The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech November 3, 2022 Click here to subscribe to the Daily Media Update. This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected]. We're Hiring! Communications Director – Institute for Free Speech – Washington, DC or Virtual Office .....The Institute for Free Speech is seeking a skilled communicator with experience in media relations and a proven record of developing relationships with journalists and influencers. This role will support all aspects of the Institute for Free Speech’s work. The Communications Director will understand both traditional media outreach efforts and social media to share the Institute’s pro-speech message. This position demands a candidate who has an in-depth understanding of what drives news stories and can use the news cycle to educate the public on the threats to and the importance of free speech. In short, you will help spread the Institute’s message and fight for the First Amendment’s speech freedoms and a culture of free speech in the court of public opinion. The Courts OpenSecrets: Federal PAC supporting Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid sues FEC over list-sharing ruling By Taylor Giorno .....Ready for Ron sued the Federal Election Commission last week after the agency blocked the hybrid PAC from sharing a petition with tens of thousands of supporters and their contact information with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to encourage him to run for president in 2024. At the heart of the lawsuit is whether that list – something campaigns typically spend a lot of money compiling – is political speech or an in-kind contribution. If successful, the lawsuit could poke more holes in already porous regulations barring coordination between super PACs and campaigns, campaign finance watchdogs told OpenSecrets. Free Expression Reason ("Volokh Conspiracy"): What Can Professors Say in Public? By Keith E. Whittington .....I have a new paper on how courts should understand the government's interests when conducting a Pickering balancing in the context of state universities and the extramural speech of professors. The Pickering framework is useful not only for understanding free speech rights in state universities but also for applying traditional protections for extramural speech in private universities. But as the courts have applied Pickering, there is a particular risk of a heckler's veto when it comes to government employee speech. Nonprofits New York Times: An Ethics Watchdog Criticized Stacey Abrams. His Boss Retracted It. By Michael Powell .....Craig Holman, a campaign finance and ethics expert, has long talked to reporters on issues of money and politics and conflicts of interest. His tart quotes often waft into the digital ether without further notice. That changed last week, when he criticized Fair Fight Action, a politically powerful voting rights group, and its founder, Stacey Abrams, who happens to be running for governor of Georgia. Mr. Holman’s boss took notice. Online Speech Platforms New York Times: Campaigns Pay Influencers to Carry Their Messages, Skirting Political Ad Rules By Stephanie Lai .....Strategists say using influencers can enhance how campaigns engage with crucial voters who could help sway competitive races. They provide a cost-effective way to communicate to large and localized audiences that draws higher engagement and circumvents bans on political advertising on platforms like Twitter, TikTok and Instagram. Politico: Musk personally led call with civil rights groups to address hate speech on Twitter By Rebecca Kern and Mark Scott .....Twitter CEO Elon Musk single-handedly led a call on Tuesday with civil rights groups in an effort to assure them that he would curtail hate speech — and stop the spread of misinformation ahead of the midterm elections. The States Center Square: Advocates seek to ban foreign money in Maine elections By Christian Wade .....Maine voters could have a say in whether foreign corporations are allowed to spend money on state referendums in an effort to sway the outcome. The group Protect Maine Elections says it has turned in more than 80,000 signatures to the secretary of state's office to put the issue before voters on the November 2023 ballot. Backers of the bipartisan effort say banning foreign contributions would protect the state's elections from shadowy outside interference and dark money special interest groups. Montana DOJ: Attorney General Knudsen Calls On YouTube To Stop Censoring Firearms-Related Speech .....In a letter to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, Attorney General Knudsen explained that the company recently removed a video from The Rogue Banshee’s channel, a Montana-based content creator, that provided instructions on how to finish construction of an “80% lower.” Even though incomplete lower receivers are not regulated as firearms by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and are legal, five Democrat U.S. Senators wrote a letter to YouTube asking them to censor and remove about a dozen videos related to them. YouTube complied… YouTube’s actions of removing legally protected speech and legal underlying conduct fit its pattern of censoring conservative viewpoints. Read an article you think we would be interested in? Send it to Tiffany Donnelly at [email protected]. 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