Democracy and disinformation in and after pandemic (original) (raw)

People today may think of themselves as the ultimate apex predator. We are more intelligent than most other creatures on earth and we create proper tools that help us to kill our prey. However Covid-19 shows how humans can also end up as prey. It is becoming clear just how much viruses have shaped the evolution of organisms since the very beginning of every life. In this, they demonstrate the invisible, merciless capability of natural selection at its most powerful way. And-for one group of brainy bipedal mammals that viruses helped create-they also present a heady mix of threat and opportunity. Covid-19, just like war, is forcing innovation and actions on a scale and at a pace that no government would normally contemplate. It turned out that influx of internal State actions against pandemic situation generated phenomenon that helps some leaders to prey on democracy of their states. On April 13th, during a discussion about when and how America should ease covid-19 lockdowns, Donald Trump claimed that "when somebody is the president of the United States" their "authority is total. 1 " No serious legal scholar agreed with him-America's constitution is admirably clear on the limits to presidential authority 23. More powerful effect of eroding democracy appeared in Hungary where colloquially saying when coronavirus pandemic hit, Budapest's ailing democracy proved all too vulnerable. As it was reported at the end of the March the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban won the right to rule by decree for as long as he deems fit. Emergency legislation to battle Covid-19 has turned an EU democracy into something like a dictatorship 4. Dubbed the "omnipotence law" by opponents, the bill approved on Monday diminishes parliament's checks on executive power and makes it easy to jail journalists for doing their jobs, according to opposition parties and rights groups 5. The COVID-19 crisis has added a new layer to the crackdown on media freedom in Turkey with journalists being targeted across the country under the guise of combating misinformation, said Amnesty International ahead of World Press Freedom Day 6 .As Milena Buyum from AI twitted "Journalists reporting on COVID-19 or even posting on social media, fear they may join the swathes of Turkey's independent media workers currently languishing behind bars. 7 " In Turkey at least eight journalists have been arrested on charges of "spreading misinformation". Hundreds of others have been investigated for critical posts on social media 8. On March 25, Bolivian interim President Jeanine Añez signed a decree extending