January 31, 2023

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

Jonathan Turley: “Racism Interruptor”: Court Rules for Professor Blocked from Twitter Page for Posting “All Men Are Created Equal”

.....There is an interesting case out of Oregon where Judge Marco Hernández has ruled for a Portland State University Professor Bruce Gilley who was excluded from a Diversity Twitter page by the Communication Manager of the Division of Equity and Inclusion at the University of Oregon. (The manager is identified as “tova stabin” who the court notes “spells her name with all lowercase letters.”). Stabin has now left the school. The court rejects a critical motion to dismiss and said that Gilley has raised sufficient evidence to go to trial after stabin blocked Gilley for responding to a tweet with “all men are created equal.”

In Gilley v. Stabin, Judge Hernández offered this background:

The Courts

Washington Post: Carney agrees restriction on judgeships is unconstitutional

By Randall Chase, AP

.....Democratic Gov. John Carney has acknowledged that a provision splitting positions on Delaware’s highest courts between Republicans and Democrats is unconstitutional.

Under a proposed consent agreement filed in federal court Monday, Carney agreed that a “major-party” provision in Delaware’s constitution regarding appointments to the state’s three highest courts is unconstitutional.

Online Speech Platforms

Politico: Facebook was a cash cow for Trump. It could end up being a ‘bronze goose.’

By Zach Montellaro

.....Facebook was the financial engine of Donald Trump’s previous two runs for president. But for his third campaign for the White House, it might not be such a powerhouse.

Advertising on the social media giant has changed significantly since Trump was last on the platform. Republicans say investments in Facebook no longer translate to small-dollar donors as they once did. Campaigns are spending far less on advertising there.

The Atlantic: The Incoherence of Facebook’s Trump Decision

By David A. Graham

.....This is a man who tried to stay in office despite losing the 2020 election and who incited a violent attack against Congress, efforts which Meta apparently found sufficiently dangerous to take the drastic action of banning him, then the president of the United States, from its platforms. But now Meta is lifting the ban, and as a Meta spokesperson told CNN’s Oliver Darcy, the company will permit Trump to attack the legitimacy of the 2020 election without repercussions.

Candidates and Campaigns

Daily Caller: Thieves Steal Thousands From Republican Campaigns

By Michael Ginsberg

.....Thieves stole thousands of dollars from the campaigns of two House Republicans, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Florida Rep. Neal Dunn lost $10,855 due to check fraud, according to FEC filings, while South Carolina Rep. Russell Fry had $2,607.98 stolen. Thieves spent Fry’s campaign funds at Nordstrom, The North Face, Safeway, and Walgreens, according to Raw Story, which first reported the thefts. Republican Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran was also recently a fraud victim, with thieves stealing $700,000 from his campaign accounts.

The States

Spectrum News 1: New York lawmakers seek disclosure in nomination campaigns

By Nick Reisman

.....Campaigns that spend big to promote nominees for appointed office in New York state should be required to disclose their donors, Democrats in the state Senate on Monday said.

Sens. Mike Gianaris and Brad Hoylman-Sigal announced legislation that would place new disclosure requirements on those campaigns after a public effort to back Hector LaSalle's nomination to chief judge of the state's highest court was made in the wake of opposition from the state Senate...

Under the proposal, public campaigns that spend money to boost a nominee would have to disclose their donors to the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, the primary ethics and lobbying oversight agency.

Keloland: SD campaign-contribution limits might increase

By Bob Mercer

.....People and individual businesses could give $1,000 more to statewide, legislative and county candidates under a proposal moving through the South Dakota Legislature.

The House State Affairs Committee voted 8-5 Monday to endorse HB-1111 sponsored by Republican Rep. Roger Chase.

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