By Jacob Mchangama The battle of the airwaves was vital for promoting freedom during the Cold War. Trump abandons it at our peril. On February 21, 1990, Václav Havel, the Czechoslovakian dissident turned president, received a rapturous welcome from a packed U.S. Congress. In his speech, Havel recalled that just months earlier he had been arrested by […]
By Prithvi Iyer Social media platforms have redefined communication by shifting the role of content curation from traditional editorial gatekeepers to largely algorithmic systems that reward content based on engagement metrics. Scholars have argued that algorithms optimized for engagement inadvertently reward content that elicits strong emotions, exacerbating polarization and, in some instances, amplifying disinformation. Platforms […]
By Abhishek Saha . . . Over the Christmas break, I read Free Speech: A Global History from Socrates to Social Media, Jacob Mchangama’s magnificent chronicle of free speech through the ages. What struck me most was how the debates we face today—about academic freedom, censorship, and the limits of expression—are far from new. The same […]
By Jacob Mchangama Last month, Vice President J.D. Vance lectured European leaders about their troubling retreat from free speech, calling their actions “shocking to American ears” and a threat to democracy itself. Yet new global survey data reveal a troubling incongruity in Vance’s own backyard: Despite boasting the world’s strongest constitutional protections, Americans’ support for free speech […]
By Jacob Mchangama How a cartoon crisis transformed a local debate into a global reckoning over censorship and religious sensitivities – one whose aftershocks continue to shape Western democracies two decades later In Sept. 30, 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten ignited a global firestorm when it published 12 cartoons – some depicting the Prophet Muhammad – under […]
Rough English Translation By Katharina Bracher Is freedom of expression really under threat in Europe, as US Vice President J.D. Vance claims? Danish author and lawyer Jacob Mchangama agrees. But he also says that the US is facing a major problem. If you let everyone say anything, at some point, you won’t be able to […]
A survey from The Future of Free Speech, an independent think tank out of Vanderbilt University, has found support for free speech has fallen in the United States. In the report released this month, the United States, Japan and Israel showed the biggest drops in support for free speech since 2021. While majorities in all 33 […]
By Lukas Leuzinger In principle, most people are in favor of freedom of speech. However, when it comes to specific criticism of religion or minorities, for example, that can quickly change. This is shown by a new report by the organization The Future of Free Speech , which is based on a survey in 33 countries (Switzerland is not […]
Free speech is a distant dream in these countries, finds study; this is where India stands in the list Free speech is a fundamental pillar of democracy, enabling individuals to express opinions, challenge authority, and engage in open debate without fear of censorship. By promoting the free flow of ideas, societies benefit from increased creativity, […]
Rough English Translation By Troels Heeger [ . . . ] Global implications As head of The Future of Free Speech, Jacob Mchangama recently helped release a new report on the development of public support for free speech across several countries. While Denmark ranks second among countries with the highest support for free speech, support […]