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

Reuters: Biden pushes election 'dark money' disclosure bill doomed to fail in Congress

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Alexandra Alper

.....U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday made a plea for Congress to pass a bill that would require super PACs and certain other groups to disclose donors who contributed $10,000 or more during an election cycle, a measure doomed to fail due to lack of Republican support...

R Street: R Street Urges Senators to Oppose the DISCLOSE Act

.....The DISCLOSE Act would unnecessarily force exposure of donor information, threaten individual liberties and violate freedom of speech.

Washington Post: A landmark Supreme Court fight over social media now looks likely

By Robert Barnes and Ann E. Marimow 

.....Conflicting lower court rulings about removing controversial material from social media platforms point toward a landmark Supreme Court decision on whether the First Amendment protects Big Tech’s editorial discretion or forbids its censorship of unpopular views.

Carolina Journal: Stein makes case against N.C. criminal libel law in new 4th Circuit brief

.....N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein’s latest filing in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals makes the case for declaring a 91-year-old state law unconstitutional. The law creates a misdemeanor crime for people who lie about candidates in election campaigns.

A split 4th Circuit panel already voted, 2-1, to give Stein a temporary win in the case. The panel agreed on Aug. 23 to block Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman’s office from using the law to bring indictments against Stein and his associates.

Florida Today: Fight over suspended prosecutor Andrew Warren headed to trial

.....A federal judge on Monday refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren but also rejected the Democrat’s request for a preliminary injunction to block the suspension by Gov. Ron DeSantis, saying the public wouldn’t be served by “yo-yoing” prosecutors.

Washington Examiner: The media's Patagonia rules: 'Dark money' for your guys, 'philanthropy' for ours

By Timothy P. Carney

.....In 2022, billionaire Yvon Chouinard gave his company to a liberal nonprofit organization called the Holdfast Collective, which can use its money to fund politicians and political causes.

This, the New York Times tells us, heralds “a new form of capitalism” with actual commitment to “making the world a better place.” ...

Reason ("Volokh Conspiracy"): Is Silicon Valley Spying on Conservatives for the FBI?

.....The NY Post today makes a troubling claim, attributed to FBI whistleblowers -- that without probable cause Facebook has given the FBI the private posts of conservatives upset about the 2020 election, triggering numerous investigations.

Washington Post: Trump’s ‘big lie’ fueled a new generation of social media influencers

By Elizabeth Dwoskin and Jeremy B. Merrill 

.....The 2020 election and its turbulent aftermath fueled a powerful generation of online influencers, a Washington Post data analysis has found, producing sky-high follower counts for an array of conservatives who echoed Trump’s false claims of election fraud, known as the “big lie.” Some doubled or tripled their audiences on Twitter, while others saw even larger gains — catapulting, like Becker, from relative obscurity to online fame.

Reason ("Volokh Conspiracy"): First Amendment Limits on State Laws Targeting Election Misinformation, Part II

.....This is part II in a series of posts discussing First Amendment Limits on State Laws Targeting Election Misinformation, 20 First Amend. L. Rev. 291 (2022). What follows is an excerpt from the article (minus the footnotes, which you will find in the full PDF).

Colorado Politics: Colorado appeals court says Joe Salazar's lawsuit against Public Trust Institute can move forward

.....The Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled that a lawsuit by a former legislator alleging malicious prosecution by the Public Trust Institute and its former director can move forward.

Associated Press: Cowboys for Trump cofounder appeals ban from public office

.....A New Mexico politician and Trump supporter who was removed and barred from elected office for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, is attempting to appeal that decision to the state Supreme Court.

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