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19P 17 '87 16:19 TIBCOOL) HK GOVT
P.18
eged vagueness of false news' 'public alarmi etc.
Another criticism of the clause is that terms and
concepts such as 'false news' and 'public alarm' are
insufficiently clear and well-defined to be an adequate guide for
the press as to what they can and cannot do.
2.
I am bound to say that in relation to the term 'false news' I find that a surprising argument. I thought that journalists spent most of their lives trying to get at the truth and then cross-checking to make sure they have got it.* And the difference between what is true and what is not is crucial in several areas of the Law. For example, in the civil law of
defamation... the falseness of the libel is crucial If the defence can prove the truth of what they published they will win the case Yet I have never heard it suggested that that la an unworkable law, Here, of course, the defendant will not have to prove the truth of the publication all he will have to do is cast reasonable doubt on the prosecution's allegation/the news is
Hat
false.
#C.P. Scott, the famous editor of the Manchester Guardim, as ié then was, some years ago, once said 'Comment is free, but fact 18
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