‘Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.’ It’s often misunderstood, by many Americans. A constitutional scholar explains what it really boils down to.
A man holding a Q sign waits in line to enter a Donald Trump rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., in 2018.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Matt Rourke
The historic conviction of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and one other co-defendant for seditious conspiracy has implications for free speech and the future of the militia movement in the US.
Infowars founder Alex Jones in court during his Sandy Hook defamation damages trial in Waterbury, Conn., Sept. 22, 2022.
Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, Pool, File
Shame and guilt seem equally foreign to many politicians and public figures these days. Rather than cover their bad behavior with a veneer of hypocrisy, they revel in it, a classics scholar says.
Alex Jones claimed being deplatformed hurt his income.
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Online extremists may lose followers when removed from mainstream social media, but their remaining supporters can become even more toxic.
Google’s search results often misidentify controversial characters, potentially contributing to the spread of misinformation.
(Nathana Rebouças/Unsplash)
Google search algorithms often pull up misleading descriptors for controversial people, and results can differ across languages. Understanding how these algorithms function can address misinformation.
The legacy of the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012 continues to reverberate 10 years later, including in how conspiracy theories have changed since the tragedy.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AFP via Getty Image
Alex Jones lost a defamation suit by Sandy Hook parents for falsely claiming they helped fake the murders of their children. But the judgment doesn’t deal with important First Amendment questions.
A man holding a Q sign, a reference to a conspiracy theory group, waits to enter a campaign rally with President Trump, Aug. 2, 2018, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
AP/Matt Rourke
Some people are habitual conspiracy thinkers – there’s a plan behind everything, and it’s usually malevolent. One scientist set out to understand who is likely to ascribe to these theories.
What causes a media business to bar the door?
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Confrontational characters spouting conspiracy theories and fringe ideas have been around since American broadcasting began. With Alex Jones banished from the web, someone else will take his place.
Funeral services took place for Benjamin Andrew Wheeler, one of the students killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, while a hearse with another shooting victim drives by.
AP Photo/Julio Cortez
Family members of Sandy Hook victims sued media personality Alex Jones over his claims that the killings were a hoax they participated in. Current law makes their lawsuit unnecessarily hard to prove.
From Netflix docuseries Making a Murderer.
Netflix