Monday, April 02, 2018
#FREESPEECH IN THE NEWS: APRIL 2, 2018
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 – in the past week.
1.) Hogg's Advertising Boycott Is Not Suppressing Ingraham's Free Speech
Laura Ingraham, host of the FOX program The Ingraham Angle, continues to facebacklashfrom advertisers after mocking teen Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg on Twitter over rejections from colleges. Hogg responded to her tweet with a call to boycott her show, to which more than a dozen advertisers responded. Ingraham then issued this apology:
“Any student should be proud of a 4.2 GPA —including David Hogg. On reflection, in the spirit of Holy Week, I apologize for any upset or hurt my tweet caused him or any of the brave victims of Parkland. For the record, I believe my show was the first to feature David immediately after that horrific shooting. And as always, he’s welcome to come on my show anytime for a productive discussion.”
To some conservatives, the boycott is “dangerous” and stifles Ingraham’s free speech rights, as well as freedom of the press. Constitutional lawyers say this isn’t the case due to Hogg’s right to protest, and the parameters of the constitution only involve the actions of the government, not private citizens.
2.) Lawyer: Free speech shields woman charged in mosque burglary
A woman arrested and chargedforburglarizing a mosque in Phoenix, Arizona, and her attorney,saythe case is actually aboutthe herright to free speech.
The woman, Tahnee Gonzales, 32, along with another woman, Elizabeth Dauenhauer, entered a mosque on March 4 and removed fliers and Qurans from shelves. They also filmed the encounter and could be heard on video shouting insults about Muslims and Islam. The video was later posted to Gonzales’ social media accounts.
At the center of the legal battle is whether or not the women trespassed and committed burglary. Gonzales’ lawyer says the mosque is always open and with no restrictionstoentry. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has declined to comment on the case, but in thevideoa “No Trespassing” sign is visible as the women walk by.
3.) Malaysia outlaws 'fake news'; sets jail of up to six years
Prime Minister Najib Razak has passed the Anti-Fake News 2018 bill in Malaysia, meaning spreading “fake news” is now a crime punishable of up to 500,000 ringgit ($123,000) and/or a maximum prison sentence of six years. An earlier draft of the bill proposed a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Under this new law, “fake news” is defined as, “news, information, dataandreports which is or are wholly or partly false” and also covers social media platforms. It will also apply to those outside of Malaysia if the accused is said to have affected a Malaysian citizen or the country.
Human rights activists are concerned the new law will actually stifle free speech. The Malaysian government has not outlined how it will determine violations, and U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion David Kaye has expressed concerns about how it will be implemented.
