PEN Points: DHS warns about new threats fueled by misinformation, abortion ruling

PEN Points: A Weekly Focus on Free Expression

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DHS Warns about New Threats Fueled by Misinformation, Abortion Ruling

The U.S. continues to face an increased threat of violence stemming from misinformation from domestic extremists and potential civil unrest surrounding the Supreme Court's ultimate decision on abortion rights, according to a terror threat bulletin issued by the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday. The bulletin warns that a number of "high-profile events" could be used to justify violence against targets that include schools, public gatherings, ideological opponents, racial and religious minorities and government facilities.

U.S. Free Expression Stories

Facebook fails again to detect hate speech in ads
The test couldn’t have been much easier—and Facebook still failed. Facebook and its parent company Meta flopped once again in a test of how well they could detect obviously violent hate speech in advertisements submitted to the platform by the nonprofit groups Global Witness and Foxglove.
AP

The rise in book bans, explained
Book challenges in America aren’t new—but over the past year, they’ve reached a fever pitch. Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education at PEN America, says the situation is “unprecedented in its scale, and in the proliferation of organized groups who are trying to remove whole lists of books at once in multiple school districts, across a growing number of states.” See PEN America’s report on the impact of rising book bans.
THE WASHINGTON POST

A free-speech group known for campus interventions wants to be bigger
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is expanding beyond college campuses. The organization announced Monday it is rebranding as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression as part of a $75-million campaign that it says will focus on defending free speech through litigation and in the court of public opinion.
THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

The Latest from PEN America

Digital Safety Snacks
Thursday 6/16 - Thursday 7/28 | 12pm ET
Digital Event Series

Journalists are increasingly expected to have an online presence and engage on social media to do their jobs, which can expose them to harassment. But there are concrete steps journalists can take to protect themselves and fight back. This June and July, grab your laptops and your phones and sign up for Safety Snacks! PEN America, the Online News Association, and the International Women’s Media Foundation have joined forces to create step-by-step videos and hands-on workshops on protecting yourself from doxing and hacking, securing your Twitter and Facebook accounts, and Instagram, LinkedIn, and cell phone hygiene. Learn more and register.

Can I Laugh At That?
Thursday 6/16 | 5pm ET
Digital Event

The WNET Group’s ALL ARTS and EXPLORING HATE along with UNORTHODOX and PEN America present: “Can I Laugh At That?” Four leading comedians—Judy Gold, Alex Edelman, Shappi Khorsandi, and Mike Yard—discuss how they do their jobs in today’s world. It’s a world where a failed joke can end up on social media, dissected by millions. Where the line between an acceptable joke and one that crosses the line is blurrier than ever. Where bad news does inspire good comedy… even if we’re laughing through our tears. Join us for an important—and funny—conversation. Learn more and register.

As Threats Escalate Against Narges Mohammadi, PEN America Calls For Her Immediate Release from Iranian Prison on Unjust Charges

In response to reports of death threats against Iranian journalist and human rights defender Narges Mohammadi, who is unjustly imprisoned, PEN America called on Iranian authorities to immediately release her from the extremely dangerous Qarchak prison. See the full statement.

PEN America Response: Banning Of Non-English Dictionaries In Michigan Prisons Tramples On Fundamental Rights

Anthony Johnson, research and advocacy manager at PEN America, released a statement in response to a new policy by the Michigan Correctional Facilities to restrict non-English dictionaries as a way “to ensure prison safety and protect correctional staff.” See the full statement.

UN Special Rapporteur on Iran Urged to Raise Imprisonment of Writers Arash Ganji and Reza Khandan Mahabadi, Being Held in Teheran on Wrongful Convictions

PEN America has called on the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Iran to press the Iranian government to urgently release two imprisoned Iranian writers, Arash Ganji and 2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award honoree Reza Khandan Mahabadi, from Teheran’s Evin prison. The two writers are serving sentences of 11 years and 6 years in prison, respectively, related to wrongful convictions for their writing and free expression advocacy. See the full statement.

Global Free Expression Stories

Political disinformation is all over Kenyan TikTok
Political disinformation and hate speech is going viral on TikTok in Kenya ahead of a critical national election, according to a new report from the Mozilla Foundation. The report researcher, Odanga Madung, analyzed 130 videos from 33 accounts that collectively have over 4 million views. Madung found that targeted incitements to violence against specific ethnic groups, and manipulated or outright fake content were “present and spreading” on TikTok.
GIZMODO

Dom Phillips: editors around world urge Bolsonaro to do more to find missing journalist
Editors and journalists from some of the world’s biggest news organizations have written to the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, to ask that he “urgently step up and fully resource the effort” to find missing British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous advocate Bruno Pereira.
THE GUARDIAN

Fury at UN human rights chief over “whitewash” of Uyghur repression
Dozens of scholars have accused the UN human rights chief of having ignored or contradicted academic findings on abuses in Xinjiang with her statements on the region. In an open letter published this week, 39 academics from across Europe, the US and Australia called on Michelle Bachelet to release a long-awaited UN report on human rights abuses in China.
THE GUARDIAN

Spotlight: Anouar Rahmani

Since 2017, Anouar Rahmani has been threatened with legal action in Algeria for content in his books, including a gay relationship and a depiction of God in his novel The City of White Shadows which was published widely online. He believes he has been targeted by Algerian authorities for his vocal support of gay rights. In November 2020, he was found guilty of “insulting the President of the Republic” and fined 50,000 dinar for online political writings. In January 2022, he arrived in Pittsburgh as part of the Artist Protection Fund Fellowship.

I was accused also of blasphemy because I said in one of my articles that God is free. They said, “God is not free because ‘free’ is not one of the names of God in Islam.” And it was like very funny for me. Like, if they prevent their own God from being free, how they can not prevent me from be the same?

Learn more about Anouar.

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