AN ASSESSMENT OF THE LEGALITY OF FAKE NEWS WITHIN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA -- WITH SPECIFIC REGARD TO ITS INFLUENCE ON THE POLITICAL CLIMATE.

This article aims to investigate whether the law and regulation provided by the government is sufficient in tackling the increasing issue of fake news (FN) ''a false story that appears to be news, usually created to influence political views''.2 An examination on whether increased regulation would restrict the United Kingdom's tradition of a free, investigative press, will be comparatively analysed to serve a contrast in perspectives to the laxer attitudes of the American media system. With the rapid evolution of technology, the radical influence FN has on the political climate will likely increase. A 2015 poll showed that 41% of Americans still erroneously believed that active weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq,3 but it has been proven that none ever existed.4 This worrying statistic demonstrates the influence that the media maintains over the public. Examination of regulations, laws and ethical arguments will determine whether there is a practical and reasonable solution to this epidemic, and if the government should be putting more effort in to address it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]