November 7, 2023

Ed. note: The Daily Media Update will return Tuesday, Nov. 14.

In the News

Cleveland Scene: Ohio Gets ‘F’ Grade for Lack of Law Against Costly, Speech-Chilling Lawsuits

.....Ohio has earned the dubious distinction of being one of just 17 states with no law protecting against costly, frivolous lawsuits that are used to intimidate and silence critics. As a result, these states earned an “F” in the 2023 Anti-SLAPP Report Card, recently released by the Institute of Free Speech.

The Courts

Politico: Appeals court mulls reviving Sarah Palin’s suit against New York Times — again

By Josh Gerstein

.....An attorney for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin opened his argument for her at a federal appeals court Monday by mounting a frontal assault on the Supreme Court decision that has been the bedrock of U.S. libel law for nearly six decades, New York Times v. Sullivan.

Congress

New Republic: Poor Josh Hawley Can’t Help Himself

By Jason Linkins

.....Josh Hawley is at it again. Over a brief career in Washington, the elfin senator from Missouri—when he’s not egging on and then fleeing from insurrectionists—has attempted one pseudo-populist or culture-war gimmick after another to propel him to a higher level of celebrity than he currently enjoys. Alas, while his ideas have gained some prominence on the right, Hawley’s own star isn’t ascending at nearly the same rate. But he is nothing if not undaunted, and this week he unveiled a plan to “overturn Citizens United.” I’m putting that in scare quotes for a reason. Hawley’s latest legislative burlesque is wholly fake—and threadbare even by his gutter standards..

Wall Street Journal: Josh Hawley’s Unoriginal Constitution

By The Editorial Board

.....Mr. Hawley’s exercise aligns with the progressive notion that money is corrupting and that too much of it rigs elections and leads hapless voters to the wrong decision. In April 2022, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.) tweeted that Citizens United “super-charged the schemes of big corporate and right-wing donors to rig our government in their favor.”

The Supreme Court addressed that conceit directly in Citizens United. In his majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that “when Government seeks to use its full power . . . to command where a person may get his or her information, or what distrusted source he or she may not hear, it uses censorship to control thought.” That’s “unlawful” because the First Amendment “confirms the freedom to think for ourselves.”

Just the News: Weaponization panel details government collusion with universities to censor speech

By Ben Whedon

.....The House Weaponization panel on Monday published an interim report detailing the operations of the federal government and a cabal of academic disinformation "experts" that worked to censor political speech ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The 104-page report, published Monday, details the operations of the Election Integrity Project (EIP) which worked with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to monitor online political speech and censor disfavored viewpoints.

Biden Administration

Politico Magazine: Biden’s Elusive AI Whisperer Finally Goes On the Record. Here’s His Warning.

By Nancy Scola

.....The meeting, Reed says, hardened his belief that generative AI is poised to shake the very foundations of American life. “What we’re going to have to prepare for, and guard against,” Reed says, “is the potential impact of AI on our ability to tell what’s real and what’s not.” Reed agreed to two interviews for this piece, one in his office and one by phone, to discuss tech policy and AI. These are rare extended interviews from Reed, who has been one of the Democratic Party’s most consequential policy minds for decades but who is reluctant to talk to the press.

Free Expression

Washington Post: You shouldn’t be fired for being a jerk

By Kat Rosenfield

.....Like many creative professionals, I believe unequivocally in the First Amendment — and not just the letter of the law, which prohibits the government from interfering with speech. I believe in the spirit of it, which can and should animate a culture in which freedom of expression is valued, encouraged and defended by every citizen who enjoys its protections.

As such, the list of things I don’t think people should be fired for is virtually endless. That includes political speech of the type described above, but it also includes provocative food opinions, using your thumb and forefinger to make the “okay” sign, retweeting an off-color joke, getting into an altercation with a stranger at the dog park, and various and sundry interpersonal conflicts that fall under the general category of “being a jerk.” And yet, for all these things and more, many people have suffered serious professional consequences in recent years, often at the behest of the same people now lamenting that they can’t post Hamas paraglider memes or tear down posters of kidnapped Israeli children without someone reporting them to human resources.

Online Speech Platforms

Reuters: Exclusive: Meta bars political advertisers from using generative AI ads tools

By Katie Paul

.....Facebook owner Meta is barring political campaigns and advertisers in other regulated industries from using its new generative AI advertising products, a company spokesperson said on Monday, denying access to tools that lawmakers have warned could turbo-charge the spread of election misinformation.

Meta publicly disclosed the decision in updates posted to its help center on Monday night, following publication of this story. Its advertising standards prohibit ads with content that have been debunked by the company's fact-checking partners but do not have any rules specifically on AI.

The States

Reason: This City Wants To Ban Gun Ads at the Airport

By J.D. Tuccille

.....Is advertising a form of speech protected by the First Amendment? Can government agencies reject advertising in facilities they control just because they don't like its content? Those questions arise in Flagstaff, Arizona, where city officials are trying to block a gun range owner from promoting his business at the local airport.

New Jersey Globe: N.J. Judge freezes bank account of dark money group backing fake candidate, bars them from further voter communications

By David Wildstein

.....A Superior Court judge today froze the bank account of a tenebrous dark money independent expenditure group backing a phantom candidate in the 4th district State Senate race.