Free Speech News
The Daily Signal provides coverage of free speech battles, censorship issues, and constitutional debates. Includes commentary and opinion pieces on protecting civil liberties in America.
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- News
These 10 Colleges Are Ranked ‘Worst of the Worst’ for Curbing Free Speech
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a group dedicated to standing up for free-speech rights on U.S. college and university campuses, this week released its annual report chastising the Top 10 schools where it says those rights are most infringed. Among the schools taken to task in this year’s report, “The 10 Worst Colleges for…Allison Schuster -
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- Opinion
Conservative Law Professor Challenges Campus Left on Free Speech (and Wins Them Over)
The family who runs a 130-year-old bakery in Ohio was accused of racism after having an Oberlin College student arrested for shoplifting. Hostilities and boycotts against Gibson’s Bakery escalated into a court case debating free speech. Legal Insurrection, a website on politics and law, has followed this case since its beginnings in 2016. Bill Jacobson, founder…Robert B. Bluey -
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The Students Who Fight for Free Speech, and Win
Free speech has seen better days on the college campus. Increasingly, conservative ideas are unwelcome and even shouted down. At some schools, religious groups are being kicked off campus for not allowing nonbelievers to run their organization. It’s a concerning state of affairs—and yet, many students are pushing back and winning in the courtroom. In…Daniel Davis -
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Kentucky Supreme Court Sides With Christian T-Shirt Maker in Free Speech Case
The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that a printer cannot be forced to print T-shirts that violate his faith. In a case that dragged on for seven years, Blaine Adamson, owner of Hands On Originals, a promotional printer in Lexington, declined to print T-shirts for the Lexington Pride Festival, hosted by the Gay and…Fred Lucas -
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A Campus Free Speech Case Shows How Fragile Liberty Can Be
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution begins: “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.” Commitment to this freedom, once universally considered fundamental, may be on the rebound. In reviving a lawsuit over the University of Michigan’s censorship code, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reminded us how…Thomas Jipping -
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Why Are the Legacy Media Afraid of Free Speech on Social Media?
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg came to Capitol Hill last week for a House Financial Services Committee hearing where the primary focus was supposed to be to examine Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency, Libra. But the hearing quickly went far afield. Many of the representatives were eager to push the Facebook founder into getting into the business…Jarrett Stepman -
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Mark Zuckerberg Leans on Free Speech While Defending Facebook’s Ad Policies
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushed back Thursday against critics who believe his company’s new advertisement policies will allow politicians to lie and misinform voters ahead of the election. Zuckerberg defended the new ad policy, which largely exempts politicians from Facebook’s fact-checkers, during an interview with The Washington Post, telling reporters that Americans probably don’t want…Chris White -
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Christian Student on Why He’s Suing Chicago Over Free Speech
All they wanted to do was share the gospel message—and they’d been doing it for years in downtown Chicago. But this time, the four Christian college students were shut down by law enforcement. Now, they’re suing the city of Chicago, saying their First Amendment rights to free speech have been violated. One of those students,…Daniel Davis -
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Free Speech Is Dying in Britain. Here’s Why the US Has Kept It.
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction,” President-to-be Ronald Reagan warned in an address to the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce in March 1961. That’s because, now as then, slavery not liberty, and serfdom not freedom, is humanity’s default setting. Those of us in Britain have seen the fulfillment of Reagan’s prophecy. We…Jules Gomes -
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Odd Allies Are Coming Together to Defend Free Speech
It’s amazing to see who comes to the defense of freedom when you least expect it. In July, 12 leading philosophy scholars from around the world signed on to a statement supporting freedom of thought and speech in academia, specifically as those freedoms are being undercut by gender identity ideology. These scholars warned of a…Kristen Waggoner -
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College Kowtows to Students Saying ‘Free Speech Harms’
It became known as “The Bloody Morning Scout.” In 1755, Ephraim Williams Jr. led colonial forces and some 200 Mohawk allies into battle against French and Indian troops near Lake George, New York. But Williams marched into a deadly ambush. He was killed in the fight, and his troops were driven back, suffering tremendous losses. But…Jonathan Butcher -
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Our Free Speech Crisis
The First Amendment to our Constitution was proposed by the 1788 Virginia Ratification Convention during its narrow 89-to-79 vote to ratify the Constitution. Virginia’s resolution held that the free exercise of religion, right to assembly, and free speech could not be canceled, abridged, or restrained. These Madisonian principles were eventually ratified by the states on…Walter E. Williams -
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Free Speech on Campus Comes With Responsibility
In the face of adversity, the responsible use of freedom is a virtue—as well as a necessity. America is a nation born from the idea of freedom. To properly use this blessing and avoid abusing it, we need the clarity of moral insight. Civil rights require civic responsibility. But Americans’ fear of losing the freedom…Abby Streu -
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Knitting Site Banning Pro-Trump Speech Just Latest Example of Left Squelching Speech
Fun fact: I’ve been crocheting since I was 10, when my Tita Lisa taught me the magic of granny squares. Fellow yarn nerds will understand the heavenly bliss of spending hours at Hobby Lobby or Walmart immersed in a sea of alpaca, mohair, angora, super bulky and super saver skeins for blankets, baby clothes, hats,…Michelle Malkin -
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Anti-Israel BDS Movement Is Anti-Semitism Disguised as Free Speech, Rubio Says
Sen. Marco Rubio sharply criticized the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, saying that it falsely masquerades as a crusade for free speech. “Let’s pass the resolution condemning anti-Semitism, and then let’s put some muscle behind it, by passing a bill that actually gives states the ability to go after anti-Semitism disguised as economic policy…Rachel del Guidice -
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Alabama’s Stand for Free Speech Sets an Example for the Nation
State mottos should be built to last, and Alabama’s lawmakers just applied theirs—Audemus jura nostra defendere or “We dare defend our rights”—to one of the most contentious and visible issues of debate today: free speech on college campuses. Last week, Gov. Kay Ivey approved a proposal to protect the expressive rights of everyone who is…Jonathan Butcher -
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How College Students Really Feel About Free Speech on Campus
A new survey finding that college students generally support free speech also shows what for some is a worrisome divide over what students value more: an “inclusive society” that “welcomes diverse groups” or protecting “the extremes of free speech.” The Knight Foundation’s “Free Expressions of College Campuses” report polled students over the course of three…Kaylee Greenlee -
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Arizona Case Shows the Difference Between Campus Free Speech and Harassment
Three Arizona students may soon learn a valuable lesson: There’s a difference between exercising your free speech on campus and blocking someone else’s attempt to do the same. In March, three University of Arizona students shouted down a group of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, and then chased them to their cars, hurling insults…Jonathan Butcher -
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Trump’s Executive Order to Colleges: Protect Free Speech or Risk Billions in Federal Grants
Polly Olson, a student at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, last year handed out homemade Valentine cards on her campus with Christian messages until college officials told her she was restricted to a “free speech zone.” On Thursday, Olson told her story at the White House before President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at…Fred Lucas