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

.....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. 

Cato Daily Podcast: How States Protect and Punish Political Speech

.....How do states rank when it comes to protecting the right to speak publicly about politics? Scott Blackburn is author of The Free Speech Index at the Institute for Free Speech.

Newsbreak: Parent group suing Forsyth County Board of Education gets a win in federal court

By Justine Lookenott

.....A federal judge has sided with the Mama Bears of Forsyth County in a motion in the lawsuit filed this summer against the Forsyth County Board of Education (BOE).

By Alex Baiocco 

.....Elected officials are turning to tax laws in an effort to punish or restrict speech. At the same time, provisions omitted from the latest spending bills risk exacerbating and entrenching the improper use of the federal tax code to police political speech.

Last month, the Arizona Attorney General’s office asked the IRS to look into the finances and nonprofit status of a group due to its claims, included in a film, of widespread voter fraud in Arizona.

In April, Congressman Lance Gooden implored the IRS in a letter to investigate “environmental think tanks with political agendas” and nonprofits that “intentionally manipulate Americans’ opinions about pipelines, fossil fuels , and fracking while lobbying Congress for legislative action on targeted issues.”

Last year, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse urged the IRS “to review whether it should revoke Turning Point USA’s tax-exempt status” after the student organization held an event where attendees didn’t wear masks.

If the IRS opened an investigation into “potential violations of the Internal Revenue Code” every time an advocacy organization made controversial claims about a highly politicized issue, the agency would quickly turn into the Ministry of Truth.

Politico: Appeals court halts depositions of 3 Biden administration officials in social-media censorship suit

.....A federal appeals court has halted planned court-ordered depositions of three top Biden administration officials in a lawsuit the states of Missouri and Louisiana brought over alleged pressure on social-media companies to remove posts containing purported misinformation about the coronavirus, election security and other issues…

Breitbart: Jim Jordan: Special Counsel Jack Smith Tried to Find Ways to Target Conservatives During Obama-IRS Scandal

.....House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-OH) said on Sunday that Special Counsel Jack Smith tried to find ways to target conservative organizations during the Obama era-IRS scandal.

Jordan said on Fox Business on Sunday that he and Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) 2014 report looking into the IRS’s targeting of conservative tax-exempt organizations has potentially troubling context for the Special Counsel investigation into former President Donald Trump.

FIRE: After denying TPUSA recognition, Lindenwood incorrectly says student organizations cannot endorse political candidates

By Sabrina Conza

.....A Lindenwood University administrator told student Cullen Dittmar that his College Republicans chapter constitution cannot include a clause stating the group will endorse political candidates. This comes just weeks after the university’s student government denied recognition to Dittmar’s proposed TPUSA chapter, apparently to avoid the controversy that may have come with recognizing the conservative student group.

Columbia Journalism Review: Scorched Earth Litigation: the call for Anti-SLAPP may save you

By Victoria Baranetsky and Robert Rosenthal

.....Six years ago, an attempt to silence and destroy our nonprofit investigative reporting news organization, The Center for Investigative Reporting, began. That attempt, in the form of libel litigation, ended last month when the subject of our investigation agreed to one of the largest settlements in a defamation case.

Washington Post ("Technology 202"): Tech group urges DOJ to take sides in Supreme Court's Section 230 bout

.....In a letter Monday to Attorney General Merrick Garland shared exclusively with The Technology 202, the Chamber of Progress urged the Justice Department to file a brief pushing back on calls to hold platforms accountable for amplifying harmful content.

Los Angeles Times: Editorial: California political ethics watchdog is losing its bite

.....But lately, [California's Fair Political Practices Commission] has been taking so long to complete investigations that it’s losing power. It’s overloaded with old, unresolved cases and is not properly prioritizing those that need urgent attention. Elections come and go without answers. The watchdog has no bite.

Take the case of Assemblyman Evan Low, a Democrat from the Silicon Valley who leads a group of lawmakers known as the “tech caucus” because of their interest in tech policy (and, it seems, their interest in donations from tech companies). Nearly three years ago, the FPPC opened an investigation into Low’s fundraising practices that remains unresolved.

The case was sparked by a CalMatters article in February 2020 that reported that Low had stopped disclosing who donated to the nonprofit organization affiliated with the Legislature’s tech caucus. It’s a relevant matter, since tech companies curry favor with lawmakers by giving money to the nonprofit, and their donations pay for lawmakers to attend an annual policy retreat with tech lobbyists — held this year at a swanky resort in the Napa Valley.

CT Insider: After record spending in CT governor race, questions arise over future spending by wealthy candidates

.....The campaigns of Gov. Ned Lamont and GOP challenger Bob Stefanowski spent a record-setting $30 million-plus, exposing weaknesses in the state's otherwise-popular public-financing program that may prompt the General Assembly to raise the limit on grants for the next election cycle.

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.