No one should ever be subjected to violence for sharing their opinion, no matter how unpopular. In a free and pluralistic society, we must accept that words are not violence, and we must condemn anyone who resorts to physical harm in response to speech they don’t like.

Congrats to Vanderbilt, home of @futurefreespeech.org, for its climb to 7th in @thefireorg.bsky.social College Free Speech Rankings!

From Frederick Douglass to Thurgood Marshall, history shows that the values of free speech and equality are friends, not foes. www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4HT...

If free speech only protects the views we like, it isn’t free speech. In 1649, radicals warned UK Parliament that censorship was “dangerous to the liberties of the people.” Yet in Britain today, people are arrested for tweets, protests, and even satire.

Is banning flag burning just a secular blasphemy law? Trump’s EO treats the flag the way old laws treated religion: as a sacred symbol beyond insult. Different symbols, same instinct—punish irreverence to enforce orthodoxy.

On one side, you have a J.D. Vance who disagrees with the SCOTUS opinion that flag burning is protected political expression. On the other, you have a Vance who (rightly) scoffs at a Swedish judge who argued there should be limits on free expression when it comes to burning religious texts.

Despite the Trump admin's twisted rationale, SCOTUS has twice ruled that burning the flag 🇺🇸 in protest is protected political expression. Abandon that principle, and the U.S. trades its place as a free society for the habits of regimes that jail dissenters. ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

Just because the U.S. is hypocritical, it doesn’t mean that Europe’s free speech problems aren’t real—or worsening, as @conor64.bsky.social chronicles in his latest piece at @theatlantic.com (in which I’m also quoted). Principled free speech advocates should be sounding the alarm.

It’s not every day a government official invites you to write a lead essay criticizing speech restrictions. In this piece for the UK’s Commission for Countering Extremism, I argue that when democracies silence dissent, they don’t create safety—they create a pressure cooker.

Learn concrete strategies to push back against censorship and defend free expression during our invite-only Global Free Speech Summit with Vanderbilt University. WHEN: Oct. 3 and 4 | WHERE: Nashville, TN Apply here: https://globalfreespeechsummit.com/connect/

When a leading press-freedom group praises a government for censoring speech, it’s time to be concerned about the future of free speech.

Imagine if Chief Justice Roberts gave Justice Alito unchecked power to investigate “fake news,” seize private messages, and shut down social media platforms with no oversight or limits. In the U.S., it would be unthinkable. 🇧🇷 In Brazil, it's a reality.

Governments are increasingly invoking “incitement” and “hate speech” as catch-all justifications to punish political opposition, satire, and minority viewpoints. This week’s Free Flow highlights how global authorities are stretching these terms to silence dissent.🧵

This capitulation is a slap in the face to media outlets, journalists, and dissidents in authoritarian states. Unlike Paramount, independent media and reporters operating in authoritarian regimes cannot rely on unlimited funds, an army of lawyers AND the robust protection of the First Amendment.

The past decade has seen elite panic around disinformation reach new heights. The consequences for free expression have been devastating. In the latest Free Flow, we tracked just one week’s worth of new efforts to criminalize “fake news” and “propaganda.” 🧵

I really enjoyed this working paper by Claudia Williamson Kramer on the positive relationship between free speech, racial tolerance, and the protection of minority rights. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

For years, Germany has sought to curb extremism by policing speech. But in the 2025 federal election, the far-right AfD party won the 2nd highest number of votes. Does the rise in German political extremism go hand-in-hand with its crackdown on free speech? MEGA THREAD 🧵

🚨 The First Amendment bars the government from punishing speech based on specific viewpoints. For decades, it has thwarted officials of all stripes from throttling dissent. The wisdom of this ‘bedrock principle’ has only been reinforced during Trump 2.0. THREAD 👇

Our recent survey shows how people around the world overwhelmingly favor limiting the generation of controversial AI content. But an intriguing tension emerges: people broadly support regulating generative AI, but they also distrust the very politicians they want to regulate it.

Free speech isn’t a partisan prop. You can’t denounce Europe for punishing Quran burners while demanding prison for Americans who burn the flag. That’s not defending expression—it’s tribal hypocrisy.

🇧🇷 Free Speech is coming to Brazil! My book Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media will be published in Portuguese for the first time on July 17—with a new preface by journalist, author, and free expression advocate Madeline Lacsko.

Support for allowing controversial speech has plummeted among young Americans. 71% supported the right to insult the US flag in 2021. By 2024, only 43% did, a 28-point drop. A political science professor explains the trend: buff.ly/9sKPdB9 @mchangama.bsky.social @vanderbilt.edu #polisky

Will AI supercharge free expression—or create more powerful tools for suppression? I explored the fundamental difference between #CreativeAI vs. #InstrusiveAI with Melissa Mahtani at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit. #CDS2025 📷: @aodemocracies.bsky.social

What happens when the government can ban expression it claims is "intended to arouse" or it considers as lacking "serious value"? At @msnbc.com, @mchangama.bsky.social and @ashkhen.bsky.social break down a new obscenity bill that has dangerous implications for free speech.

Why are young Americans — the generation that grew up online — turning against free speech? At @theconversation.com, I dig into our recent @futurefreespeech.org survey and other data to unpack why young people are much less likely to support controversial speech than 4 years ago.

In a couple of weeks, @mchangama.bsky.social will return for another thought-provoking @profsandpints.bsky.social lecture at Fait la Force Brewing in Nashville, TN! Enjoy engaging conversations, cold drinks, and open dialogue about our most fundamental freedom.

Prosocial media strategies transformed Taiwan into one of the most civically engaged and least socially polarized places in the world. Read the full essay and breakdown by Glen Weyl @glenweyl.bsky.social Audrey Tang @audreyt.org and Jacob Mchangama @mchangama.bsky.social

A huge thank you to @joeljmiller.bsky.social for being such a thoughtful and sharp interviewer at my book signing at Landmark Books. A true pleasure to share the stage with someone who brings both curiosity and clarity to the conversation. 🎧 LISTEN HERE: www.millersbookreview.com/p/fragile-in...

New piece with @audreyt.org and @mchangama.bsky.social in @noemamag.com on how to reimagine social media, starting with @bsky.app! www.noemamag.com/building-a-p...

“Today is the most realistic moment since social media was born in the mid-2000s to make it the tool it always should have been — for it to strengthen rather than strip-mine the social fabric.” — @glenweyl.bsky.social , @audreyt.org & @mchangama.bsky.social #socialmedia #socialmediaregulation

Can social media be transformed from a divisive echo chamber into a vibrant marketplace of ideas? Imagine a platform where free speech isn’t stifled by top‐down speech restrictions but is empowered by community-driven context.

📢 Would Christopher Hitchens be deported for his opinions in today's America? That’s not just a thought experiment. The U.S. government is now targeting legal foreign residents for otherwise protected speech. A personal reflection in @thedispatch: thedispatch.com/article/free...

📡 What happens when one of the world’s loudest voices for free expression goes quiet? Cold War-era dissidents like Václav Havel clung to the truth carried by U.S. broadcasts. 🔌Now, we’re pulling the plug on that legacy while autocrats double down on repression.

"As America retreats from promoting freedom of information and expression abroad while simultaneously restricting it at home, the world is in danger of losing its most vocal and decisive global champion of free speech," argues @mchangama.bsky.social at Persuasion.

I never thought that, as an immigrant to the U.S., I would have to worry about how what I say might affect my legal status. Despite the crucial role that foreigners have played in expanding free speech and sparking progress throughout U.S. history, we are now at a crossroads.

Financial indicators might signal an economic recession, but more data point to a free speech recession. I touch on these and other worrying global trends in this fantastic discussion with @nicoperrino.bsky.social, @sarahemclaugh.bsky.social, and James Kirchick. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKk2...

Worrying new data from the @futurefreespeech.org. reason.com/2025/04/03/s...

The U.S. talks a big game on free speech, especially on the world stage. But @futurefreespeech.org's new global survey shows Americans, especially younger generations, are sliding into a cultural free speech recession — while countries from Europe and South America outshine the U.S.

A year ago, a @futurefreespeech.org report showed that many popular AI chatbots refused to generate content about controversial topics. At The Bedrock Principle, my colleagues @jordicalbad.bsky.social, Isabelle Anzabi, and I check in to see if and how things have changed. (Link in the replies)

The First Amendment according to Musk: Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press* *Except to prevent "lies" and "propaganda" about the business interests of the world's richest man and "special government employee"

In this in-depth interview with Yascha Mounk, I recount how a German MEP called me a liar at a recent panel in Brussels when I raised free speech concerns about European digital regulations.

The paperback version of FREE SPEECH is out! It comes with a new epilogue, so you can save money AND get new material.

🌎 Our NEW survey of 33 countries shows that for every country gaining ground, two are sliding backward since 2021. Let’s dig into how public attitudes toward free expression are changing across the globe (including a backslide in the U.S.!) 🧵:

President Trump’s effort to redefine which speech is “acceptable” highlights a deeper threat: waning public support for free expression. @economist.com cites our forthcoming report on global free speech attitudes with a warning from @mchangama.bsky.social:

🚨We just released our survey on global attitudes toward free speech in over 30 countries. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the results 🧵⬇️⬇️⬇️

📉 The U.S. dropped from 3rd to 9th in our latest survey of global attitudes on #freespeech in 33 countries. @mchangama.bsky.social spoke to Lindsey Reiser at @cbsnews.com about our findings:

For many years now, I have listened to my friend @mchangama.bsky.social, a great Dane, on the subject of freedom of speech -- even when I didn't want to. (We discussed this on a podcast once: my occasional churlishness.) I am listening to him again. www.persuasion.community/p/free-speec...

Currently reading History of free speech by @mchangama.bsky.social Speech repression is practiced by *all* political groups, right and left, when it favors their interests. It aims to preserve people’s commitment to moral causes, and signal devotion to political camps.

On Lawfare Daily, @noupside.bsky.social spoke to @glenweyl.bsky.social, @mchangama.bsky.social, and @iyerland.bsky.social about design vs moderation in social media, designing a prosocial media for the future and the potential for an online world without Caesars. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...