British police are using a new law meant to curb Black Lives Matter and environment protests—to stop citizens from “disrespecting” the monarchy. “Who elected him?” Shouting these three words led to the arrest of Symon Hill, a British republican activist in Oxford at a coronation ceremony parade of (now) King Charles III. Hill was arrested (although later de-arrested, which is a […]
Author Salman Rushdie spent years hiding because Iran’s religious leaders wanted him dead for a book they didn’t like. Rushdie remained a fierce defender of free speech. In 2015, when gunmen killed 12 at the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, he spoke out. WBUR is a nonprofit news organization. Our coverage relies on your financial support. If […]
“Democracies must understand that, in the digital age, it’s impossible to effectively shield citizens from hostile propaganda and disinformation without compromising the egalitarian and liberal values of democracy.” Read the full piece by Jacob Mchangama
Introduction In May this year, the Fourth Section of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held unanimously that holding a lawyer in contempt of court for a ‘caustic’ and ‘sarcastic’ comments amounted to a violation of his Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) right to freedom of expression. Facts In […]
The most surprising thing about the cowardly attack on Salman Rushdie at the Chautauqua Institution in New York is that it has taken more than 30 years for a fired-up fundamentalist to get to Rushdie. Since Ayatollah Khomeini issued his fatwa in February 1989, ordering all Muslims to kill Rushdie, the list of people attacked or […]
Elon Musk has given up his optimistic dream of putting Twitter back at the forefront of the fight for freedom of expression. But the attempt has shown how reluctant, even panicked, the elites in liberal democracies are towards the idea of giving everyone a voice through social media. (Loosely translated) Read the full article
By Raghav Mendiratta and Natalie Alkiviadou On March 1, 2022, Regulation 2022/350 of the Council of the European Union (EU) suspended broadcasting activities of Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik in the EU until Russia ends the aggression against Ukraine and its media “cease to conduct propaganda actions” against the EU and its Member States. The Regulation (as well as the […]
The health of free speech depends more on a culture of free speech than on laws. By Jacob Mchangama and Jonathan Rauch. Is free speech under threat? What do we even mean when we talk about free speech? Jacob Mchangama, a Danish lawyer and human rights advocate, tackles those questions in his new book, Free Speech: A History from […]
The shooting in Buffalo last month was but the latest example of terrorist attacks becoming a lethal outlet for white supremacist grievances. What connects much of this violent right-wing extremism is that the perpetrators are radicalized or share their ideas—sometimes even stream their terrorist attacks—online. In fact, several terrorists have explicitly cited other terrorists as inspiration for their deadly deeds in […]
Justitia CEO Jacob Mchangama discusses the threat to free speech around the world on PBS The Open Mind. Watch the interview on PBS landingpage.