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The Free Speech Center

@freespeechcenter.bsky.social
725 followers 615 following 482 posts

Non-profit and non-partisan public policy center based at Middle Tennessee State University. Our mission is to support First Amendment freedoms through education and information. freespeech.center

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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 23h
"Some of the current concern may be overblown moral panic. But some of it is entirely justified," writes Bruce Lewenstein. "Still, we retain hope that science journalism will survive this economic, political and technological shakeout."
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Is science journalism dying? Comparing a 'science crash' 40 years ago to today
In science media, many efforts fail. They always have.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"How this dispute plays out will tell us not only about the Court’s thinking, but why supporters on both sides have such different visions over religion’s role – if any – in American education and public life," writes Charles J. Russo.
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Are religious charter schools constitutional? After deadlocked SCOTUS decision, another Okla. case is trying to find out
Ben Gamla may turn out to be the next step in the Supreme Court's increasingly friendly approach to the important question of state aid to faith-based schools, their students and their parents.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
A new survey from the Freedom Forum suggests that many Americans remain afraid to freely express their views, but more say they speak freely than they have over the past two years. tinyurl.com/y6j7h58n
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Freedom Forum: Fear of expressing oneself is subsiding
The most positive finding in the study indicates that most Americans recognize the value of the First Amendment, with 91 percent saying it is “vital to America.”
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
In the latest newsletter … White House access saga … First Amendment on Supreme Court docket … revising SPJ’s ethics code … 31 religion options … and much more First Amendment and journalism news. tinyurl.com/ykh25bp2
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Court order / Poor view / Get with God?
Court order. Against President Donald Trump’s continued efforts to curtail free speech and a free press , American courts have used the Fir...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“The president and his administration have continued to make clear that this ban has only one purpose: to punish reporting he doesn’t like,” said Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., lead attorney for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. tinyurl.com/mwy995p4
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News organizations ask court to bar White House enforcement of access ban until case is resolved
The lead attorney for the three news outlets called the ban "a blatant violation of the First Amendment and due process."
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Calling the case extraordinary, Iowa District Judge Scott J. Beattie said Sept. 23 that allowing the lawsuit and its “faulty” claims to proceed could have a chilling effect that “can discourage others from reporting on and debating public affairs.” tinyurl.com/4njwbjnx
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Iowa judge dismisses Trump's lawsuit against Des Moines Register and pollster
Judge sides with pollster J. Ann Selzer and the newspaper in affirming that the poll and coverage of it were constitutionally protected political speech, not a commercial product.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The White House signaled Friday night (Sept. 25) that CNN would be left off Air Force One, the latest media restriction from the administration in an ongoing dispute with First Amendment implications. tinyurl.com/ye6uus26
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CNN left off Air Force One for Trump's trip, White House signals in new media restriction
CNN was replaced by Real America's Voice, a conservative network, for the president's trip to Knoxville, Tenn.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
“I think we’re going to end up stronger because of this, and this tactic of just attacking the press, attacking individual journalists, is going to be discredited,” CNN's attorney said in an interview on MS NOW Thursday afternoon. “The law is just clearly on our side here.” tinyurl.com/dvsrebyn
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3 news outlets return to White House after judge orders Trump to lift ban
But news coverage of Trump's White House was hardly normal.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
“This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law,” said Theodore Boutrous Jr., attorney for the outlets, in an emailed statement. “We greatly appreciate the court’s swift action.” tinyurl.com/n3eds867
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Judge orders White House to restore access to CNN, MS NOW, Politico
The judge also made clear he did not buy the administration's argument that the news outlets' reporting endangered national security.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
On a day of high-stakes diplomacy on the global stage, President Donald Trump began his United Nations visit by telling a prominent U.S. journalist, “You should not be here.” tinyurl.com/3z6f8zx2
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'You should not be here,' Trump tells CNN at U.N. as standoff with news outlets persists
The tense moment was a stark reminder of how dramatically the bitter conflict between Trump and news outlets whose coverage he objects to as "fake news" has escalated in just a few days.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
President Donald Trump showed off his new White House helicopter landing pad yesterday (Sept. 21), attempting to brush aside a First Amendment firestorm even as major television networks kept their cameras away in protest of CNN’s being banned from the grounds. tinyurl.com/yae4st6e
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Trump inaugurates White House helipad, but networks skip coverage in First Amendment fight
If Trump had words to mark the occasion, however, it was impossible to hear them over the noise of his waiting helicopter. Normally, TV network crews work to capture clearer audio.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the outlets said in a joint statement posted early Monday on X.
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CNN, MS NOW, Politico sue Trump over being denied White House access
In his second term, Trump and his Republican administration have upped the ante and punished certain news outlets, both in the courtroom and through regulatory action.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"Journalists need to stand firm and united. Those who would cave or shrug off this unprecedented campaign against liberty of the press are of no value to a democracy and were never really news organizations in the first place," writes Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center.
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The press and the president: High-risk chess with much at stake
One journalist believes that it’s the president’s need for attention that gives the press leverage in this scenario.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
“I’m deeply relieved that the court affirmed what I knew all along: that I am permitted to speak my conscience in the United States of America, including when I criticize government officials,” Streever said.
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Federal court says ICE threatened critic by serving him with 'Warning Notice' over an email
The ruling deals a significant blow to ICE’s efforts to retaliate against its critics and intimidate them into silence, ending the campaign against David Streever.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Despite U.S. adults’ broad belief in the ideal of press freedom, a new Pew Research Center study found, they’re willing to contemplate restrictions in specific circumstances. tinyurl.com/46p9hfk2
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Americans value press freedom, but new surveys show support for restrictions in certain cases
Many Americans said it is "never acceptable" for the U.S. government to give journalists access to public figures in exchange for positive coverage, or to revoke a news organization's broadcast licens...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The proposed draft — to be voted on in October by the broader organization after a current feedback period — does not mention AI by name, referring only to tools and technologies, so it will remain relevant as technology changes. tinyurl.com/macb38mk
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For a century, journalists have had a voluntary ethics code. Editors are giving it an AI-era reboot
The four, unchanging key principles: "Seek Truth and Report It." "Minimize Harm." "Act Independently." "Be Accountable and Transparent." But much else has evolved.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
In the latest newsletter ... Speech control ... First Amendment football ... Supreme Court secrecy ... land-acknowledgement parody wins ... and much more First Amendment and journalism news. tinyurl.com/yjz3tzh6
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Stifling speech / Unfiltered / Bore witness
Stifling speech. With petty clashes with reporters seemingly serving as decoys, President Trump in his second term is orchestrating a sweep...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Students at 11 Texas A&M University System schools will see fewer classes related to LGBTQ literature, climate change and women writers meet graduation requirements under a proposal to remove more than 200 classes from general-education course lists. tinyurl.com/3z9bys6d
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Texas A&M System removes courses on LGBT, ethnic studies and climate change from core offerings
Regents must ensure core courses “are foundational and fundamental” for a college education and that they prepare students for civic life and the workforce, according to Senate Bill 37.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
“We are waist-deep in the quicksand and we are still sinking,” Carol Marbin Miller, deputy investigations editor of The Miami Herald, said in a phone interview. tinyurl.com/2dwbemah
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For U.S. newspapers, tough summer draws to a close with McClatchy chain's cuts
The U.S. newspaper industry has been contracting for two decades, pushed first by the rise of the internet and the decline of classified advertising, then by the fragmentation introduced by social med...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
“As a cameraman that day, I was looking through my viewfinder, and everything was black and white, and I knew I was recording history,” Jeremy Brown said. “But every time I looked up as a human I could see the devastation, the hurt, and I knew that the world was never going to be the same.”
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Associated Press journalists who witnessed Sept. 11 remember what they saw, 25 years later
AP journalists found themselves documenting the Sept. 11 attacks as they lived through them.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
“Reasonable people can disagree about the value of land acknowledgments,” said FIRE attorney Gabe Walters. “What’s not up for debate is academic freedom. Today’s settlement vindicates Reges’s right to express his own opinion rather than toeing the university’s line.”
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Wash. professor who parodied university 'land acknowledgment' wins $600K settlement
Professor Stuart Reges objected to the political nature of the UW’s model statement and sought to demonstrate that there are competing views on the value of land acknowledgments.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The final finding “reflected simply that it is harmful for a child to hear negative and frightening messages about one parent from the other parent or the other parent’s authority figures.”
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Maine’s high court rules father can restrict daughter’s church attendance
A father argued the church was a “dangerous and harmful environment” that had caused his daughter to suffer from anxiety.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The Supreme Court granted an emergency appeal from Republicans in a dispute over campaign-ad prices on Sept. 4, clearing a legal roadblock to political parties’ getting cheaper TV ad time ahead of the midterm elections. tinyurl.com/mbtv679w
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Supreme Court grants Republican emergency appeal on TV ad rates before midterms
Candidates pay discounted rates for TV time around an election under federal law, and in March the Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau said certain party-coordinated ads are entitled to t...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
“Both AI and creators can thrive — AI companies simply need to pay fairly for the content that makes their products possible, as copyright law requires,” Graham James, a spokesperson for the New York Times, said in an emailed statement.
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Trump administration backs OpenAI in New York Times' copyright case over training of chatbots
The lawsuit, and the government's involvement in it, are symptoms of something happening all over the world, particularly in recent months: the rush to keep up with the rapid rise of AI tools over the...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
“We’re in a state that is arguably the most affected by climate change, and will continue to be. And DeSantis is just pretending like it doesn’t exist,” said a middle school science teacher from Central Florida. “Now we can’t teach the kids about climate change.” tinyurl.com/4zyr5ywv
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How Fla. quietly removed climate-change content from textbooks
Florida education officials asked science textbook publishers to make numerous changes in 2024 that either watered down or eliminated material about the climate crisis.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
“Excluding specific reporters and entire news organizations is a disservice to the public and an assault on press freedoms that we strongly condemn,” the Times said. tinyurl.com/mvma3bbw
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U.S. Treasury blocks certain journalists from G20 meeting in N.C.
Individual reporters from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News were not granted credentials to the Group of 20 finance ministers' meeting in Asheville, N.C.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Chattanooga businessmen Max and Craig Fuller's purchase of the Chattanooga Times Free Press "signals optimism and a commitment to their hometown, but it also illustrates the challenges ahead for any local buyers riding to the rescue," writes Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center.
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It’s easy to buy a newspaper, but much harder to save it
If the Fullers can develop a new approach for the Times Free Press that drives revenue, increases subscriptions and reports fully on the community, their efforts will encourage other newspaper owners ...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
In the latest newsletter … Meta, TikTok settle on child harm … Trump’s press hostility … fake poll … Dolly and drag … Stars and Stripes … and much more First Amendment and journalism news. tinyurl.com/mz6n7wj4
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On notice / Battle ready / Poll troll?
On notice. Meta’s landmark, $18 billion social media-addiction settlement  shifts focus onto TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms that may ...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
“Freedom of speech is illusory if we are only ‘free’ to express complementary views about the government and its leaders,” the judge wrote. tinyurl.com/vyyf8wxa
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Trump cannot deport students for criticizing Israel, judge rules
At The Stanford Daily, lawfully present noncitizens at the paper have quit, withheld articles, refused assignments, requested articles be taken down, and asked for anonymity for fear of adverse immigr...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
A settlement announced Aug. 26 between Meta and dozens of states resolves one of its biggest legal fights, but the social media giant is still facing litigation elsewhere over its products’ effects on young people’s mental health. tinyurl.com/mpdb44r3
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A look at major lawsuits against Meta, other social media companies over harms to kids
Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube have been defending themselves against allegations their platforms have damaged children's mental health or otherwise hurt them.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Three staff members from the Stars and Stripes military news outlet are suing to challenge their recent firings by the Pentagon, accusing the Trump administration of violating their First Amendment free speech rights to speak out against government interference in their work. tinyurl.com/u9rxc4hv
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Stars and Stripes publisher, editor, reporter sue Pentagon to challenge their firings
Their lawsuit says they were punished in retaliation for publishing a report on deteriorating conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
The agreement “institutes real change, real transparency, real protections for children and teens across the country,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. tinyurl.com/mr43ts2d
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Meta reaches landmark $18 billion settlement with states in trial over teen social media addiction
The settlement "will put an end to these dangerous practices and deliver meaningful relief that will protect children from online harm," Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
A Nebraska school district censored a student newspaper over an anti-ICE cartoon. After FIRE objected, the district adopted a new policy that gives administrators formal power to restrict student journalism before publication. tinyurl.com/mvxu8hvf
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Neb. school district censors anti-ICE cartoon, forces prior approval on student press
While it’s true that school officials have greater authority to regulate student speech than the government ordinarily has with respect to the public, that authority comes with important safeguards.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
"The common thread in Trump’s targeting of news media is that he found their coverage to be unflattering. That includes private media, public media and even government media," writes Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center. tinyurl.com/tjcnd9xh
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Presidents and the press: Trump’s unprecedented assault
Given that some of Trump’s conduct with the news media echoes the actions of some earlier presidents, it’s fair to ask whether Trump’s actions are that different from his predecessors'. The answer is ...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
An Alabama jury on Aug. 20 awarded $9.25 million in damages after finding that The New York Times defamed a college basketball player by incorrectly reporting that he was at the scene of a fatal shooting in Tuscaloosa. tinyurl.com/2kd52rab
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Jury says New York Times defamed Ala. basketball player with incorrect story about fatal shooting
"We're disappointed the jury found The Times liable for an honest mistake," a spokesman said.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
“Again and again, the Administration has attacked ABC’s speech — the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air,” the network alleged. “Over time, those attacks have escalated into express demands that ABC be stripped of its broadcast licenses because of its speech.”
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ABC sues FCC over challenge to its broadcast licenses, saying actions present 'existential threat'
The early license review is only one part of a long-simmering confrontation between ABC and the FCC.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
In the latest newsletter … selling early access to Truth Social … anti-cop vanity plate … lobster defamation … prayer session at home … and much more First Amendment and journalism news. tinyurl.com/yeytzzcs
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Not so fast / Plate shift / Harm costs
Not so fast. A plan to sell early access to Truth Social posts prompts a federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump by free-press group...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The New York Post reported last week that former CBS News and Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge won a judge’s ruling pausing her $800-a-day fines while she appeals being held in contempt for refusing to divulge confidential sources. tinyurl.com/2bmhzknh
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Judge pauses $800-a-day fines for reporter Catherine Herridge, boosting her First Amendment case
District Judge Christopher Cooper “reversed course,” the New York Post said, and ruled that reporter Catherine Herridge would no longer have to pay the daily fines while she appeals to the U.S. Suprem...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
The court wrote, “The phrase was crude, angry, and capable of causing concern if read literally or in isolation. But the First Amendment does not permit a public college to treat every intemperate or ambiguous phrase as unprotected speech. Context matters.” tinyurl.com/k3kk3etk
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Student punished for ‘blasted’ comment wins court battle
Horry-Georgetown Technical College combined Leigha Lemoine’s “blasted” message with an unrelated year-old video of her shooting a gun off-campus to accuse her of making others feel unsafe.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The top editor of Forbes left his job last month after an “undisclosed conflict of interest” and was reportedly dismissed for accepting $6 million from the founder of a firm that does business with the magazine. tinyurl.com/3nmmfmc7
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Forbes editor out; report says he took $6M from founder of firm that does business with magazine
Traditional newsrooms typically forbid journalists from accepting payments from sources or business partners to avoid conflicts of interest — or even the appearance of conflict.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
“A president selling priority access to news he himself generates for the benefit of a private company he controls is so blatantly corrupt and unconstitutional that it would have been hard to even fathom just a few years ago,” said the chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
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Lawsuit seeks to ban Trump Media from charging for early access to president's posts on U.S. policy
Plaintiffs including the Freedom of the Press Foundation allege that selling paid early access to presidential posts on U.S. policy violates the First Amendment.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
The new components AI brings to the table — systems that operate in relationship to both the user and the real world — may generate claims the old expressive analogues don’t fully resolve.
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How does the First Amendment govern liability for AI?
If AI developers face broad liability for chatbot advice that later leads to harm, they will restrict what their models can say to minimize the chances that any output lands them in court.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
"I cannot help but believe newspapers contributed to their own decline in relevance when they opted to no longer provide reasoned institutional opinions that, as Paulson put it, challenge the powerful, call for reform and demand accountability," writes political columnist Otis Sanford.
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An alarming call to salvage the soul of newspapers
Local institutional news-outlet editorials are nonexistent, and endorsements have been ceded to others, including political operatives who do it for profit.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
U.S. colleges are increasingly eliminating or narrowing restrictive speech codes, continuing an encouraging trend that reflects a greater commitment to free expression on American campuses, a new study finds. tinyurl.com/3n4vh88r
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New FIRE study finds record low number of restrictive campus speech codes
FIRE rates schools as “green light,” “yellow light,” or “red light” institutions based on how much First Amendment-protected speech is restricted. Categories include protest, online speech, harassment...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Thomas Adam, professor of political science at the University of Arkansas, discusses how Americans’ freedom of religion has helped faith to thrive in ways that state-sponsored churches have not. tinyurl.com/yznbm37k
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The financial dilemma that wound up helping U.S. churches thrive
Disestablishment was not just a cornerstone of American democracy. It was also an engine for the extraordinary growth of philanthropy, which played an important role in fueling American churches' grow...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address harms to young people from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial. tinyurl.com/4b8ramtb
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Court orders Instagram and Facebook's Meta to pay $567M to address kids' mental health online
The ruling is another setback for Meta, which faces an avalanche of lawsuits from thousands of families of children harmed by social media.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
A federal appeals court signaled that it might not allow a lawsuit brought by fishing-industry businesses and trade groups against a California aquarium to proceed because of the case’s potential impact on free speech. tinyurl.com/4jdwnjjt
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Appeals court says fishermen's claim in lobster-defamation suit raises First Amendment questions
1st Circuit Judge Seth Aframe said in oral arguments that lobster fishery's complaint against Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch didn't strike him as a defamation claim.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
The families of four teenagers who died by suicide are suing Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube over what they describe as “years of escalating harms” from using their platforms that eventually resulted in their deaths. tinyurl.com/yc2r7k93
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Social media companies sued over deaths of 4 teens as pressure, lawsuits over child safety mount
The complaint alleges the social media companies knew they were causing harm to young users.
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
In the latest newsletter … ABC vs. FCC … new media ecosystem … “nidification” technology … Anthropic to pay authors … Gorsuch on religion … and much more First Amendment and journalism news. tinyurl.com/msnk3ea2
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Seashelled / Justice serves / Post hole
Seashelled. Former FBI Director James Comey wants a judge to dismiss federal charges against him for posting “86 47” in a photo of seashell...
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The Free Speech Center @freespeechcenter.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
“At a public university, the Constitution has the final say,” attorney Greg Greubel said. “The First Amendment protects professors from being punished simply because administrators disagree with the ideas they teach. President Hawkins cannot dictate which viewpoints belong in the classroom.”
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She was fired for teaching English literature in an English class. Now she’s suing
The chair of the English department, the dean of arts and sciences, and the college vice president backed her explanation, but Hawkins expressed his personal dislike of the story and demanded she stop...
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