Legal

Academia

A battle over religion and schools in Oklahoma could decide the future of the First Amendment

April 4, 2025 Lawrence Hurley via NBC News 4

Under Walters’ watch, the state approved the first ever religious virtual public charter school, a provocative move that is now before the Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of the move next month. He has also proposed placing Bibles in schools, a move that was recently blocked by the state Supreme Court, and is seeking to add more Christian-related themes to the curriculum, including information about the Ten Commandments. […]

Censorship

How Big Pharma’s Favorite Ad Agency Helped Create NewsGuard

April 1, 2025 FFO Staff via Foundation for Freedom Online 1

Studies show NewsGuard’s ratings are heavily skewed against anti-establishment media sources. Its advertiser exclusion lists include some of the most prominent destinations for non-mainstream news, including Newsmax, Breitbart News, The Federalist, and One America News. While conservative websites bear the brunt, left-wing websites with an anti-establishment, anti-war tendency, like Consortium News, have also found themselves on NewsGuard’s blacklists.

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Censorship

Biden admin’s ‘vast censorship enterprise’ with help of NGOs slated for key hearing, lawmaker says

March 25, 2025 Julia Johnson via Fox News 1

“The Biden Administration created a vast censorship enterprise, comprised of a sprawling network of federal agencies and NGOs that have been working overtime to censor Americans’ speech. From special reporting portals to the White House press secretary admitting at the podium that they were flagging posts to be taken down, the level of coordination to subvert the First Amendment and remove disfavored speech was beyond what most imagined,” the Missouri senator told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement previewing the hearing.  […]

AI

America First Legal Exposes Censorship Scheme by USAID and Global Engagement Center, Working With UK Government and Media Firms, to Use AI Censorship Tools

March 22, 2025 America First Legal 1

“The partnership between USAID and the Global Engagement Center is bad news for the American people. Add in the fact that they were coordinating with internet censorship enforcers at NewsGuard and Poynter, and you can start to see just how dangerous this unholy alliance is for free speech and free expression. Thankfully, the GEC is shuttered and USAID is being exposed — but lawmakers should take note of this example as they consider legislation to ensure the federal government actually serves American principles and interests,” said Andrew Block., America First Legal Senior Counsel […]

Politics

Trump Guts International Propaganda Agencies

March 19, 2025 Paul Dragu via The New American 1

Perhaps Connor O’Keeffe of the Mises Institute said it best:

Voice of America absolutely should go away. Employees and supporters of VOA like to describe the outlet’s purpose as providing “objective” and “balanced” reporting on current events. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find out that what VOA staffers are really passionate about is “promoting democracy” abroad and helping in a global fight against authoritarianism. … It’s a propaganda outlet that we’re all forced to fund. It is one part of the broader regime change apparatus that got a lot of exposure earlier in the year with the gutting of USAID. Funding foreign propaganda campaigns is not our responsibility. Your average American family does not have a moral obligation to send part of their paycheck to try and turn people in Belarus against their government. […]

Education

St. Louis Schools Ordered to Pay $90,000 Each to Two Employees in COVID Vaccine Mandate Suit

March 15, 2025 Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. via Children's Health Defense 0

“The District’s alleged Policy put Plaintiffs to a choice: compromise their convictions or lose their livelihoods,” U.S. Chief District Judge Stephen R. Clark wrote. “Restrictions impermissibly infringing on constitutional rights, like the right to freely exercise one’s religion, spread across the country like a virus.” more here… […]

Censorship

South African Police Open ‘Treason’ Investigation into Critics of Government

March 6, 2025 Joel Pollak via Breitbart News 0

While some members of the South African government have acknowledged that Afriforum and Solidarity are merely exercising the free speech that is guaranteed by the South African constitution’s Bill of Rights, the extremist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by the staunchly anti-white racist Julius Malema, said last week that their advocacy was “treasonous.”

The ANC itself called on South Africans to “to isolate these right-wing races and focus on working together,” ominously referring to entire racial groups instead of to specific individuals or organizations it wished to target. […]

Legal

FCC to Brief House Republicans on ‘Unprecedented’ George Soros Scheme to Control 200 Radio Stations

February 28, 2025 Sean Moran via Breitbart News 1

Federal law requires applicants with excessive foreign ownership to file a petition for declaratory ruling at the same time that they seek FCC approval for the relevant license transfers, they must then complete that process before the FCC can approve the assignment of licenses, and that process must enable Executive Branch agencies with national security and specific policy expertise to weigh in.

Carr continued, “Did they obtain approval from the FCC for their excessive foreign ownership? No, they did not. Did the Applicants afford the Executive Branch agencies with national security and relevant policy expertise an opportunity to consider their application as well as the source and amount of foreign investment? No, they did not. […]

Legal

Virginia Teacher Reinstated after Being Fired for Her Christian Views on Gender

February 15, 2025 Anugrah Kumar via The Washington Stand 1

Liberty Counsel sent a letter to the district asserting that the First Amendment, Title VII and Virginia law protect teachers who speak on public matters in a personal capacity.

“… As interpreted by the Supreme Court of Virginia, … [the teacher] has the right in her capacity as a citizen to freely speak and write regarding her religious views and political views as they are informed by her faith — and neither she nor any other teacher of [the school district] may be penalized for speech expressed in a private capacity — whether that speech takes place pre-employment, or during employment but in a private capacity,” read the letter. […]