I think it’s a fair question. I think it should apply to all media especially at the national level. Having worked in the new biz in DC, that city is filled with paid operatives posing as journalists.
The deep state is notorious for buying it’s influence. It’s should, by law, be made public knowledge. Just like PAC money and who is behind ad campaigns.
Here in Florida, we recently seen the blogosphere filling up with paid operatives.
The legislature is right to make hired hands disclose who is behind their work.
It’s fair. Speech is free....but paid for speech should be identified and disclosed
and identified just like who is paying for the political ad you just watched or listened to. It’s totally constitutional..
Fair question, but it’d lead X (the blogger) to disclose he’s paid $300 a month from a foundation located in Delaware. So you search for the foundation and find it’s just a mail-box...rented by a Company ‘Y’ centered out of Alberta, Canada. So you arrive there to find the company is another mailbox address...leading to some Greek isle which has 300 Russian millionaires who reside there but no firm idea about the true owner.
Worst case scenario...the blogger isn’t reporting the $300 a month as income to taxation. Beyond that...nothing much in terms of resolution.
And something people can and should do on their own.
A link to the bill...
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1316
Part related to this starts on page 5.
People should always trust but verify.
I neither need nor want the government to do that for me.
The government hardly has our best interests at heart, does it?
Especially if it’s encouraging us to allow the government to do our due diligence for us.
I’m pretty sure the 1A provides the right to a “free press” and says nothing about “unless paid”. You can be paid to do anonymous journalism. That doesn’t give the State the right to know anything about content creators. Making people “register” wreaks of intimidation. Of course, the State would *never* abuse the information right?
This is one of our most sacred rights. Which means I can’t be forced to “register”. That would be like the 2A, you can own a gun but must “register” it so the State knows who, and where, you are.
Nope.