Hundreds of thousands of people, dead because of a decision made by the world's richest man

Ok, this is a great joke

Virginia has elected Ghazala Hashmi as the state’s next lieutenant governor, making her the first Muslim woman ever elected to statewide office in the United States. 19thnews.org/2025/11/virg...

The Abrego Garcia Affair will symbolize certain malevolent and mendacious aspects of our current moment.

“These kinds of visa revocations are censorship, plain and simple. Mere ‘mockery’ can’t be grounds for adverse government action—whether revocation of broadcast licenses or revocation of visas," says @carriedecell.bsky.social. Full statement here: knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

Immigrants have been awarded 40% of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine and physics since 2000. nfap.com/research/new...

the Trump admin just deported an award-winning journalist known for his reporting on ICE and got Apple to block ICE-spotter apps — all while churning out highly-produced social media content from violent ICE raids in Chicago. it’s their media or no media. www.techpolicy.press/amidst-viole...

Student journalist Lucas Griffith faces trial today for covering a protest against the deportation of Ayman Soliman, who himself fled persecution for his journalism in Egypt. Lucas did nothing wrong. This is a big deal and would be national news in normal times.

Journalists are being attacked, detained, & harmed while carrying out their work. It's unlawful targeting, but accountability is rare. Congress can & should do more to protect the press in these situations. More from me & @katygb.bsky.social: knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

"I don’t understand how being rich can make someone such a whore...you might as well do commercials for Lockheed Martin or Zyklon B"

Absolutely incredible news. Long, long overdue. This was a global movement--but at its foundation, was a testament to the inimitable courage and fortitude of Ala'a and his family.

It says something about Trump’s all-out war on free speech that the New York Times couldn’t find a more credible person than “presidential historian” Craig Shirley to defend it. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/21/u...

In this post I explain why the suspension of Kimmel’s show looks like a blatant 1A violation, as all NINE members of SCOTUS last year made clear.... but also why courts may not be able to do much about it (and yet Kimmel should still sue!) blog.dividedargument.com/p/did-brenda...

Authoritarianism is like measles: Ignore it and it will go away. I have this guidance straight from Secretary Kennedy. www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

Trump is launching a full blown attack on free speech while his harem of billionaires buys up every media platform. This is no coincidence. It’s a coordinated attack on your fundamental right to speak freely without worrying if you’ll lose your job or worse.

FCC Chairman Carr’s successful targeting of Jimmy Kimmel is part of a longstanding pattern of jawboning. Back in February, @knightcolumbia.org submitted a statement to the House Committee on the Judiciary outlining just a few of Carr’s acts of censorship (1/):

By the head of the Federal Communications Commission, in 2022:

Not really an overstatement to say that the test of a free society is whether or not comedians can make fun of the country's leader on TV without repurcussions.

This is extortion and censorship. Brendan Carr is turning into a mob boss: “the easy way or the hard way,” really? What about the American way? The constitutional way? Shame on ABC for capitulating and on Nexstar for greedily aiding and abetting this farce.

Instances of Paragon's Graphite spyware being used to target journalists in Europe remain unexplained. Placing this technology in the hands of an emboldened ICE is a highly concerning move that compounds threats to civil liberties.

We studied how Elon Musk shifts Grok’s politics to mirror his own. Sometimes it works, like when Grok changed overnight from saying disinformation was the worst threat to humanity to claiming it was birth rate decline instead. Other times, Grok is harder to influence: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/t...

Jerry Nadler ends his remarkable career, conceding that his brand of politics on the Middle East is over. “I don’t know what to say at this point,” he said. “I can’t defend what Israel is doing.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/n...

Harvard is reportedly nearing a “settlement” with Trump. Here’s a great podcast episode from @knightcolumbia.org with Wesleyan President Michael Roth, U Chicago First Amendment guru @genevievelakier.bsky.social, and journalist @cristianfarias.com. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

The first draft of a history of Trump's assault on colleges and universities and particularly on foreign scholars is furnished by the Knight First Amendment Institute.

The Columbia settlement is an “astonishing transfer of autonomy and authority to . . . an administration whose disdain for the values of the academy is demonstrated anew every day.” New @knightcolumbia.org analysis of the Columbia settlement, just published. knightcolumbia.org/blog/what-th...

Tune in this morning for closing arguments:

WSJ editorial board: “The President is using government to intimidate news outlets that publish stories he doesn’t like. It’s a low move in a free country with a free press.” www.wsj.com/opinion/dona...

I was encouraged to see the #G7 Leaders' Statement on Transnational Repression which also calls out mitigating harms around mercenary spyware 👇🇨🇦 www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/stat...

Important piece by @cristianfarias.com.

Glad to chat with @brieannafrank.bsky.social about the First Amendment threats to public broadcasting and the mood on the Hill. Despite the House's support for the funding clawback, the fight in the Senate continues.

NEW: A data broker owned by major airlines sold domestic US flight data to DHS, telling the dept. not to disclose that, according to records obtained by @404media.co—copublished in partnership with @wired.com. No paywall bc FOIA @josephcox.bsky.social w/ the scoop: www.wired.com/story/airlin...

We've gotten so used to seeing pictures of heavily policed protest crowds that sometimes we forget police's primary job at a protest is supposed to be ensuring that people can exercise their First Amendment protected rights, not shutting the protest down as quickly as possible.

A herring is a fish. When a herring is preserved by salting and smoking, it turns red and smells. It's so pungent that it's a great diversion to distract hunting dogs from their trail. Now, a ‘red herring’ refers to anything that diverts attention from the issue at hand.

People should be able to testify about unconstitutional state action without having to worry that their testimony will provoke more unconstitutional state action. theintercept.com/2025/06/07/i...

A strong independent public media is in the public interest. I discuss the current First Amendment threats to public broadcasting in the latest episode of @knightcolumbia.org's podcast. Tune in to this and all of our episodes at the link below.

This morning at the National Press Club in Washington, DC—“Surveillance Ascendant, Democracy in Free Fall” with @markey.senate.gov @oliviersylvain.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social @juliaangwin.com @nadinefj.bsky.social @nathaliemarechal.net @nancyscola.bsky.social & more

📌We're excited to be hosting a convening in DC next week – on 5/16 at the National Press Club – on free speech and consumer protection in an era of commercial surveillance, an issue exacerbated by rapidly accruing threats to democracy. There's still time to RSVP: knightcolumbia.org/events/surve...

Just a reminder that these are the people purporting to be outraged by antisemitism on campus. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/u...

Was SO predictable that DOJ was going to treat SCOTUS language re. "due regard" as letting them continue to slow-walk this endlessly. District Judge not buying it, which is good, but this is why SCOTUS is wrong to treat this DOJ w presumption of good faith and regularity.

Perhaps this is one reason they decided to slash that pesky DHS office of civil rights and civil liberties.

“While in the interrogation room, Makled said, a man in plain clothes entered and began speaking to him. He said he recalls the man telling him: ‘We know you're a lawyer. We know you take on big cases.’”

"Initiating a plan like this would likely touch all data within the IRS, including taxpayer names, addresses, social security numbers, as well as tax return and employment data." Will this be challenged? Likely. Will it be too late? Possibly.

filibusters.org Senator Booker is on fire.

More of this please: “You can support … the oath we all took when becoming members of the bar. Or you can sit back, check your bank balance and watch your freedoms, along with the legal system and the tripartite system of government we should not take for granted, swirl down the drain.”

Current info indicates that the linked op-ed led to the scene below--masked men surrounding a student and arresting her, because of the words she wrote. This administration’s policy of ideological deportation is unconstitutional. We are challenging it: knightcolumbia.org/cases/aaup-v...

Columbia had an opportunity to leverage its position and stature in the name of its people, not to mention basic tenets of academic freedom and constitutional rights. The reverberations of its appeasement will be incredibly far-reaching.

Linked is yesterday’s chilling letter from administration officials to Columbia’s leadership. Left unchecked, this is the Orbánization of U.S. higher education. Universities must come together in the face of this assault. drive.google.com/file/d/12ogI...

See @knightcolumbia.org’s statement in light of the Trump administration’s escalation against Columbia: knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

Join us April 10-11! Looking forward to this discussion.