Trump Tries To Carve Out a First Amendment Exception for 'Fake News'
The president's portrayal of journalism he does not like as consumer fraud is legally frivolous and blatantly unconstitutional.
Free Press
Mississippi Judge Orders Newspaper To Take Down Editorial Criticizing City Board for Secrecy
Free speech experts say the takedown order is a clear example of unconstitutional prior restraint under the First Amendment.
Trump Bans A.P. From Oval Office for Not Saying 'Gulf of America'
A dust-up over geographical nomenclature is silly, but it signals the Trump administration's hostility to the First Amendment and freedom of the press.
Trump Is Flat-Out Lying About the 60 Minutes Interview With Harris
The full transcript shows the president's complaints about the editing of the interview are not just wildly hyperbolic and legally groundless. They are demonstrably false.
Paramount Shouldn't Fold to Trump
Settling Trump’s CBS lawsuit won’t buy peace—it will sell out press freedom.
FBI Nominee Kash Patel, Who Vowed To 'Come After' Trump's Enemies, Disclaims 'Retributive Actions'
At his confirmation hearing, the president's pick to run the nation's leading law enforcement agency ran away from his record as a MAGA zealot.
Why Is Paramount So Keen To Settle Trump's Laughable Lawsuit Against CBS?
The company is worried that the president's complaints about a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris could block a pending merger.
Decrying First Amendment Threat, FIRE Will Defend Pollster Whom Trump Sued for 'Consumer Fraud'
The president-elect frivolously claims that J. Ann Selzer and The Des Moines Register owe him damages because of an erroneous preelection poll.
Trump Mounts a 'Direct Assault on the First Amendment' by Portraying Journalism As Consumer Fraud
The president-elect's lawsuit against The Des Moines Register is a patently frivolous and constitutionally dubious attempt to intimidate the press.
Given George Stephanopoulos' Carelessness, ABC's Defamation Settlement With Trump Seems Prudent
The host of This Week repeatedly and inaccurately asserted that Trump had been "found liable for rape."
El Salvador's New Cybersecurity Laws Raise Concerns Over Media Freedom
Proponents call it modernization, but watchdogs see a path to censorship.
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When Deciding Whether To Investigate His Opponents, Trump Says, He Will Defer to 'Very Fair' Kash Patel
Trump's pick to run the FBI has a long list of enemies he plans to "come after," with the legal details to be determined later.
Kash Patel's Threats Against Journalists Make Him an Alarming Choice To Run the FBI
"We're gonna come after the people in the media," the Trump stalwart warns. "Whether it's criminally or civilly, we'll figure that out."
Incoming FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's Beef With NewsGuard Is Legally Dubious and Empirically Shaky
The company, which says it takes an "apolitical approach" to rating news outlets, faces regulatory threats and a congressional probe because of its perceived bias against conservatives.
An Alabama D.A. Filed Legally Impossible Charges Against School Board Members Who Crossed Him
A board employee and a local reporter were arrested on the same bogus charge of divulging nonexistent grand jury secrets.
The New FCC Chairman's Agenda Contradicts Conservative Principles
Brendan Carr’s plans for "reining in Big Tech" are a threat to limited government, free speech, free markets, and the rule of law.
Trump's Pick To Run the FCC Wants To Restrict the Editorial Discretion of Social Media Platforms
"Reining in Big Tech," Brendan Carr says, requires scrapping liability protections and restricting moderation decisions.
During Trump's Second Term, the Supreme Court's Critics Will Be Grateful for Its Restraining Influence
The justices, including Trump's nominees, have shown they are willing to defy his will when they think the law requires it.
Trump's Legal Complaints Against 2 News Outlets Reflect His Disregard for Freedom of the Press
The Republican presidential candidate argues that CBS and The Washington Post broke the law by covering the election in ways he did not like.
Trump Thinks News Outlets Should Lose Their Broadcast Licenses, Even When They Have None
Despite his cluelessness, the former president's inclination to punish constitutionally protected speech reflects his authoritarian disregard for civil liberties.
A Texas Reporter Was Arrested for Asking Questions. The State Says That's No Big Deal.
Opposing Priscilla Villarreal's petition for Supreme Court review, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton portrays basic journalism as "incitement."
Is Free Speech Doomed in Hong Kong?
Last week’s sedition conviction is yet another step backward for press freedom.
Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich Released From Russian Captivity
Gershkovich was released Thursday in an elaborate prisoner swap involving two dozen prisoners from at least six countries.
A Law Professor's Beef With a First Amendment 'Spinning Out of Control': Too Much Speech of the Wrong Sort
Even as he praises judicial decisions that made room for "dissenters" and protected "robust political debate," Tim Wu pushes sweeping rationales for censorship.
Biden, Cognitive Decline, and the End of American Empire
Plus: The editors reflect on the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Review: Documenting Julian Assange's Legal Battles
Kym Staton's documentary also tries to debunk several accusations against the WikiLeaks founder.
SCOTUS Makes It Easier for Victims of Retaliatory Arrests To Vindicate Their First Amendment Rights
The justices ruled that "objective evidence" of retaliation does not require "very specific comparator evidence."
These Strange Bedfellows Want SCOTUS To Remind the 5th Circuit That Journalism Is Not a Crime
An ideologically diverse mix of individuals and organizations supports a Texas journalist who was arrested for asking questions.
Hey, Fauci's Staff: You Can't Just 'Make Your Emails Disappear'
A government scientist is the latest official whose attempts to evade the Freedom of Information Act have landed him in hot water.
Israel Raids the Associated Press and Seizes Equipment Over War Coverage
There's no justification for cracking down on news organizations for reporting the news during war.
Journalism Is Not a Crime, Even When It Offends the Government
Julian Assange and Priscilla Villarreal were both arrested for publishing information that government officials wanted to conceal.
Americans Favor Freedom of the Press, Sort Of
Half the country says suppressing “false information” is more important than press freedom.
A Texas Reporter Busted for Asking Questions Asks SCOTUS To Reject the Criminalization of Journalism
Priscilla Villarreal is appealing a 5th Circuit decision that dismissed her First Amendment lawsuit against Laredo police and prosecutors.
Ron DeSantis Signs Florida Bill Limiting How Close Bystanders Can Get to Police
The law makes it a misdemeanor to approach within 25 feet of a first responder after receiving a verbal warning to stay away.
Kansas Police Facing Lawsuit After Conducting 'Illegal' Raid Against Small-Town Paper
Last year, the offices of the Marion County Record were raided by police. A new lawsuit claims the search was illegal retaliation against the paper.
Biden Wants To Avoid a First Amendment Showdown Over WikiLeaks
U.S. prosecutors are looking to wriggle out of an espionage trial for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
The New York Times Again Worries That Free Speech Endangers Democracy
The newspaper portrays the constitutional challenge to the government's social media meddling as a conspiracy by Donald Trump's supporters.
Julian Assange's Brother Will Attend the State of the Union Address as Rep. Thomas Massie's Guest
As Joe Biden gives his speech, the audience will include this reminder of the journalist he’s trying to jail.
Feds Target Journalist Tim Burke With Law Intended for Hackers
An escalation in the war between people who publish secrets and those who seek to keep them.
The Biden Administration Is Bent on Setting an Alarming Precedent by Prosecuting Julian Assange
The WikiLeaks founder already has spent as much time in a London prison as DOJ lawyers say he is likely to serve if convicted in the U.S.
Was Amazon 'Free to Ignore' White House Demands That It Suppress Anti-Vaccine Books?
The Biden administration's interference with bookselling harks back to a 1963 Supreme Court case involving literature that Rhode Island deemed dangerous.
The 5th Circuit Says Criminalizing Journalism Is Not Obviously Unconstitutional
The appeals court dismissed a civil rights lawsuit by a Laredo gadfly who was arrested for asking questions.
How FDR Emasculated the Black Press in World War II
Instead of indulging in politically risky sedition prosecutions of the black press, the government relied on indirect methods of behind-the-scenes manipulation and intimidation.
Stella Assange: Why Isn't Julian Assange a Free Man?
Stella Assange discusses the imprisonment of her husband on the third episode of Just Asking Questions.
On Guns, Drugs, and National Security, Dianne Feinstein Was Consistently Authoritarian
The late California senator always seemed to err on the side of more government power and less individual freedom.
