Is it part of our rights as humans to say whatever we want without government interference?
OR does that right allow the press to influence the public with misinformation that is altogether damaging to its people?
I say "yes" but not in a way of directly limiting free speech but more in terms of making a law that prohibits any source of "news" from labeling itself as such as long as it's broadcast as an entertainment source to dodge certain laws and regulations... Looking at you Fox. Mind you it won't stop folks like Alex Jones but it would hold the screws on major news organizations like we once had in the U.S.
Hearing/reading fake news and views we don't like are the price of freedom. People are responsible for deciding for themselves what they will believe and what they will do with the information they receive.
The "media", meaning published materials detailing the lives (accomplishments or atrocities) of others, and how those details affect society needs to be regulated only so far as slander is concerned - If what you publish harms someone, then it better be truthful .. if it is not, then you should be susceptible to lawsuit and censure. If what you publish IS the truth, but it harms someone, then does it's exposure benefit society in some way (is there a public benefit)? If not, then you should be subject to lawsuit and censure (so you would then have to prove that benefit). If what you publish is a lie, is false, or even partially false, then everyone it harms should be entitled to sue you (so long as they can prove its false-ness and the related harm). This puts a higher burden on the publisher to guarantee truthfulness in their articles - or at least to clearly state that the article is NOT the truth. In this way, it would be easy to stop "fake news" .. publishers like "Fox News" would be put out of business because so much of what they publish is easily provably false (in a court of law). This also protects the rights of the publisher to produce truthful and beneficial articles, and the rights of the citizens to hear the truth and not be subjected to institutional lies (especially those originating in government).
I would go further, and state that I consider politicians as a type of "publisher" due to the simple fact that everything they say IS inherently 'published' - and therefore believe a politician SHOULD be held accountable by those he harms in our court systems. If this were held, then 66 million Americans could sue the Dandy (and the GOP) for all his lies.
The right to freedom is the right to free speech but it has gotten out of control. What is claimed as fake news isn't always the case which we now know thru our ignorant and dysfunctional chief in charge and what needs to claimed as fake, isn't. This country wasn't founded on freedom of speech as we well know what happened to the American Indians. Media will twist things and people will continue to be gullible. There is no getting around that. People need to seek out the truth before spreading more misinformation onto others.
I'm in favor of free speech and reporting of facts. When it's only opinion, it should be stated so. Misinformation is no more than propaganda.
The answer to misinformation affecting the public is not to limit free speech but to expose the misinformation whenever it is presented and encourage education. That's easy to say, I know, but the fact is nobody wants to be wrong and moreover nobody wants to be exposed as being wrong. the truth must win out in the battle of ideas with evidence and facts.
We the people are the source of power and the higher authority that the government and the press answer to. We need to remember that fact and learn to assert ourselves. The government has done a brilliant job of seizing power because capital collects and we have allowed our government to be bought generation after generation. Government is a tool that has gotten out of control. So are the established media outlets. We should not let either of them control the other and must learn to control them both.
I don’t know how, but I know this is the most important question of our lifetime. As a veteran, I support the right to bear arms (with tons of regulations on it), but I know some real gun nuts and this is something I try to explain to them often. The purpose of the 2nd amendment is not to defend us against tyranny. It doesn’t matter what weapons you own, the best you can do is bring a machine gun or assault rifle to a drone or tank fight. Our defense from tyranny is only the 1st amendment. We must find a way of communicating the truth to everyone, but especially our soldiers. That is how we keep the tanks and drones pointed in the right direction. We need independent media and we need to get the money out of politics. This is the existential crisis of our time and giving the government more control of our press is a forfeit of our last weapon.