Turkey will impose up to 3 years in prison for citizens who spread 'fake news'

The Turkish parliament this week passed a law that could see reporters and social media users thrown into prison for up to three years in the event that they propagate what the government deems "fake news." 

The measure was put forth by Turkish President Recep Erdogan's Justice and Development Party. It received widespread opposition from numerous other major parties in Turkey's Grand National Assembly. 

Burak Erbay, a member of the opposition Republican People's Party, said in an address that younger Turks throughout the country "have only one freedom left -- the phone in your pocket. There's Instagram, YouTube, Facebook. You communicate there."

"If the law here passes in parliament, you can break your phone like this," he shouted, smashing his phone with a tack hammer. 

The Council of Europe, a continental human-rights watchdog, meanwhile, had earlier warned against the measure, and upon its passage said that it could produce a "chilling effect and increased self-censorship, not least in view of the upcoming elections" next June.