May 22, 2023 Issue

“Our political arena is filled with lies, but few liars are held to account.” I like the hardboiled way that’s put. It’s from Jeannie Suk Gersen’s “Reckless Disregard,” in this week’s issue. But I’m not sure Gersen wrote it. It’s a tagline. What Gersen wrote is “Our political culture is now strewn with lies; the Washington Post fecklessly awards Pinocchios, but few liars are truly held to account.” I prefer the tagline; it’s pithier. Gersen’s piece is about the “actual malice” standard in American libel law formulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in New York Times v. Sullivan Does it set the bar too high? Gersen says yes: “The case effectively permits the publication of negligently false statements about public figures, very broadly defined, in the name of protecting the debate and criticism needed to make a democracy work.” She calls for a “recalibration” of the Sullivan standard. But she doesn’t say what that recalibration would look like. How about reducing the “actual malice” test to one of negligence? That’s my suggestion. But right-wingers aren’t going to agree with that. Their favourite media outlets would be in hot water immediately.