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Under the First Amendment there is no such thing as a false idea. However pernicious an opinion may seem, we depend for its correction not on the conscience of judges and juries but on the competition of other ideas. But there is no constitutional value in false statements of fact. Neither the intentional lie nor the careless error materially advances society's interest in "uninhibited, robust, and wide-open" debate on public issues.
The author here presents his essay as a “theory” and calls for bringing down a “system of non-democratic governance” if such system is found to really exist. There is a constitutional privilege for statements of opinion. Gertz v. Welch, 418 U.S. 323. See also, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U. S. 254 (1964), which would apply here to rule out a claim for libel.
New York Times applied to public officials but the Supreme Court extended the protection against libel to include discussions of public figures. See Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts and its companion, Associated Press v. Walker, 388 U. S. 130, 162 (1967). The well-known billionaire philanthropist in our question qualifies as a public figure.
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