Costas Cleanthous, businessman and Phileleftheros publisher, raised the issue of the limits of freedom of expression, saying that democratic free speech cannot be used as justification for defamation.

He also warned that misinformation undermined institutions and eroded social trust.

“Freedon of expression is the foundation of democratic society,” he said in a statement published in Phileleftheros. “But it cannot be transformed into an excuse for slander, the spread of false claims or the public condemning of people without evidence.”

He said that “misinformation does not only harm the people who are targeted,” but it “erodes trust in institutions, poisons public debate and, ultimately, weakens society itself.”

“Those who are in the public light, must be prepared to be judged. This is part of the responsibility that accompanies every public presence, and this is why I do not consider that the answer to misinformation could be personal confrontation.

“The issue is not criticism, but what is happening when slander is presented as the truth, suspicion as evidence and toxicity as public debate. Faced with this, neither silence nor private disagreement is adequate. We need to have the courage to say so publicly.”

Cleanthous felt duty-bound to speak out, he said in his statement. “It is my obligation to speak out, because the issue is related to the type of society we want to pass on to the next generations. A society in which truth is of greater value than impressions, fact have greater weight than rumours and institutions greater power than noise.”

He concluded: “Truth, accountability and responsibility cannot be the casualties of the digital age. This not the responsibility of the few, but the responsibility of all of us. Whoever sees what is happening, is obliged to speak. And those who keep quiet should know they are taking a positon.

“In the end, we are not only judged on what we have said, but also on what we have put up with.”