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
For decades the Missouri legislature has been at odds with the will of the people on a host of major issues. Legislators are unfazed. In this year’s session in Jefferson City, lawmakers seem determined to codify their disdain for grassroots democracy. Legislators have introduced a slew of proposals to effectively end state voters’ use of
by Paul Wagman Nearly a year has passed since the Gateway Journalism Review first reported that LockerDome, a prominent St. Louis tech startup, had become a company that partners with some of the most notorious right-wing websites in the country. Serving as an advertising middleman, LockerDome was actually helping to fuel dozens of sites promoting
The Gateway Pundit, the far-right conspiracy theorist who is the target of a high-profile defamation case in the St. Louis Circuit Court, is attempting to turn the tables on his accusers. On Jan. 16, lawyers for The Gateway Pundit filed a counterclaim against two Georgia poll workers, Ruby Freeman and daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, who
When I reflect on all that has happened, there are certainly reasons to be discouraged. For six years, I’ve watched politicians foment hatred and mistrust of the press, demonizing us with the label “enemy of the people.” The stream of lies and disinformation has become a flood. And now our democracy has reached a new
