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Originally Posted by pjp
Isn’t it illegal to print something that is false?
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Not in the US.
If someone publishes a false statement about a private individual and the statement defames that person, the person
may have a cuase of action against the publisher for money. However, the government doesn't have the power to prohibit a statement as simply untrue.*
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*There are some WWI era acts pertaining to security, and there are a web of restrictions developed for people within the WWII and post war security apparatus, but these are constitutionally limited and aren't general restrictions on the publication of false statements. The government's gripe against WikiLeaks, Assange and Manning isn't that they made false statements, but that what they published was real.