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Stop Electronic Amplification Of Lies, David L. Sloss

Saint Louis University Law Journal

American democracy is in trouble. According to Freedom House, “the United States’ aggregate Freedom in the World score has declined by 11 points,” from 94 to 83, between 2010 and 2020. The Economist downgraded the United States from a “full democracy” to a “flawed democracy” in 2016. Leading scholars who have studied democratic decay in other countries warn that “the guardrails of American democracy are weakening.”

Several factors have contributed to the erosion of democratic norms and institutions in the United States. The electronic amplification of lies and misinformation is a major contributing factor. The term “electronic amplification,” as used …