David Kaye’s Open Lecture Fake News: International Human Rights Law Framework

Dear students and colleagues,We invite you to the lecture of David Kaye, Professor of Law at the University of California, Irvine, and UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, held on 27 April at 19:00 at the School of Communications, Media and Design, HSE (Moscow). At the lecture, “fake news” will be considered in the context of the international human rights law.

Because in the “post-truth” era everyone can become a newsmaker, fake news has been an urgent problem. Social media allows the fast proliferation of fakes. Unfortunately, the audience and even media professionals often lacks media literacy to distinguish fake news from the truth. Professional media platforms may not only use unverified information from unreliable sources but also amplify its dissemination. This often results in inadequate media agenda and human rights violations.  

Can we and should we fight fake news by legal means? How could we balance between the protection of the right to freedom of expression and other legitimate rights and freedoms as well as interests? Are content removals and website blocking admissible measures from the vision of the international legal standards? These and other issues will be considered at the lecture. 

The lecture will be held in English without translation. It is conducted within the course titled, Entertainment Law, that is taught by Elena Sherstoboeva, an Associate Professor of Media Department.

Address: 2/8 Khitrovsky per., build. 5, classroom 405

Please note that the guests who need passes to the School’s building may request them by emailing to Andrei Buryachenko ( aburyachenko@hse.ru ). They must also bring their IDs (passports) to enter the building.