News & Opinion

Meta to close platform essential to safeguarding fair elections

With Meta planning to close CrowdTangle on August 14, digital rights groups and others sent a letter asking the company to extend the platform until 2025. The portal provides journalist, fact-checkers, election officials and academics with an invaluable view of falsehoods and conspiracy theories on Facebook and Instagram. The letter said to close the platform would weaken attempts to uphold the integrity of elections. (NiemanLab, March 25, 2024, by Andrew Deck) For related FAC coverage,

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Supreme Court seems likely to prevent states from restricting Biden contact with media

The U.S. Supreme Court indicated they were reluctant to allow states to stop the Biden administration from contacting media companies to persuade them not to publish hurtful speech. The court seemed to support contact so long as there was no coercive threats. (The New York Times, March 18, 2024, by Adam Liptak) In their questioning, conservative justices John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett expressed concerns about limiting the government’s ability to discuss concerns

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Mexican journalist wins asylum delayed for 15 years

An immigration judge granted asylum to Mexican Journalist Emilio Gutierrez Soto and his son after a 15-year battle and two rulings against the father and son. They had fled Mexico in 2008 after receiving death threats while reporting on military corruption. (Reporters Committee, March 18, 2024) A FOIA lawsuit decided in favor of the Sotos in December set the stage for the granting of asylum. ICE had refused to search for records on the case

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First Amendment: Supreme Court rejects student bid for drag show

Without comment, the Supreme Court undermined the First Amendment by refusing to hear a case brought by an LGBTQ student group at a public university in Texas. The university president blocked the students from holding a drag show to raise money for suicide prevention, and a federal district judge backed the president. (The New York Times, March 16, 2024, by Adam Liptak) In criticizing the Supreme Court’s decision, Iam Millhiser of Vox, March 15, 2024,

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