The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech November 14, 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]. In the News 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. FEC Axios: FEC targets digital ad disclosure By Lachlan Markay .....The Federal Election Commission is taking a significant step towards regulating digital political ads, taking up a measure to force disclosure of paid advertising on leading social and streaming platforms, according to documents posted by the FEC... The rule would require digital ads to disclose the entity paying for them, according to a draft posted on the FEC website on Thursday. It would also significantly expand the types of digital ads subject to the regulations — not just traditional banner ads or videos, but also paid social media endorsements and "influencer marketing" efforts. The proposed rule is the work of FEC commissioners Shana Broussard, a Democrat, and Allen Dickerson, a Republican, according to a source familiar with the process... The FEC is scheduled to vote on the measure next week — and is forgoing a public comment period on the regulation, according to Cooksey. "Without additional public input—and major revisions—I cannot support increasing government regulation over political speech online,” he wrote. The Courts Reason: A Michigan Mayor Tried To Stop Constituents From Criticizing Her. Now, They're Suing. By Emma Camp ....."I'm gonna talk over you. This gonna be one of those meetings ya'll never seen before," Monique Owens, Mayor of Eastpointe, Michigan, told one constituent during a September city council meeting. Owens repeatedly attempted to shout down speakers during the meeting—even while other council members urged her to stop. For her behavior, she's now facing a lawsuit alleging that she violated constituents' First Amendment rights. Free Expression The Atlantic: Book-Industry Activists Should Be Careful What They Wish For By Conor Friedersdorf .....In an open letter that began circulating last week, more than 700 “members of the writing, publishing, and broader literary community” are urging Penguin Random House to cancel the publication of a forthcoming title by Amy Coney Barrett. Citing the conservative Supreme Court justice’s vote with the majority in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and declared that the Constitution affords no right to an abortion, the signatories argue that publishing Barrett’s book would put the publisher at odds with globally recognized human rights. According to the letter, “harm is done to a democracy not only in the form of censorship, but also in the form of assault on inalienable human rights.” Washington Post: Don’t Cancel Amy Coney Barrett’s Book By Stephen L. Carter, Bloomberg .....Kudos to Penguin Random House for sticking to its plan to publish a book by Justice Amy Coney Barrett despite a petition from hundreds of people who work in publishing arguing that the company should cancel the volume due to the author’s vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Some of the petition’s signatories are writers I admire. Some are booksellers. Others work at Penguin Random House, a division of which has published several of my books, and therefore might well be people who’ve helped my career. Nevertheless, with all due respect, I am forced to dissent from the petitioners’ dissent. Candidates and Campaigns OpenSecrets: Spend big, win big: 96% of U.S. House races won by the biggest spender By Taylor Giorno and Keith Newell .....Of the House races called so far, 96% were won by the biggest spender, a new OpenSecrets analysis found. Nonprofits Politico: Liberal nonprofit spent $174M in 2021 as big money kept flowing after Trump By Scott Bland .....The Sixteen Thirty Fund took in nearly $191 million and spent $174 million last year, according to a new tax filing obtained by POLITICO. The group distributed over $107 million in grants to other outside organizations on the left, and it spent tens of millions more as the “fiscal sponsor” of other projects housed inside the nonprofit... In 2021, four donors supplied more than half of the Sixteen Thirty Fund’s money, according to the new tax filing. One gave $33.5 million, another gave $27.3 million, a third gave $23.5 million and the fourth-largest donor gave $21.5 million. None of the donors’ names are listed; nonprofits are not required to disclose their contributors’ identities, which is why such groups are often labeled “dark money” organizations. (Sixteen Thirty Fund has repeatedly noted that it supports changes to federal law requiring more disclosure.) The States Spectrum News 1: Advocates fear super PAC spending could undermine public financing of campaigns By Nick Reisman .....Millions of dollars in political giving during the race for New York governor came from one man who hoped to sway the election. Now good-government advocates are worried this could undermine a key change about to take effect for how political campaigns are funded. Oregon Capital Chronicle: You need more than money to win an election in Oregon By Randy Stapilus .....Remember those news stories about the massive campaign contributions on behalf of nonaffiliated Oregon governor candidate Betsy Johnson? For months her campaign treasury outpaced all others; she was the beneficiary of many millions of dollars, including more than $3 million just from Nike co-founder Phil Knight. As this is written on Wednesday morning, the Oregon governor’s contest isn’t settled yet – Democrat Tina Kotek is barely leading Republican Christine Drazan – but this much we know: Johnson isn’t in the hunt. With about half of the vote counted, she was pulling 8.8% of the vote... When it comes to the question of whether backers of a minority group can simply buy their way to an election win over a stable political majority, the answer in Oregon seems to be: no. Read an article you think we would be interested in? Send it to Tiffany Donnelly at [email protected]. For email filters, the subject of this email will always begin with "Institute for Free Speech Media Update." The Institute for Free Speech is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes and defends the First Amendment rights to freely speak, assemble, publish, and petition the government. Please support the Institute's mission by clicking here. For further information, visit www.ifs.org. 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