Human Rights Centre Blog: Censorship in Colour: Why Artistic Freedom Is a Bedrock Principle

Posted on by Natalie Alkiviadou in Culture, Global Free Speech, News, Our Perspectives

By Dr. Natalie Alkiviadou and Katia Pau Recent controversies in Bangkok, Cyprus, and the United Kingdom demonstrate that disputes surrounding artistic expression remain deeply embedded in contemporary political, religious, and social life. In Bangkok, criticism and public backlash emerged following the display of artworks considered offensive to religious and cultural sensibilities, triggering debates about the limits of artistic freedom […]

Schweizer Monat: Democratic Governments that Censor Not Only Harm Their Own Citizens, But Also Courageous Opposition Figures in Autocracies

Posted on by Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff in Disinformation, Free Speech Book, Global Free Speech, News, Our Perspectives

By Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff On March 4, 2022, two days after the European Union banned the Russian state media outlets Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik, Russia blocked access to Western media such as the BBC, Deutsche Welle, and Voice of America. The Russian government declared this was “only the beginning of retaliatory measures in an […]

UnHerd: Banning Unite The Kingdom Speakers Harms Free Speech

Posted on by Jacob Mchangama in Global Free Speech, Hate Speech, News, Our Perspectives

By Jacob Mchangama In 1977, the Danish film director Jens Jørgen Thorsen was turned away at Heathrow on the orders of Home Secretary Merlyn Rees, after a campaign by the Christian campaigner Mary Whitehouse. Thorsen was carrying the script for a long-planned film about the sex life of Jesus — a project that had already […]

Journal of Democracy: How Hate-Speech Laws Crush Dissent Everywhere

Posted on by Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff in Free Speech Book, Free Speech History, Global Free Speech, Hate Speech, News, Our Perspectives, Press Freedom

By Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff This essay is adapted from The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy’s Most Essential Freedom (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2026) European democracies hold free and fair elections, ensure peaceful transfers of power, and maintain a vibrant media landscape. Their independent judiciaries hold governments accountable if they […]

The UnPopulist: Hungary’s Opposition Used Social Media to Topple the Authoritarian-in-Chief

Posted on by Jacob Mchangama in Digital Regulation, Disinformation, Featured News, Global Free Speech, News, Our Perspectives, Press Freedom

By Jacob Mchangama Three days after securing a landslide victory in Hungary’s parliamentary election, incoming prime minister Peter Magyar appeared on the country’s state broadcaster for the first time in 18 months and labeled it a “factory of lies” peddling “propaganda” worthy of North Korea and Goebbels. Magyar’s hostility reflects the well-documented media capture that […]

Big Think: Militant Democracy Or Creeping Illiberalism? Germany’s Free Speech Dilemma

Posted on by Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff in Free Speech Book, Free Speech History, Global Free Speech, Hate Speech, News, Our Perspectives

Germany built aggressive systems to combat hate speech, but the line between defending democracy and undermining it may be beginning to blur.  Excerpted from The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy’s Most Essential Freedom by Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff. Copyright 2026. Published with permission of Johns Hopkins University Press. By Jacob […]

The Globe and Mail: After Oct. 7, Hate-Speech Laws Looked Like The Answer. Europe Shows Why They Aren’t

Posted on by Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff in Free Speech History, Global Free Speech, Hate Speech, News, Our Perspectives

By Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas carried out the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, recording the horrors and sharing them online. The attack triggered a bloody Israeli invasion of Gaza that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. It also had immediate consequences far beyond the region. In Canada, […]

The Dispatch: Does Free Speech Have A Future?

Posted on by Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff in First Amendment, Free Speech Book, Free Speech History, Global Free Speech, Hate Speech, News, Our Perspectives

Editor’s Note: This essay is adapted from the new book, The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy’s Most Essential Freedom by Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff (Johns Hopkins University Press). By Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff On October 7, 2023, Hamas operatives carried out the deadliest single attack on Jews since […]

Wall Street Journal: The Timeless Fear of Corrupting the Youth

Posted on by Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff in Digital Regulation, Featured News, First Amendment, News, Our Perspectives

From Socrates to social media, society has always worried about protecting the young. But the latest ruling about Meta and YouTube overlooks the upsides of free speech. By Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff In 399 BCE, Socrates was put on trial before a jury of some 500 of his fellow Athenians. The indictment accused him […]