| dc.description.abstract | In ancient times, war was wholly
militaristic and physical in nature, where troops
protected borders. However, at present war has
changed from physical space to virtual space.
Social media is the biggest platform utilized by
extremists, terrorists , profit and politically
motivated individuals to attain illegal motives.
Disinformation, misinformation, falsehoods,
online manipulations and hate speech have
become apex threats to Sri Lanka’s national
security. The research problem is the need to
criminalize online falsehoods. The research
methodology utilized is a non-doctrinal
research, which is also known as socio-legal
research. The rationale behind non-doctrinal
research is, to seek answers from a multidisciplinary
approach. The paper goes beyond
legal analysis and also looks from a national and
strategic security perspective. The research will
shed light on what are online falsehoods, Sri
Lanka’s experiences as a victim of online
falsehoods, laws relating to online falsehoods,
freedom of expression and the gaps, lacunae and
weaknesses prevalent in the laws curbing online
falsehoods. Further, the research will evaluate
the Singapore’s Protection from Online
Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019, for
purposes of comparative analysis. The Paper has
identified the necessity to introduce legislation
to criminalize online falsehoods.
Consequentially, the paper has provided a
plethora of recommendations on preventing and
mitigating online falsehoods. | en_US |
