October 22, 2024

In the News

Protect the 1st:  The Supreme Court this Term: The First Amendment Gets the Short Shrift

.....This term, the Supreme Court declined to hear at least 16 cases that involved significant First Amendment issues, leaving a number of critical questions unresolved...

No on E v. Chiu centered on a challenge to a San Francisco law that required groups running election-related advertisements to disclose their donors, raising significant concerns about the balance between transparency in elections and the right to anonymous political speech. The plaintiffs argued that mandatory disclosure infringes on both free speech and association rights, raising fears of retaliation or harassment for individuals supporting controversial political causes. This is especially relevant in today’s hyper-connected digital world, where donor information is easily accessible, making contributors vulnerable to backlash.

As seen in Americans for Prosperity v. Bonta, the Supreme Court has already recognized that revealing donors’ identities can expose them to threats and harassment, deterring political participation. While transparency is often cited as a virtue in campaign finance, the risks to individuals' safety and privacy are real and growing. In response to these threats, 20 states have passed the Personal Privacy Protection Act (PPPA) to shield donors from exposure, acknowledging that the right to support causes anonymously is vital for a healthy democracy. The Court’s refusal to hear No on E allows these concerns to persist and leaves donor privacy vulnerable in states without such protections.

Fox Sports: Girls soccer team boycotts game vs. transgender player that Obama-era judge let play, as Trump promises ban

By Jackson Thompson

.....The other athlete involved in the case, Parker Tirrell, was allowed to play for Plymouth Regional High School. A group of New Hampshire families filed a lawsuit against Bow SD officials after allegedly being forced to remove armbands to protest Tirrell's participation on the team.  

Live Now Fox (Video): Elon Musk offers voters cash to sign petition

.....Elon Musk is offering voters $100 to sign a right-leaning petition. Bradley Smith, who previously served as Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission joined LiveNOW from FOX's Josh Breslow to talk campaign finance laws.

The Courts

Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): Fifth Circuit Stays Broad Discovery Regarding Media Matters Donors in X v. Media Matters

By Eugene Volokh

.....From an opinion issued Sunday by Fifth Circuit Judges Jerry Smith, Graves, and Engelhardt in X Corp. v. Media Matters for America:

Sky-Hi News: ACLU, Indigenous artist sue town of Vail, claiming First Amendment violation

By Zoe Goldstein, Vail Daily

.....In May, the town of Vail abruptly canceled its anticipated 2024 Artist in Residence program with Danielle SeeWalker, a Húŋkpapȟa Lakȟóta artist whose art incorporates traditional Native American messaging. Yesterday, on Indigenous People’s Day, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the town of Vail on SeeWalker’s behalf for a violation of the First Amendment, which protects free speech...

The residency offer was canceled in relation to a painting that SeeWalker made and posted to her Instagram account on April 18 called “G is for Genocide.” The painting features a Native American woman wearing a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian headdress. In the caption, SeeWalker wrote that funds from the sale of the painting would go to the United Nations Crisis Relief Fund for civilians in Palestine. “That particular piece of artwork had nothing to do with the residency,” SeeWalker said.

Nonprofit Law Prof Blog: Center for Countering Digital Hate Says Musk Deserved Getting Anti-Slapped

By Darryll K. Jones

.....We told you many months ago about Elon Musk suing the Center for Countering Digital Hate because he doesn't like that (c)(3)'s advocacy against hate speech on digital platforms. A lot of advertisers shy away from X because of hate speech. So when Musk filed suit asserting some ridiculous contract theory based on the shrink wrapping, we told you he would get anti-slapped and that is exactly what happened.  Always undeterred, Musk filed a notice of appeal and is now before the Ninth Circuit. His Opening Brief spends a lot of ink and paper asserting that the complaint "plausibly alleges" various breaches and one federal law violation. And that this case has nothing to do with CCDH's campaign against hate speech. Or even how Musk is getting richer by it. Musk, the brief asserts, entered into a contract with CCDH when CCDH subscribed to the platform formerly known as Twitter. CCDH breached that contract by using and sharing "scraped" data for non-bargained for uses. Simple as that.  

Free Expression

Conspicuous Cognition: The confused crusade against online misinformation

By Dan Williams

.....Since 2016, the year of two populist revolts—Brexit and then Trump—members of the liberal establishment throughout Western societies have been gripped by an intense panic about online misinformation.

According to the narrative driving this panic, false and incendiary content online, fuelled by sinister politicians, pundits, and algorithms, is infecting minds, amplifying division and distrust, and driving people to make damaging decisions, like voting for demagogues and rejecting public health advice.

This narrative was on full display earlier this year when the World Economic Forum drew on advice from nearly 1500 experts worldwide to list misinformation and disinformation as the number one global risk over the next two years, ahead of nuclear war and economic catastrophe.

Like most popular narratives, this one contains a grain of truth.

It would be absurd to deny that online misinformation sometimes creates real problems.

It’s easy to think of examples, such as the role of fake news in the awful race riots over the summer, where online misinformation was a contributing factor.

Nevertheless, this grain of truth is buried under a mountain of alarmism, fuzzy thinking, and self-serving spin.

Candidates and Campaigns

CNN: How elderly dementia patients are unwittingly fueling political campaigns

By Blake Ellis, Melanie Hicken, Yahya Abou-Ghazala, Audrey Ash, Kyung Lah, Anna-Maja Rappard, Casey Tolan, Lou Robinson and Byron Manley

.....More than 1,000 reports filed with government agencies and consumer advocacy groups reviewed by CNN, along with an analysis of campaign finance data and interviews with dozens of contributors and their family members, show how deceptive political fundraisers have victimized hundreds of elderly Americans and misled those battling dementia or other cognitive impairments into giving away millions of dollars — far more than they ever intended. Some unintentionally joined the ranks of the top grassroots political donors in the country as they tapped into retirement savings and went into debt, contributing six-figure sums through thousands of transactions.

Wall Street Journal: A Mystery $30 Million Wave of Pro-Trump Bets Has Moved a Popular Prediction Market

By Alexander Osipovich

.....Over the past two weeks, the chances of a Trump victory in the November election have surged on Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market. Its bettors were giving Trump a 60% chance of winning on Friday, while Harris’s chances were 40%. The candidates were in a dead heat at the start of October…

The big bets on Trump aren’t necessarily nefarious. Some observers have suggested that they were simply placed by a large bettor convinced that Trump will win and looking for a big payday. Others, however, see the bets as an influence campaign designed to fuel social-media buzz for the former president.

Polymarket is investigating the activity in its presidential-election markets with the assistance of outside experts, a person familiar with the matter said…

While $30 million might seem costly, it is sufficient to swing the odds on Polymarket and not a large outlay for a deep-pocketed individual seeking to influence the election, added Cochran, managing partner of the venture-capital firm Cinneamhain Ventures.

“It is by far the most efficient political advertising one can buy,” Cochran said.

Harry Crane, a professor of statistics at Rutgers University, said...[t]here are plausible reasons why bettors might favor Trump, and it is common for a few big accounts on betting markets to swing the odds with their wagers, according to Crane.

“Purchasing a large number of shares on one outcome does not require any ulterior motive or effort to manipulate the market,” Crane said.

The States

Florida Phoenix: Court records show DeSantis’ office behind threats to broadcasters airing pro-abortion ad

By Jackie Llanos

.....Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top lawyers prepared drafts of letters threatening criminal charges against broadcasters airing a pro-Amendment 4 ad to the Florida Department of Health’s legal counsel and told him to send them on the agency’s behalf, court records revealed Monday.

John Wilson, former general counsel to the health department, wrote in an affidavit that officials from the governor’s office told him to sign his name to the Oct. 3 letters threatening television stations airing an ad from Floridians Protecting Freedom, the sponsor of the abortion-rights amendment.

The governor’s general counsel, Ryan Newman, ordered Wilson to continue sending correspondence to the broadcasters, which prompted Wilson to resign on Oct. 10, he wrote. But before Wilson left his post, Newman instructed him to execute contracts with two law firms to pursue litigation against the television stations that received the cease-and-desist letters.

“I did not draft the letters or participate in any discussions about the letters prior to October 3, 2024,” Wilson wrote in the affidavit.

He continued: “I resigned from my position as General Counsel in lieu of complying with directives from Newman and Doty to send out further correspondence to the media outlets, similar to the October 3, 2024, letters.”

OPB:  Portland mayor candidate Rene Gonzalez violated rules by using public funds on Wikipedia page, auditor finds

By Bryce Dole

.....It’s the second time this month that auditors found the candidate broke the city’s campaign finance rules.

Portland city commissioner and mayoral candidate Rene Gonzalez violated campaign finance law by using taxpayer money to edit his Wikipedia page, the city auditor’s office found.

The office issued Gonzalez a $2,400 fine, saying he used city staff time, money and services to spiff up the page and clarify that he’s a Democrat in what it describes as “a key campaign strategy.”

“The role of Commissioner in Portland is nonpartisan; therefore, the funds and time spent on this Wikipedia edit are unrelated to Gonzalez’s City duties or accomplishments as a City Commissioner,” a Monday press release said.

Gonzalez’s office paid $6,400 to a New York company called WhiteHatWiki to make eight edits to the page in 2024, and the office “concludes that the City provided these funds and services to and on behalf of Gonzalez in his capacity as a candidate, not a current City Commissioner.”