Harry Potter Knew the Fake News Media Is the Enemy of the People
The 20th anniversary of the first film is an occasion to recall J.K. Rowling's inspiring political agenda.
Journalism
Attract Government Attention and Get Your Name Run Through a 'Terrorist' Database
Offending the powerful can be dangerous in an increasingly authoritarian world.
Julian Assange Extradition Decision the Latest Blow to Freedom of the Press
Either everybody gets to enjoy journalistic freedom, or it will turn into glorified public relations work for the powers-that-be.
Twitter's New 'Privacy' Policy Could Destroy Its Value for Decentralized Citizen Journalism
Why give legacy media a stranglehold over information that Twitter at its best is great for sharing?
The New York Times Is Protected by Freedom of the Press. So Is James O'Keefe.
The newspaper wrongly implies that press freedom is limited to "real" journalists.
Democrats Hike Taxes on Vaping, but Not Tobacco, in Latest Version of 'Build Back Better' Bill
Plus: America's mayors want to be paid in bitcoin, Democrats want to subsidize local journalists, and more...
Cops Arrested Her for Exercising Her First Amendment Rights. They Got Qualified Immunity—but the Appeals Court Wasn't Having It.
"This is not just an obvious constitutional infringement—it's hard to imagine a more textbook violation of the First Amendment."
Federal Court Upholds California's Oppressive Restrictions on Freelance Writers
A panel has unanimously determined the First Amendment isn’t violated if state regulations keep independent writers from landing work.
Walking the Delicate Line Between Reporter and Activist
Telling a century's worth of stories about the people who had done creative things on the radio dial—and their opponents
A Win for Devin Nunes in Lawsuit Over Journalist Ryan Lizza's Tweet
Plus: "The endless catastrophe of Rikers Island," studies link luxury rentals and affordable housing, and more...
The Media Fell for a Viral Hoax About Ivermectin Overdoses Straining Rural Hospitals
Some people are self-medicating with a dubious COVID-19 treatment, but they aren't overwhelming doctors and nurses.
Photo: Hong Kong
In June, police stormed the offices of Apple Daily, one of the last pro-democracy newspapers and an unapologetic defender of Hong Kong's autonomy.
Reason Is a Finalist for 15 Southern California Journalism Awards
Judges selected stories about hacking medical technology, black gun rights, trans activists, Venezuelan immigrants, and the threat of nationalism.
Iranian Operatives Plotted To Kidnap Brooklyn Journalist
From the other side of the world, the regime plots ways to chill free speech.
Treat Tucker Carlson's NSA Snooping Claims Seriously, but Not Literally
The Fox News pundit’s emails were probably reviewed legally—and that’s part of the problem.
Hong Kong's Free Press Is Dying
After Chinese authorities conducted newsroom raids and arrested top editors, pro-democracy publication Apple Daily realized it could no longer safely operate.
At The New York Times, Intent Does Not Matter When Someone Uses 'the N-Word,' Except When It Does
The paper let linguist John McWhorter use the racial slur he was discussing but felt a need to explain that decision.
Do Mass Shootings Inspire More Mass Shootings? If So, What Can Be Done About That?
Both advocates and skeptics of the copycat theory recommend self-restraint by the news media.
The War on Free Speech Is About To Get a Lot Uglier
The awful events of January 6 accelerated trends in left-of-center circles, particularly within media and technology companies.
Conor Friedersdorf: Stand Against Left-Wing and Right-Wing P.C.
The Atlantic writer says that illiberalism and the urge to shut down debate need to be confronted across the political spectrum.
A $2.7 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Says Fox Hosts Recklessly Implicated Smartmatic in a Conspiracy To Steal the Election
Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro persistently promoted the wild claims of Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.
Glenn Greenwald: 'Journalists Are Authoritarians'
What went wrong at the outlet he co-founded, what's wrong with the ACLU, and what might go wrong in the Biden administration
How the U.S. Covered Up the Murder of Journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Oscar-winning filmmaker Bryan Fogel fought Saudi censorship to make his new documentary, The Dissident.
'Stop the Insanity,' the New York Post Urges Trump. 'It Is Time To End This Dark Charade.'
The Trump-friendly paper says the president should stop "cheering for an undemocratic coup" and focus on the GOP's political interests.
Are Americans Insufficiently Alarmed by COVID-19?
Press coverage of the pandemic tends to exaggerate risk and ignore encouraging information.
Glenn Greenwald on Biden, Free Speech, and Leaving The Intercept
There’s no journalist more relentlessly iconoclastic than Greenwald, who won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the Snowden revelations.
Glenn Greenwald: Nothing Trump Did Compares to the 'Moral Evil' of Bush's and Obama's Wars
The Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist on Joe Biden, free speech, and leaving The Intercept for Substack.
According to Trump, Nearly Everyone Is Conspiring To Deny Him His Rightful Victory
The nefarious scheme evidently includes Republican officials and Trump-friendly news outlets.
Glenn Greenwald Resigns from The Intercept, Citing 'Pathologies, Illiberalism, Repressive Mentality' of Pro-Biden Newsroom
The progressive outlet's co-founder claims he was prevented from publishing an article because it was critical of Joe Biden.
Don't Be Fooled By Our Media Wars: Everybody Hates Free Speech
Treating free expression like an instrument of power means that the fight is more about who gets punished most when politicians write new restrictions.
Milo Yiannopoulos Defends Basic Traditions of Journalism
A federal judge makes it clear: "the consumption of alcohol at a party does not vitiate journalistic intent"; hard-drinking reporters are as covered by the journalist's privilege as the abstemious. Other journalistic traditions that aren't disqualifying: bias, and bearing grudges.
Twitter Blocking a New York Post Article Was Dumb—but Not Illegal, Censorship, or Election Interference
Plus: 898,000 new jobless claims, and more...
New York Times Union Hits Times Columnist Bret Stephens for Daring To Criticize the 1619 Project
"It says a lot about an organization when it breaks it's [sic] own rules and goes after one of it's [sic] own," the union tweeted. "The act, like the article, reeks."
Publishing Registered Sex Offenders' Home Addresses Before Halloween Is Gratuitous, Unethical, and Reckless
A petition urges Patch and other news outlets to reconsider the practice.
Yes, the 1619 Project Actually Suggests That Year Was America's True Founding, and Nikole Hannah-Jones Admits It
The New York Times tried to disassociate itself from a claim its reporter made just a few days ago.
Media Alarmism Is Making It Difficult To Assess School Reopening
Kids do not catch or spread or suffer from coronavirus at the same rate as adults, no matter what your newspaper is telling you this week.
Can Cryptocurrency Save Digital Media?
Ad revenue is way down, but crypto offers an alternative revenue model for online publications. Is it workable?
RIP Pete Hamill: Chronicler of New York's Marketplace of Ideas
Hamill’s city was exactly what the likes of Robert Moses were trying to control when they imposed a top-down technocratic regime on New York in the middle third of the 20th century.
Bari Weiss Resigns From The New York Times, Alleging That 'Self-Censorship Has Become the Norm'
With the twin resignations of Weiss and New York columnist Andrew Sullivan, elite journalism's eight-week nervous breakdown shows no signs of abating.
San Francisco Police Were Ordered To Turn Off Body Cameras in Raid on Journalist's Home
Their illegal search was not recorded.
The New York Times Says Tom Cotton's Essay 'Fell Short of Our Standards.' What Standards?
The paper's editors are blind to the sins of writers whose conclusions they like.
No, Jared Kushner Did Not Suggest That Trump Might Unilaterally Delay the Presidential Election
There is a difference between reporting facts that make the president uncomfortable and manufacturing facts to fit a preconceived view of him.
Does Questioning Official COVID-19 Statistics Make This Doctor a 'Denialist'?
If you think much about the epidemic remains uncertain, The New York Times warns, you might be part of "the virus 'truther' movement."
What 'Excess Deaths' Do and Don't Tell Us About COVID-19
While official death tolls clearly underestimate the epidemic's impact, total mortality numbers can be misleading.
A Virus Makes the Supreme Court More Transparent
Unprecedented live audio streaming of oral arguments could signal more openness.
When It Comes to Covering Trump, The New York Times Has Abandoned Any Distinction Between Reporting and Opinion
Readers may be better served by a newspaper that is open about its reporters' opinions. But then it can hardly object when Trump publicly describes them as political opponents.
