John Kerry Calls First Amendment 'Big Block' to Stop 'Disinformation'

John Kerry called the First Amendment a “big block” to combat misinformation and fight climate change.

The former foreign minister took part in a World Economic Forum panel discussion on green energy on Wednesday. Towards the end of the panel discussion, a member of the audience asked what could be done to combat climate change disinformation online.

“You know there's a lot of discussion going on right now about how do you rein in these companies to make sure that you have some accountability for facts and so on. But look, if people only go to one source, and the source they go to is sick and, you know, has an agenda and is spreading disinformation, our First Amendment presents a huge obstacle to just, You know, getting rid of it,” Kerry said.

John Kerry responded to a question about online misinformation about climate change. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

He continued: “So what we need is to gain ground, the right to govern, by hopefully winning enough votes so that we have the freedom to implement change.”

JOHN KERRY has been prosecuted for claiming people would “feel better” about the war in Ukraine if Russia cut emissions

Kerry also pointed out that this is a problem that only occurs in democracies.

“The dislike and fear of social media is growing and growing. It is part of our problem, especially in democracies, when it comes to reaching consensus on any issue. It's really hard to govern these days. We used to have to be the arbiters.” “What is a fact and what is not a fact has been eroded to a certain extent, and people decide for themselves where they get their news and information. And then they get into a vicious circle,” Kerry said.

In another comment, Kerry noted, “Democracies around the world are currently struggling with the lack of some sort of arbiter of truth, and there is no one to define what facts really are.”

Kerry spoke about democracies struggling to adapt to climate change because of misinformation. (AP Photo/Gustavo Moreno)

He added: “If we could remove some of the fearmongering that's going on right now and focus on the reality of what people are facing, then that is the greatest economic opportunity.”

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Kerry stressed throughout the panel the importance of electing the right people in November who will properly address the climate crisis.

“I think democracies are facing major challenges right now and have not proven that they can be fast enough and big enough to meet the challenges they face, and to me that is part of what this election is about goes. “Are we going to break the fever in the United States?”

John Kerry resigned as President Biden's special climate envoy earlier this year. (Foreign Press Center)

Kerry previously served as special presidential envoy for climate under the Biden administration. He resigned from his position at the beginning of the year.

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