By Danielle Smith A recent study by Vanderbilt University found that Americans generally love free speech, but their views change occasionally. One instance of this occurred during the protests at U.S. universities about the Israel-Hamas war. John Geer, professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, said the study replicated a 1939 poll that asked about […]
By Jacob Mchangama “The Left started it.” That was the common retort from right-wing X accounts like Libs of TikTok and their supporters, who attempted and often succeeded at getting people fired for making tasteless social media posts about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump back in July. Most of their victims weren’t public figures […]
By Jacob Mchangama X is the bastion of free speech on the Internet. At least that’s what Elon Musk and his raucous supporters would like you to believe any time one dares to point out his hypocritical, arbitrary, and often self-serving content moderation actions after taking over the social media platform. This week’s decision from […]
By Jeremy Schulman In December, Trump adviser Kash Patel set off alarm bells when he said that if the former president returns to the Oval Office, his new administration might prosecute media figures and others “who lied about American citizens.” “We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media,” Patel told Steve […]
By Jacob Mchangama and John G. Geer Americans’ views on free speech change directions every so often. One of those times was during the protests at U.S. universities about the Israel-Hamas war. As scholars of free speech and public opinion, we set out to find out what happened and why. The Supreme Court itself, as […]
By J.D. Tuccille In May, the New York State government agreed to subsidize news media. With audiences declining for news reports, many Very Concerned People have called on governments to Do Something to prop up outlets failing to win enough public support to keep the lights on. That something comes in the form of money […]
By Jacob Mchangama In January 2015, Islamic terrorists murdered 12 people at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for depicting the Prophet Muhammad. When PEN America honored the magazine with its Freedom of Expression Courage Award that same year, the organization received backlash from prominent members. Then-PEN president Andrew Solomon stood by the decision, saying that the controversy was a reminder that […]
By Jacob Mchangama and Jordi Calvet-Bademunt Google recently made headlines globally because its chatbot Gemini generated images of people of color instead of white people in historical settings that featured white people. Adobe Firefly’s image creation tool saw similar issues. This led some commentators to complain that AI had gone “woke.” Others suggested these issues resulted from faulty efforts […]
By Jacob Mchangama It is undeniable that the proliferation of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs on college campuses and in the workplace has contributed to a censorious atmosphere throughout U.S. culture. Some employees fear reprisal for speaking about certain issues in the office while college faculty and guest speakers have been shouted down, condemned, disinvited, or […]
“Even open democracies have implemented restrictive measures,” finds a global report. By J.D. Tuccille [ . . . ] If you think free speech is under attack in the United States—and it is—you should see its besieged status in the rest of the world. Open contempt for unrestricted debate prevails in even many supposedly “free” […]