The “free speech” facade fronting political censorship
4 days, 16 hours ago

The “free speech” facade fronting political censorship

Salon  

As adjectives go, “Orwellian” tends to be prematurely invoked — and hyperbolically, if often in good faith. “I’ve stopped all government censorship and I’ve brought back free speech in America,” he declared from the dais. It doesn’t, of course, because Trump’s commitment to “free speech” has long been fraudulent doublespeak, to borrow once more from Orwell, even as the media frequently indulges that framing. He’s fired!’” Leaving aside the substance of Kaepernick’s grievance, as a “free speech” issue, it always seemed pretty cut-and-dry. The more censorship that’s pursued by his administration, the louder that boasts about “free speech” will need to persist.

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History of this topic

Trump campaigned as a protector of free speech. Critics say his actions as president threaten it
1 week, 3 days ago

Trump campaigned as a protector of free speech. Critics say his actions as president threaten it

Associated Press  

DENVER — When President Donald Trump gave his joint address to Congress last week, he boasted that in his first few weeks back in the White House he had “brought free speech back to America.” But First Amendment advocates say they’ve never seen freedom of speech under attack the way it has been in Trump’s second term. Trump’s Republican administration …

Trump campaigned as a protector of free speech. Critics say his actions as president threaten it
1 week, 3 days ago

Trump campaigned as a protector of free speech. Critics say his actions as president threaten it

LA Times  

When President Trump gave his joint address to Congress last week, he boasted that in his first few weeks back in the White House he had “brought free speech back to America.” But 1st Amendment advocates say they’ve never seen freedom of speech under attack the way it has been in Trump’s second term. Trump’s Republican administration has threatened Democratic …

‘Only in a dictatorship’: Trump slammed for latest effort to ‘chill free speech’
2 weeks, 3 days ago

‘Only in a dictatorship’: Trump slammed for latest effort to ‘chill free speech’

Raw Story  

Hours before delivering his first address to a joint session of Congress in his second term, President Donald Trump issued what some legal experts quickly condemned as an attack on the First Amendment—a statement threatening imprisonment or deportation for certain forms of campus protest. Thank you for your attention to this matter.” Legal experts and historians swiftly condemned Trump’s threats, …

'Piling on him!' CNN sees Musk's own fans slam him after latest comments
1 month ago

'Piling on him!' CNN sees Musk's own fans slam him after latest comments

Raw Story  

Elon Musk, who called himself a "free speech warrior" when he first bought Twitter and renamed it X, is getting blowback from his own fans after calling 60 Minutes journalists "the biggest liars in the world" who "deserve a long prison sentence." CNN's John Berman introduced chief media analyst Brian Stelter Tuesday, saying, "It's interesting because he's saying this at …

Trump talks ‘free speech’ while moving to muzzle those he disagrees with
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Trump talks ‘free speech’ while moving to muzzle those he disagrees with

LA Times  

President Trump speaks to reporters after signing a series of executive orders in the Oval Office on Thursday. The order accused the outgoing Biden administration of harassing social media companies and violating the rights of average Americans “under the guise” of combating disinformation online, and said federal resources would no longer be used to “unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of …

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta makeover: MAGA grandpa is about to get much worse
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta makeover: MAGA grandpa is about to get much worse

Salon  

In part because of his goofy appearance and in part because he doesn't engage in fascist trolling like fellow billionaire Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg is rarely seen as a sinister character in modern American life. Zuckerberg insisted it's in the name of "free speech" that he must unleash uncontrolled disinformation on his platform, adding, "The recent elections also feel like …

Donald Trump’s retribution will begin with a restriction of free speech
5 months, 1 week ago

Donald Trump’s retribution will begin with a restriction of free speech

Salon  

Ever since Donald Trump arrived on the national political scene in 2015, he has displayed a perplexing and troubling attitude toward freedom of speech. In October of that year at a rally in Ohio, he asked his audience “Do you want free speech?” and responded to their enthusiastic applause, “You’ll have it.” The 2016 Republican platform that Trump helped fashion …

ANDREW NEIL: Free speech is under threat as never before in the world's democracies. If we lose it, we won't easily get it back
6 months, 2 weeks ago

ANDREW NEIL: Free speech is under threat as never before in the world's democracies. If we lose it, we won't easily get it back

Daily Mail  

We live in an age of authoritarians who have not only halted, so far, the spread of democracy in the 21st century but whose totalitarian methods and attitudes are now infecting and undermining the democracies themselves, especially when it comes to that most valuable of all rights – free speech. Last month, a Hong Kong court convicted two editors of …

Elon Musk’s free speech mantra collides with crackdowns on hate speech and disinformation
7 months, 1 week ago

Elon Musk’s free speech mantra collides with crackdowns on hate speech and disinformation

Hindustan Times  

Elon Musk’s absolutist version of free speech has thrown the world’s richest man and his X social-media platform into the crosshairs of governments worldwide. Any attempt to rein in social-media expression runs headlong into Musk’s hands-off approach to user posts, a “free speech” pledge that he defends ardently on the website formerly known as Twitter, which he acquired for $44 …

Free speech in the age of rage!
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Free speech in the age of rage!

Times of India  

Aditi Maheshwari is a freelance writer, and has been a student of Economics, Advertising, Marketing, Psychology and also of the Institute Of Company Secretaries Of India. Free speech in the age of rage is messy, it’s uncomfortable, and sometimes, it’s downright ugly. Free speech, when wielded responsibly, becomes Ariadne’s thread, a tool to navigate this treacherous path. In an age …

As a new generation rises, tension between free speech and inclusivity on college campuses simmers
1 year, 2 months ago

As a new generation rises, tension between free speech and inclusivity on college campuses simmers

The Independent  

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “We believe in a diverse set of thoughts,” says Kaleb Autman, a …

Bill Maher calls Elon Musk "a likable guy" in exclusive "Real Time" interview
1 year, 10 months ago

Bill Maher calls Elon Musk "a likable guy" in exclusive "Real Time" interview

Salon  

Elon Musk, the world's second-richest billionaire who has spent the last few weeks exploding rockets and morphing Twitter into an unusable hellscape, made a special appearance on Friday's episode of "Real Time with Bill Maher." "I think technology is the thing that causes these big step changes in civilization," Musk said, going into a monologue about the Gutenberg press, the …

Opinion: College campus hecklers, your disruptions don’t count as free speech
1 year, 11 months ago

Opinion: College campus hecklers, your disruptions don’t count as free speech

LA Times  

Stanford University is among the campuses that recently confronted conflicts around free speech. America is experiencing two disturbing simultaneous trends: the rise of mob censorship to shut down speaking events on college campuses, and an attempt to justify it as merely the exercise of “more speech.” At SUNY Albany last week, protesters stormed an event, formed an improvised conga line …

The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard verdict: A victory for the war on free speech
2 years, 9 months ago

The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard verdict: A victory for the war on free speech

Salon  

On its surface, the verdict in the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trials makes no rational sense. This law was justified with disingenuous "free speech" arguments, with Republicans waxing poetic about free exchange and the supposed dangers of "cancel culture." The vast majority of what gets decried as "cancel culture" is not actual censorship, but anger at people on the …

Elon Musk explains free speech, anti-censorship views on Twitter
2 years, 10 months ago

Elon Musk explains free speech, anti-censorship views on Twitter

The Hindu  

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is pursuing a bid to buy Twitter, took to the platform on Tuesday to expand on what he means by free speech. — Elon Musk April 26, 2022 “If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect. His remarks came soon after he tweeted that “The extreme antibody reaction …

Elon Musk explains what he means by free speech, hints at less censorship on Twitter
2 years, 10 months ago

Elon Musk explains what he means by free speech, hints at less censorship on Twitter

India Today  

You must be reading and hearing this word more than ever now, thanks to Elon Musk, who recently bought Twitter because he felt the microblogging platform does not promote free speech. So, for them, Musk has come up with a clarification on what he means by the word “free speech.” “By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the …

Incitement, not censorship: Why Donald Trump’s suspension from Twitter is not a “free speech” issue
4 years, 2 months ago

Incitement, not censorship: Why Donald Trump’s suspension from Twitter is not a “free speech” issue

ABC  

I have spent a good deal of my professional life examining the nature and limits of free speech, and the regulation of harmful speech. Since his defeat in last year’s US presidential election, Donald Trump has used social media to spread rumours concerning wide-spread voter fraud, promulgate wild conspiracy theories, and inflame hostility on the part of his followers — …

Trump's First Amendment: Regulate YouTube, but never coal mines!
5 years, 9 months ago

Trump's First Amendment: Regulate YouTube, but never coal mines!

Salon  

Unusual times demand unusual measures. Apparently, clean tap water and formerly scenic vistas aren’t priorities for red state, coal country voters who would rather add cancer clusters and horrendous birth defects to the list of tragedies that go along with their disappearing coal jobs. A 2011 study in the Environmental Research journal discovered an increased risk for “six out of …

Opinion: Trump overpromises and fails to deliver yet again — this time on campus free speech
6 years ago

Opinion: Trump overpromises and fails to deliver yet again — this time on campus free speech

LA Times  

Earlier this month, President Trump told the Conservative Political Action Conference that he would sign an executive order “requiring colleges and universities to support free speech if they want federal research dollars.” Even if you worry about threats to free speech on campus — as the Los Angeles Times editorial board does — there was something ominous about Trump’s pledge. …

Ingraham returns to work, complains about censorship
6 years, 11 months ago

Ingraham returns to work, complains about censorship

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingraham returned to work with defiance Monday, denouncing a “Stalinist” effort by liberals to stifle the free speech of conservatives and promising to make fighting it her new cause. Ingraham even played a video clip of Bill Maher saying some liberals have defended free speech; Maher last week came out against a boycott …

Defend Donald Trump’s right to free speech (Opinion)
9 years ago

Defend Donald Trump’s right to free speech (Opinion)

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Marc J. Randazza is a Las Vegas-based First Amendment attorney and managing partner of the Randazza Legal Group. Story highlights Marc Randazza says Trump, who has talked about curtailing First Amendment protections, deserves the right to speak freely When political rallies are canceled for security reasons, no one should celebrate, he says Randazza: We need to protect the …

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