Networks Were Ordered to Stop Filming Trump—and They Didn’t Protest the Illegal Censorship
“Cameras off the president now”: The command was an astonishing call for press censorship on behalf of Trump and a direct violation of the First Amendment.
‘What Was Criminalized Here Is Dissent, Not Terrorism’:
CounterSpin interview with Dorothee Benz on Prairieland
“It’s up to us to connect with our neighbors, and build something collective that together, on scale, will change the world.”
Dorothee Benz on Prairieland Protest Case
Are you upset about ICE agents using your tax dollars to detain and deport people because they have a quota to fill? Well, my friend, you might be a terrorist.
Prairieland Was a Test, and Corporate Media Failed
That a national press corps is so cowed by government cries of “terrorism!” that they fail to interrogate its legal fictions is a danger to the very freedoms they purport to embody.
Trump Era Repression Trickles Down to Student Press Censorship
The censorious attitude of the Trump administration has increasingly filtered down to the student media in the country’s universities and high schools.
Seth Stern on Criminalizing Dissent
Do you disagree with anything that the Trump administration is doing? Do you think you should use your voice to say something? Well, you might be a terrorist!
‘We’ve Been Seeing Immigrant Journalists on the Front Lines of This Story’:
CounterSpin interview with Vanessa Maria Graber on Delaney Hall protests
“To provide the critical information that’s necessary to keep people safe, organizers and citizen journalists have assumed the role of journalists.”
Corporate Pundits Defend Academic Freedom From Protesters, Not Government
As US government and its allies are cracking down on speech in ways they haven’t in decades, where has corporate media’s concern for vanishing freedoms gone?
‘Education Is Dangerous Because It Encourages Students to Challenge What Those With Power Take for Granted’:
CounterSpin interview with Karma Chávez on academic freedom
“Conservative politicians and their ultra-rich donors are infusing money into universities to create, essentially, conservative think tanks.”
Media Twist Opposition to Land Theft Into Hatred of a Religion
The press entertained the notion that any condemnation of Israel that happens within earshot of a synagogue must be rooted in anti-Jewish sentiment.
Karma Chávez on Academic Freedom, Alex Main on War on Cuba?
While students and teachers think higher education means engagement with a range of perspectives, right-wing politicians say “not so fast.”
‘It Was About Using the Levers of Government to Bully or Intimidate’:
CounterSpin interview with Angelo Carusone on Media Matters v. FTC
“What we showed is that you don’t have to take this. You could go to court, and you can get these demands shut down before they even get a chance to start.”
Angelo Carusone on Media Matters v. FTC, Rachel K. Jones (2023) on Mifepristone
Media Matters’ victory over Elon Musk and the FTC is not just hopeful but instructive, offering what the group calls a “roadmap” for other organizations.
‘The Court Did Not Say Conversion Therapy Is Safe, Effective, Appropriate or Ethical’:
CounterSpin interview with Shannon Minter on 'conversion therapy' ruling
“The Court literally just held that if Tennessee wants to ban transgender healthcare for minors, it can do so.”
US’s Erosion of the Right to Cartoon Is No Laughing Matter
The Trump administration’s words and deeds have created a climate of fear in the United States that political cartoonists are feeling.
Shannon Minter on ‘Conversion Therapy’ Ruling, Alex Frandsen on Local News Day
The Supreme Court ruled that prohibiting the widely discredited practice of trying to “convert” LGBTQ young people violates healthcare workers’ rights.
Trump’s FTC Wages a War on Media Criticism
The FTC’s intervention against media criticism outfits comes from the same censorious impulse that weaponized the Trump FCC to stifle criticism.
‘A Media System Built on Profit Is Incredibly Fragile’:
CounterSpin interview with Jim Naureckas on MAGA vs. the First Amendment
“The regulatory system is being used to steer media ownership towards billionaires who are going to be friendly to Trump.”
Pete Hegseth’s War on Journalists (and Iran Too)
As the US and Israel’s war on Iran continues to worsen, Hegseth’s attacks on the media have also escalated.
Jim Naureckas on MAGA vs. 1st Amendment, Baher Azmy on Abu Ghraib Justice
If we cut off our ability to have a widespread public debate, whatever “solutions” we’re told “we” came up with have nothing to do with democracy.
