The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech November 15, 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 Insider: Trump won't be able to pour his $93 million campaign war chest into his 2024 presidential campaign. At least not directly. By Bryan Metzger .....On Monday, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Trump violated federal law when he transferred $20 million from Save America to MAGA Inc. in October. They argue that Trump has made clear for months that he intends to run again — avoiding doing so directly in order to avoid having to comply with fundraising laws that restrict official candidates... The Democratic super PAC American Bridge filed a complaint against Trump in March alleging that he was using Save America as a vehicle for his 2024 presidential ambitions. But some experts told Insider earlier this year that Trump could tease the idea without having to register as a candidate… "There's no law against joking, bloviating, speculating, or predicting, Brad Smith, chairman and founder of the Institute for Free Speech and a former Federal Election Commission chairman, told Insider in March. The Courts Reuters: Trump fights Twitter ban at U.S. appeals court By Mike Scarcella .....Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday asked a U.S. appeals court to revive his lawsuit against Twitter Inc challenging his permanent suspension from the platform after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Lawyers for Trump, a Republican, told the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a filing that the ban from Twitter marked "overtly partisan censorship" and was "contrary to First Amendment principles deeply rooted in American history and law." Congress Fox News: Hawley demands answers on DHS ‘disinformation’ efforts, accuses Mayorkas of hiding docs from Congress By Adam Shaw .....Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is accusing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of "deliberately" withholding information from Congress about the effort by the Department of Homeland Security to "suppress speech" – after new revelations about DHS’ push to combat disinformation... Hawley’s letter comes after an explosive report in The Intercept which revealed that, while DHS dissolved the controversial "Disinformation Governance Board" earlier this year, the agency is still working with Big Tech to combat "disinformation" on a range of topics, including COVID-19, vaccines, racial issues, the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Ukraine aid. Free Expression Reason: Presidents Bush and Obama Mistakenly Think We Need Their Warnings About Disinformation By Scott Shackford .....This week, former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama will be at conferences lecturing about democracy and apparently warning against the spread of disinformation... The lies that spun out of these two administrations weren't just simple errors: They had a purpose. The lies they presented were intended to convince Americans to support their political goals, both of which involved broad government interventions abroad and at home. And so, when these men talk about fighting "disinformation," it's very easy to assume that they are referring to messages that may cause the public to distrust government decisions, despite whether these messages are accurate or not. Worse, both teams here seem to be arguing that the solution to disinformation is for the government to get further entangled in what is supposed to be independent journalism in order to fight whatever they're deeming is disinformation. Online Speech Platforms USA Today: Democrats sought young voter support via Snapchat political ads, but Republicans steered clear By Ella Lee .....Candidates and interest groups have spent more than $10 million on Snapchat political ads this year, an increase of more than 1,600% since 2018, the first year the social media platform allowed political ads. Yet, it's a drop in the bucket compared to ad spending on other social networks, according to J. Scott Babwah Brennen, head of online expression policy at the University of North Carolina's Center on Technology Policy. "There are single (ad) campaigns that are bigger than that," Babwah Brennen said. The political ad tracking firm AdImpact projects more than $1.4 billion will be spent on digital advertising as a whole during the 2022 election cycle. Candidates and Campaigns Insider: Mehmet Oz and 15 other candidates together spent over $223 million of their own money — and lost their 2022 midterm races anyway By Brent D. Griffiths .....According to an Insider review of federal and state campaign spending, 16 out of the 22 top-spending candidates in the midterm elections lost their races. Combined, the 16 also-rans spent over $223 million of their own money — just over half of the nearly $443 the top self-funding candidates spent this cycle. Link via MSN Newsweek: Most Expensive Midterm Loser Spent $68 Million Trying to Oust a Republican By Zoe Strozewski .....Democratic Representative Val Demings became the congressional candidate who spent the most but still lost in her failed campaign to oust Republican Marco Rubio from his U.S. Senate seat in Florida last week. Demings, who currently represents Florida's 10th congressional district, was defeated by Rubio in the midterm elections on Tuesday after only receiving 41.3 percent of the vote compared to the Republican's 57.7 percent, according to results last updated Monday afternoon. Axios: Bankman-Fried spent millions on Dem campaigns By Dan Primack and Alexi McCammond .....Dozens of Congressional candidates — most of them Democrats — received campaign contributions or indirect financial support from Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto tycoon whose company collapsed last week. It's unclear where Bankman-Fried's money came from. Forensic accountants and bankruptcy courts are on the case, but it could take months to untangle FTX's web of comingled funds... Bankman-Fried spent around $37 million during the last election cycle, almost all of which went to boosting Democratic candidates and causes. That made him the party's second-largest donor, according to OpenSecrets, and the sixth largest overall. The States Freedom of the Press Foundation: Ohio authorities ignore Supreme Court to arrest journalist .....An Ohio newspaper editor was charged with felony wiretapping for publishing audio that a source recorded during a high profile murder trial. In other words, he was arrested for practicing journalism. The charges against Derek Myers of the Scioto Valley Guardian ignore the Supreme Court’s recognition over two decades ago that reporters are not to blame for unlawful recordings by sources. In fact, the issue has been settled since the Pentagon Papers. It’s up to judges, not journalists, to enforce courtroom confidentiality rules. 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. Follow the Institute for Free Speech ‌ ‌ ‌ The Institute for Free Speech | 1150 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 801, Washington, DC 20036 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]