There’s a tug of war in our country over the meaning of free speech. But this isn’t any old game. It is existential. At the heart of how we live together in a democracy.
At PEN America, we support and protect a vision of free speech that encourages rigorous debate, welcomes diverse perspectives, and sometimes even makes people outright uncomfortable. But rampant online abuse, the deliberate spread of falsehood, and policies that masquerade their own repressive agendas as “free speech” initiatives poison democratic discourse.
We can fight these ills without shutting down speech. It is urgent that we stand together and fight back.
As the 1948 PEN Charter states…
Help PEN America uphold its founding charter. Join us in protecting free speech as a core tenet of democracy.
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