FIRE

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Ever wonder why we make a big deal of the invention of the printing press in school? FIRE's Ella Ross discusses how important this technological innovation was for free speech and freedom of information, and how it allowed more than just those in power to hear and be heard. *Procession of the True Cross, Gentile Bellini, 1490s *A page from the Diamond Sutra, 868 CE. *62 bisher unveröffentlichte handzeichnungen zu dem Elementarwerk von Johann Bernhard Basedow, Daniel Chodowiecki *Saint Catherine of Alexandria, with the Defeated Emperor, Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy (Netherlandish (active Bruges), 1482 *Luther hammers his 95 theses to the door, Ferdinand Pauwels, 1872 *Image from page 77 of Deutschlands letztere drei Jahrhunderte, oder: des deutschen Volkes Gedenk-Buch an seiner Väter Schicksale und Leiden seit drei Jahrhunderten, etc, by Franz Lubojatzky, 1858 *Title page of Martin Luther's On the Jews and Their Lies, 1543 *Luther vor dem Reichstag in Worms, Anton von Werner, 1877 *Marshall, P. (2017). 1517: Martin Luther and the invention of the Reformation. Oxford University Press. *Morgan, J. C. (1971). The Development of the Printing Press. Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 119(5177), 281–293.

Amid criticism from FIRE and its student chapter of Young Americans for Liberty, Black Hills State University has changed its free speech policy to ensure speakers with controversial views won’t be censored. On Jan. 24, as BHSU YAL members took to the campus sidewalks to recruit students and survey them about the Second Amendment, BHSU Director of Public Safety Phil Pesheck ordered the group to stop speaking because they hadn’t filled out a form three days in advance. Pesheck did not mention, however, that the form is not required for student and student organizations to speak on campus. Regardless, he required the YAL members to stop engaging in free speech in the open outdoor areas of the public university campus. The YAL members, knowing BHSU violated their rights, went directly to the university president’s office to tell her what happened. Within hours, YAL’s president got a call from Pesheck, who apologized. But that wasn’t enough. In demanding that the YAL members stop speaking to students, Pesheck cited a problematic line of the expressive activity form that raised First Amendment concerns for YAL and FIRE: “BHSU reserves the right to eject any objectionable person or persons from the premises upon the exercise of authority through any agent or police personnel.” FIRE wrote BHSU Jan. 31 urging it to remove that line — ripe for viewpoint discriminatory abuse — from its request form and to ensure that university staff and police are educated on students’ First Amendment rights. As we said at the time: The form’s broad and open-ended carve-out, purporting to give the university the right to silence anyone with views they dislike, flies in the face of the constitutional rights of students and faculty on a public university campus where citizens have broad free speech rights. Now, BHSU has removed the language stating it will eject “objectionable” individuals from campus. FIRE commends BHSU for bringing its policy in line with its First Amendment obligations and ensuring university staff and police cannot in the future remove students who are peaceably expressing their views.

In his keynote speech at the 2023 FIRE Gala in New York City, Run the Jewels rapper Killer Mike tells the story of how he learned the value of free expression, why listening to and speaking with those we disagree with makes us better, and why it is up to all of us to preserve a culture of free speech in America. Watch Killer Mike's "So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast" interview with host, Nico Perrino: https://youtu.be/POc9MDok9i8

That’s the risk Nigerian content creators face when they post about anything that could touch on sensitive political or religious issues.

On April 19th, 1927, Mae West was sentenced to 10 days in jail for her Broadway play, “Sex.” This only helped her career, and she became one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood a couple years later. Our hats off to you, Mae West!

Got more questions about #freespeech? Then #lawyerup! #conlaw #lawyer

Do you have a question about student journalism? Give us a call on our 24/7 hotline : 717-734-SPFI (7734)

Humanity's greatest works all deal with very controversial topics. #freespeech #censorship #technology

FIRE, headquartered in Philadelphia, protects everyone’s right to free speech. For over 20 years, FIRE has defended the First Amendment and represented thousands of clients for free. Become a member of FIRE today at https://join.thefire.org.

https://learn.thefire.org/courses/the-history-of-free-speech/ Check out The History of Free Speech, a free course from FIRE and The Nomadic Professor!

Harassment bad. Teaching good. Got more questions? Then #lawyerup #FirstAmendment #lawyerup

Should we do this again? Let us know! #cheesesteak #philly

Emerson College tried to suspend KJ Lynum's student organization from campus for criticizing the Chinese government—but not on FIRE's watch. FIRE launched a full-scale campaign to tell the student group's story and protect their right to free speech on campus. Do you care about preserving free expression on campus? Join the fight to defend free speech at https://thefire.org.

FIRE lawyer Zach Greenberg reacts to SUNY Albany student protestors who employed a heckler’s veto, shouting down conservative speaker Ian Haworth.

AI image generator Midjourney's CEO says "political satire in china is pretty not-okay." So he's limiting satirical of images of Xi Jinping not just for the program's users in China — but everywhere.

Pour one out for Margaret McIntyre, the woman who helped secure the right to anonymous speech. #freespeech #anonymous #scotus #ohio #educational

FIRE is located in the heart of Philadelphia. We wondered, what do Philadelphians think about free speech? So, we asked them. Listen to what they say. Become a member of FIRE today at https://join.thefire.org.

Let the fortitude, integrity, and conviction of Frederick Douglass inspire us to speak up and speak out. #freespeech #frederickdouglass

Winnie the Pooh memes are banned in mainland China — and now a slasher film featuring the famous cartoon character won't be shown in Hong Kong.

Read more: https://www.thefire.org/news/west-texas-am-president-vows-ignore-law-land-cancel-student-run-drag-show Lawsuit: https://www.thefire.org/news/lawsuit-fire-sues-texas-university-president-illegally-blocking-charity-drag-show Last Monday, West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler canceled a student group’s charity drag show, which was fundraising for LGBTQ+ suicide prevention. Wendler said he is barring drag shows from campus because they don’t fit his worldview, including his belief that drag shows are “mocking” and “derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny.” Now, the students Wendler censored are making sure he’ll answer in court for violating the First Amendment. Photo credit: heyimcold (Juan Cordero) #westtexasam #dragshow

The Sunshine State has recently tried a few time to chill #freespeech ☀️🥶🌴 #florida

"I don't want you to be safe ideologically. I don't want you to be safe emotionally. I want you to be STRONG." This 2017 clip of Van Jones at the University of Chicago is as relevant as ever. #freespeech #safespaces

FIRE Lawyer Zach Greenberg reacts to Black Hills State University Director of Public Safety censoring Young Americans for Liberty, a student group, recruiting on public sidewalk. For more information: https://www.thefire.org/news/black-hills-state-university-director-public-safety-censored-cursed-stu... #freespeech #censorship

What happens when censors target speech after a deadly earthquake? In Turkey, they silenced voices of people crying out for help. #freespeech #censorship