First Amendment News

Finland has initiated curriculum to teach students how to identify false information and ranks first among European countries for resilience against misinformation. Students begin their education on media literacy starting in preschool. (The New York Times, January 10, 2023, by Jenny Gross) Joshua Benton in NiemanLab, January 10, 2023, says a close look at lies in the media show that they mostly reach those already misinformed. He cites an article by Paul Renfro of Florida

After doing a sterling job of investigating reports of abuse of those with intellectual disabilities by the West Virginia health care system, West Virginia Public Broadcasting fired Amelia Ferrell Knisely. Apparently, a state official pressured the station’s leaders remove her from her position. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 9, 2023, by The Editorial Board) Knisely investigated an advocacy group’s allegations that the state was “patient dumping” or “warehousing patients” who should not be institutionalized. Shortly after the

After Dion Rabouin, a black Wall Street Journal reporter, was detained while interviewing outside a Phoenix bank in November, the police department is undertaking an investigation of the matter. Journal editor-in-chief Matt Murray wrote to the department, “I am relieved that Mr. Rabouin’s interaction with Phoenix police officers ended peacefully, but I am appalled and concerned that officers at your department would attempt to interfere with Mr. Rabouin’s constitutional right to engage in journalism and

The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismantled the buffer zone around an abortion clinic in Louisville, Kentucky with their ruling that the zone suppressed speech. The appeals panel suggested police increase penalties for those obstructing entrance to the clinic or add patrols to curb harassment. (Courthouse News Service, December 21, 2022, by Dave Byrnes) The panel ruled that a 10-foot buffer zone was blocking free speech since the plaintiffs Sisters for Life provided compassionate “sidewalk

James Larock in Balls and Strikes, December 20, 2022, criticizes the U.S. Supreme Court for being “one of America’s least democratic institutions” for its makeup and its operation. He finds the court’s lack of transparency unnecessary and regrettable. He says the recent “decision not to stream opinion announcements is just another example of the Court choosing to limit its transparency even when providing it is easy.” Larock wants to hold the Supreme Court to a