Monday, August 15, 2016
#FreeSpeech in the News: August 15, 2016
As the Citadel of Free Speech here in Cleveland, we work to protect and promote the basis of our democracy by sharing related stories, commentary, and opinions on free speech in the 21st century. Here's what's making the news - and what you should know about - this week.
“This maximalist approach to free speech [of not removing Tweets on the basis of their content] was integral to Twitter’s rise, but quickly created the conditions for abuse. Unlike Facebook and Instagram, which have always banned content and have never positioned themselves as platforms for free speech, Twitter has made an ideology out of protecting its most objectionable users.”
“A Honeypot For Assholes”: Inside Twitter’s 10-Year Failure To Stop Harassment, BuzzFeed.com
“The coup posed a serious threat to the Turkish state, but the closing down of publishers, alongside the mass sackings, detentions, arrests and allegations of torture, will have a grave impact on democracy. The crackdown on freedom of expression was already a continuing concern. The coup now appears to be an opportunity for Erdoğan to purge Turkey of his opponents…”
Free speech groups condemn Turkey's closure of 29 publishers after failed coup, The Guardian
In the inaugural episode of their new podcast, Myth and Culture, Devdutt Parranaik and Jerry Johnson look at traditional and philosophical perspectives on dialogue and why freedom of expression and political correctness need not be mutually exclusive.
Podcast: Can freedom of speech and political correctness go hand-in-hand?, Scroll.in
“The D.C. Department of Transportation has approved a vehicle-access lane for valet parking service at the hotel’s entrance on Pennsylvania Avenue, the historic national thoroughfare running between the White House and the Capitol, where free speech and dissent have long openly fared. Free-speech advocates worry that the Trump hotel will now feel free to create a buffer zone around itself, restricting access to exclusive or priority use by the Trump Organization.”
Will a traffic plan at Trump’s new D.C. hotel block free speech?, The Washington Post