This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected].  

Ed. note: The Daily Media Update will return Wednesday, July 5. Happy Independence Day from the Institute for Free Speech!

Wall Street Journal: 303 Creative v. Elenis Is a Victory for Free Speech and Pluralism

.....303 Creative is a cultural tonic the country urgently needs. The tolerance the left once sought for gays and gay weddings has become the coercion that forces dissenters from the dominant culture to bend the knee.

Wall Street Journal: Former Ohio House Speaker Sentenced to 20 Years After Bribery Conviction

By Kris Maher

.....Former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for orchestrating what prosecutors have called the worst corruption scandal in state history, a massive pay-to-play bribery scheme to bail out an energy company…

Washington Post: Moms for Liberty didn’t exist 3 years ago. Now it’s a GOP kingmaker.

By Hannah Knowles and Hannah Natanson

.....Moms for Liberty’s political reach, [Karen] Svoboda said, is unmatched by any comparable group on the left — including her own. Defense of Democracy is among a number of education advocacy groups now coalescing to support LGBTQ+ clubs, keep books in schools and expand classroom discussions of race, sex and gender. Svoboda said dozens of Defense of Democracy members plan to travel to Philadelphia to protest outside the Moms for Liberty summit.

New York Times: At UChicago, a Debate Over Free Speech and Cyber Bullying

By Vimal Patel

.....Rebecca Journey, a lecturer at the University of Chicago, thought little of calling her new undergraduate seminar “The Problem of Whiteness.” Though provocatively titled, the anthropology course covered familiar academic territory: how the racial category “white” has changed over time.

New York Post: University of Cincinnati professor formally reprimanded over ‘biological women’ remark

By Patrick Reilly

.....A University of Cincinnati women’s gender studies professor has been ordered to complete free speech training after she failed a student for referring to non-trans female athletes as “biological women,” according to a report.

RealClearEducation: Fighting for Viewpoint Diversity One Commencement Address at a Time

By Patrice Onwuka

.....Grassroots organizations and funders concerned about the state of free speech on and off campuses have recognized the threat posed by censorship and its negative impact on intellectual diversity in higher education. Free speech is essential for creating environments where ideas can be shared, discussed, and debated in the pursuit of knowledge and truth. In recent years, a significant movement has emerged to protect free speech on campuses. One aspect of this untold story is the role of private philanthropy in supporting these efforts.

National Review: The Attack on Nonprofit Free Speech Continues

.....The 2022 state legislative season — the first since the Bonta decision — saw multiple states end donor-disclosure mandates. Yet in the first six months of 2023, no fewer than 19 states have considered legislation that would compel diverse and even apolitical organizations to share private supporter information. They range from blue states to purple states to red states, with at least eight bills still pending. That includes a bill in California — the state at the heart of Bonta — mandating disclosure of people who help fund ballot initiatives.

Colorado Sun: Colorado’s new law giving politicians leeway to block people on social media may be much harder to use than it seems

By Jesse Paul

.....A bipartisan bill passed this year by Colorado lawmakers that purports to let state officials block people on social media for any reason, as long as their accounts aren’t “supported by the resources of state government,” may be a lot harder to use than it seems — and it may not even be constitutional. 

The measure, House Bill 1306, which was signed into law in early June, is intended to address ambiguity around whether politicians blocking their constituents on sites like Facebook and Twitter violates the First Amendment. There have been lawsuits to that effect in Colorado that have led to pricey settlements covered by taxpayers.

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