The law passed by Tennessee legislators that banned many drag performances violated the First Amendment. A legal scholar explains the judge’s decision in the case.
It’s not true that college students reject challenging ideas wholesale and oppose conservative views.
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Trans activists are running a campaign against University of Melbourne philosopher Holly Lawford-Smith. It raises a host of challenging ethical questions.
Salman Rushdie speaks at the PEN America Literary Gala on May 18, 2023, in New York City.
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The constitutionality of the recent wave of proposed book bans is unclear, as the US Supreme Court has given states wide latitude to regulate what is read in public schools and libraries.
A banned books display in a US bookshop.
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Differences over what counts as indoctrination lie behind a first-of-its-kind lawsuit in Florida. PEN America’s CEO deems book removals ‘a deliberate attempt to suppress diverse voices’.
Republican U.S. Rep. George Santos of New York is followed by reporters as he walks in the U.S. Capitol.
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George Santos has admitted to having said some stupid things. But his lying became the subject of a federal probe that has resulted in criminal charges.
Demonstrators who support banning books gather during a protest outside of the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Mich., on Sept. 25, 2022.
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Free speech is under attack from both sides of the political spectrum.
Protesters against a bill restricting drag shows march from a rally outside of the Tennessee Capitol in Nashville on Feb. 14, 2023.
AP Photo/Jonathan Mattise
Free speech protections in federal law likely mean a new Tennessee law restricting or banning some drag shows will be found unconstitutional, says a First Amendment scholar.
What Adams writes and draws rarely attracts scrutiny – it’s what he says that has gotten him in hot water.
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Cartoonists throughout the nation’s history have been jailed, beaten, sued and censored. But Scott Adams’ work is being rejected for what he expressed off the page.
Satire can be dangerous.
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A satirist posted a parody of a police Facebook page. He was arrested and jailed for four days. How far do free speech protections extend when it comes to satire about government?
Outside of teaching and writing, Samuel Steward took up tattooing.
The Estate of Samuel M. Steward
Calls have erupted to cancel two writers from Adelaide Writers’ Week – including from South Australia’s Opposition leader. Why? And are they justified? Denis Muller weighs the evidence.
A protection that is, at least in this Philadelphia park, carved in stone.
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‘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.
George Santos, in the middle, lied his way to winning election to Congress, where he took the oath of office on Jan. 7, 2023.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
When candidates can get elected to Congress based on a mountain of lies they’ve told, is it time to reconsider whether such lies are protected by the First Amendment?
Many digital services currently hosted on social media platforms are critical to democracy. Governments must build alternative infrastructures that allow citizens to control their own data.
Club Q co-owners Nic Grzecka, left, and Matthew Haynes listen during a police news conference on Nov. 21, 2022, in Colorado Springs, Colo.
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Bias-motivated attacks became a distinct crime in the 1980s. But police investigate only a fraction of the roughly 200,000 hate crimes reported each year – and even fewer ever make it to court.
Stephen Skalicky, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
‘America’s finest news source’ The Onion wants the US Supreme Court to answer some difficult questions: is satire protected speech, and if so, how do we define it?
We should be concerned about the sweeping discretion social media companies have over so much of our speech.
Overhauling approaches to student participation in university governance is one way universities can help revitalize the democracy we want.
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Universities should look to democratic innovations seen in society like ‘mini publics’ where citizens deliberate about critical issues in representative forums.
An anti-monarchy protestor being led away from the Palace of Westminster by British police.
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It’s understandable some people wish to publicly grieve the Queen and offer their respects to her and the monarchy. But those who disagree with the monarchy also have a right to freedom of speech.