The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech May 26, 2023 Click here to subscribe to the Daily Media Update. This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected]. The Daily Media Update will return Wednesday, May 31st. In the News NTD News (Video): Americans Rightly Suspicious of Both Political Parties Misusing Power When They Have It: David Keating Hosted by Iris Tao .....To explore these topics—freedom of speech, FBI surveillance, and the role of social media—NTD spoke to David Keating, president of the Institute for Free Speech. The Courts Daily Wire: Indiana School Counselor Fired For Speaking Out About School Gender Policy Files Federal Lawsuit By Mairead Elordi .....An Indiana high school counselor fired for speaking out about the school district’s transgender student policy is now suing the district. Kathy McCord filed a lawsuit in federal court last week against the South Madison Community Schools Corporation near Indianapolis. The lawsuit alleges that the school district violated her First Amendment rights by retaliating against her for voicing her disagreement with the district’s “Gender Support Plan.” McCord, who has spent 37 years in education, was fired from Pendleton Heights High School in March after revealing details about the strategy, which involved concealing a student’s new gender identity from their parents. Free Expression National Review: Professor Who Harassed Pro-Life Students Surrenders to Police after Threatening Reporter with Machete By Ari Blaff .....SUNY Hunter College professor Shellyne Rodriguez surrendered to police Thursday morning after brandishing a machete at a New York Post reporter who came to her door seeking comment regarding a video in which she can be seen harassing pro-life students. Online Speech Platforms Politico: Twitter to pull back from Europe’s disinformation crusade By Mark Scott .....Twitter is on the verge of withdrawing from one of the Europe Union's efforts to stamp out disinformation. In the coming days, the social networking giant, which is owned by Elon Musk, is expected to end its participation in the bloc's code of practice of disinformation, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, who were granted anonymity to speak to discuss internal discussions between the company and the European Commission. The code of practice is a voluntary rulebook that was revamped last year and includes obligations for companies like Twitter, Meta and Alphabet to track political advertising, stop the monetization of disinformation, and provide greater access to these platforms to outsiders. While not mandatory, companies' participation in the code was designed to help offset some of these firms' obligations within the separate, and mandatory, Digital Services Act — new social media rules that include fines of up to 6 percent of a company's annual revenue. Candidates and Campaigns Roll Call: AI could sway the 2024 elections, campaign pros say — but not like you think By Jim Saksa .....Despite the widespread anxiety over deepfakes’ effects on democracy, political consultants say they are more excited about generative AI’s potential to tackle boring grunt work and expand their ability to deploy big-race tactics in down-ballot contests. AI’s real impact on campaigning will be “behind the scenes,” said Tom Newhouse, vice president of digital marketing at Converge Media, a Republican advertising and consulting firm. “It’s going to be improving fundraising capabilities by better targeting, whether that is location targeting, income, hobbies or habits, providing campaigns with up-to-date voter data, more personalized advertising, [or] messages.” “There are many small campaigns that I think can potentially leverage the tools to [not just] save time, but to create content that may not have been possible otherwise,” said Larry Huynh, a partner at Trilogy Interactive, a Democratic digital marketing firm. Scam PACs New York Times (Audio): Millions of Dollars, Thousands of Robocalls and 1 Legal Loophole Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise .....A New York Times investigation has found that a group of Republican operatives used robocalls to raise $89 million on behalf of veterans, police officers and firefighters. David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The Times, explains how they actually spent the money and the legal loophole that allowed them to do that. Read an article you think we would be interested in? Send it to Tiffany Donnelly at [email protected]. For email filters, the subject of this email will always begin with "Institute for Free Speech Media Update." The Institute for Free Speech is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes and defends the First Amendment rights to freely speak, assemble, publish, and petition the government. Please support the Institute's mission by clicking here. For further information, visit www.ifs.org. Follow the Institute for Free Speech ‌ ‌ ‌ The Institute for Free Speech | 1150 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 801, Washington, DC 20036 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]