Misinformation panic at Davos & Mitch Daniels recommends 'Canceling' in the WSJ
Weekend Free Speech Update (1/21/2024)
Story of the week
Beware the WEF’s new misinformation panic: A report warns about the alleged threat of AI-powered lies, by Jacob Mchangama.
For all the visibility of mis- and disinformation, several studies suggest that its share of overall online content is modest. What’s more, those most likely to fall for and share unhinged conspiracy theories constitute a relatively small group of political hyper-partisans with low trust in institutions and the media, who already live in warped realities.
This week in ERI
Administrators — not just DEI administrators — are the biggest threat to free speech on campus
The New Victorians: Cancel Culture is happening on a historic scale, Part 3
This week in FIRE’s blog
‘Good day for free expression’ after Fifth Circuit blocks Texas’ controversial book rating law, by Jordan Howell
VICTORY: Michigan city recognizes First Amendment right to ‘demean’ government officials, by Carrie Robison
FIRE sides with NRA, ACLU in First Amendment Supreme Court case: In a new friend-of-the-court filing, FIRE asks the Supreme Court to rule that government officials cannot censor protected speech by punishing speakers’ associates, by Joshua House
FIRE to UT Dallas: Restore free speech rocks to campus — Administrators removed the university’s Spirit Rocks because of students’ political messages, by Graham Piro
Court upholds First Amendment rights of Notre Dame student newspaper — As student newspapers face lawsuits for reporting on current events, FIRE’s Student Press Freedom Initiative is here to help, by Jordan Howell.
LAWSUIT: Utah’s clumsy attempt to childproof social media is an unconstitutional mess, by FIRE staff
FIRE’s First Amendment News
Values Lady: give up your vows! The death of normative theories of free speech — First Amendment News 408, by Ronald K. L. Collins
New from FIRE’s ‘So To Speak’ podcast
This week on ‘So To Speak,’ US Naval Academy associate professor of cybersecurity law Jeff Kosseff discusses his new book, ‘Liar in a Crowded Theater: Freedom of Speech in a World of Misinformation’
‘Canceling’ in the news
I talked with Jesse Watters about some of the bizarre ideas to come out of Davos
I joined the Progress Network podcast to talk about ‘Canceling’
Mitch Daniels named ‘Canceling’ one of his ‘Five Best: Books on Education’ in the WSJ
Rikki spoke with Chris Williamson about ‘Canceling’
Book of the month (my first of 2024)!
What's Our Problem?: A Self-Help Book for Societies (2023) by Tim Urban — One of my favorite books about Cancel Culture, and our illiberal moment. Indeed, Rikki and I would’ve cited it many times in our book if it only came out a couple months earlier. I love how Tim explains that censoring discussion of individuals is more like censoring the inner thoughts of entire societies. (This was my ‘Book of the Month’ last February but I’m starting from scratch on Substack, so that means some books I named previously may be named again!)
It's amazing how human beings are so vulnerable to indoctrination. How easily we are manipulated. I think it's very true that whomever controls the media & Hollywood, controls the culture. Of course academia is very powerful, but it affects mostly the professional & managerial class.
My point is that the media machine that rails against racism towards minorities, has convinced many people that racism against white people is acceptable. Even more incredulous, they have convinced white people of this. Although, it appears that the majority of those convinced seem to be white women. This is certainly a generalization. However, I think this may be caused by a propensity for empathy. Another contributing factor is the increasing percentage of women graduating from universities.
It would be an interesting study to see how many groups throughout history, have turned against their own "in group" or tribe.
As a side note, I find it hypocritical that when there was a higher percentage of male graduates, feminists claimed it was due to sexism. Now that the tables have turned, feminists celebrate this disparity. Claiming it's because women are smarter or more capable. Another example of a powerful group (feminist) controlling the narrative.
Did you use text-to-speech for that last paragraph, and forget to edit it? Because it's pretty incoherent...