the right to profit from untruths. They went so far as to include the oft-overlooked 9th Amendment:

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Of course, that raises the sticky question, "Do we have a right to the truth?" Apparently the Court in Florida feels Murdoch's right to profit from capitalism as he operates the Fox network is more fundamental - the Florida appeals court found in favor of corporate bottom lines even at the expense of accurate information. It might be worth exploring how they feel about "creative accounting." After all, they found that profit trumps truth.

Read more about this dangerous and disgraceful interpretation; if you share my indignation, spread the word.


Thomas Hayes is a political analyst, journalist, and entrepreneur who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics including economics, politics, culture, and community.