First Amendment News

A Brookings Institute study revealed that former Trump strategist Stephen Bannon’s podcast was the foremost purveyor of lies in the conservative media world. Twenty percent of episodes included unsubstantiated or false claims. (The Hill, February 9, 2023, by Dominick Mastrangelo) In their study of Bannon’s podcast “War Room,” researchers also found that 70 percent of the podcasts included at least one false or misleading claim, and conservative podcasters were 11 times more prone than liberal

One hundred thirty eight school districts and local libraries, mainly concentrated in Texas and Florida, banned 2,500 books in 2021-22. The books were mostly about racism, sexuality, gender and history. (Financial Times, February 8, 2023, by Gillian Tett) Nearly 50 groups for banning books have sprung up, operating through social media applying pressure to school boards and librarians to effect censorship. Almost half of the books were young adult, but many were for younger readers

The First Amendment protects livestreaming police officers making routine traffic stops, ruled the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A citizen in a North Carolina town attempted to livestream his encounter with police. (Washington Examiner, February 7, 2023, by Rachel Schilke) The police claimed there was an “officer safety issue” in banning the recording, but the Fourth Circuit said that livestreaming produced information that contributed to public discussion of important issues. (Reason, February 9, 2023,

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced he favored making it easier to sue news outlets as our “leading purveyors of disinformation.” DeSantis is expected to announce legislation changing Florida defamation law. (Tallahassee Democrat, February 7, 2023, by Douglas Soule) As governor, DeSantis has been at odds with the media, rarely giving interviews, criticizing news outlets like CNN and allowing his press secretary to ridicule reporters. (Politico, February 2, 2023, by Arek Sarkissian) For related FAC coverage,

Joel Simon in the Columbia Journalism Review, February 7, 2023, holds that it has not yielded the desire outcomes to solely rest the defense of press freedom on human rights, that it is time to stress the idea of public interest and the social benefits of strong independent journalism. He writes: “The defense of fundamental rights must continue to be at the heart of press freedom advocacy, but must be infused with a recognition that