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  • Afterword

  • from Part V - Civil Society and Tackling Disinformation
  • Edited by Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr., University of Alabama, András Koltay, National University of Public Service (Hungary), Charlotte Garden, University of Minnesota
  • Book:
    Disinformation, Misinformation, and Democracy
    Published online:
    09 January 2025
    Print publication:
    23 January 2025, pp 399-414
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  • Summary

    In United States v. Alvarez, the US Supreme Court ruled that an official of a water district who introduced himself to his constituents by falsely stating in a public meeting that he had earned the Congressional Medal of Honor had a First Amendment right to make that demonstrably untrue claim. Audience members misled by the statement might well be considered to have a First Amendment interest in not being directly and knowingly lied to in that way. Other members of the community might be thought to have a First Amendment interest in public officials such as Xavier Alvarez telling the truth about their credentials and experiences. Nevertheless, as both the plurality and the concurring justices who together formed the majority in Alvarez viewed the case, it was the liar’s interest in saying what he wished that carried the day. Why is that? Crucial to answering this question is whether ‘the freedom of speech’ that the First Amendment tolerates ‘no law abridging’ is understood to be primarily speaker-centered, audience-centered, or society-centered.