The point of the First Amendment is to protect expression people hate – Nazi protesters in Skokie, anti-war protesters burning the American flag, KKK hooligans in an Ohio farmfield, Christian fundamentalists protesting the burial of American soldiers. Tolerance for the speech we despise is the lesson of 232 years of the First Amendment. Yet the nation is awash today in … [Read more...] about Can the First Amendment keep up with the brave new world of machine manufactured misinformation?
First Amendment
New documentary on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange highlights big stakes for all journalists
It has been four years this week since Julian Assange was imprisoned in London’s Belmarsh Prison, held in a legal battle over his extradition to the US on espionage charges for publishing classified military information. Although the Trump Administration brought the charges against the Australian-born Assange, the Biden Administration has indicated it plans to pursue them. … [Read more...] about New documentary on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange highlights big stakes for all journalists
Bill of Rights – Well-heeled win today’s First Amendment disputes
Today’s conservative Roberts Court is a bastion of First Amendment freedom as was the liberal Warren Court half a century ago. But the winners are different. Establishment insiders win today whereas outsiders won most often during the Warren years. On its 200th birthday in 1991, the First Amendment had developed into a powerful shield against government abuse of outsiders, … [Read more...] about Bill of Rights – Well-heeled win today’s First Amendment disputes
Bill of Rights makes us freest nation
The Bill of Rights has helped create what is arguably the freest enduring society in history. It wasn’t always that way. The original Constitution didn’t have a Bill of Rights. Once the Bill of Rights was added, it didn’t apply for a century to state governments. As recently as 90 years ago, no one had won a First Amendment free speech case against the … [Read more...] about Bill of Rights makes us freest nation
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s unconstitutional attack on the press
From afar, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s attempt to prosecute a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter looks like the folly of a vindictive politician who doesn’t understand computers or the First Amendment. But it is more serious than that. A governor trying to prosecute a journalist for reporting publicly available information poses a serious threat to press freedom. It’s … [Read more...] about Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s unconstitutional attack on the press