Category Archives: cheap speech

Stanford/UCLA October 14 Event: “Should Donald Trump Be Returned to Social Media?” (Free Webcast)

October 4, 2022, 7:33 amcheap speech, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Very excited about this event: The Program on Democracy and the Internet (PDI) at Stanford University and UCLA Law’s Safeguarding Democracy Project will host a half-day streamed conference, “Should Donald Trump Be Returned to Social Media?” Leading scholars in the… Continue reading

Watch Archived Video of My Constitution Day Lecture on Cheap Speech and American Democracy at the University of Utah

September 24, 2022, 4:07 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

You can watch the presentation at this link.

“QAnon fans celebrate Trump’s latest embrace of the conspiracy”

September 24, 2022, 1:41 pmcheap speech, election subversion riskRick Hasen

CNN: Supporters of QAnon on former President Donald Trump’s social media platform have celebrated what they see as his renewed embrace of the conspiracy theory over the past week after he shared a meme that was viewed as one… Continue reading

Genevieve Lakier Takes Apart First Amendment Analysis in 5th Circuit’s Ruling that Would Require Social Media Companies to Replatform Donald Trump

September 21, 2022, 7:56 amcheap speechRick Hasen

Thread starts here: https://twitter.com/glakier/status/1572223690863149058

“Trump’s ‘big lie’ fueled a new generation of social media influencers”

September 20, 2022, 7:58 amcheap speechRick Hasen

WaPo: The 2020 election and its turbulent aftermath fueled a powerful generation of online influencers, a Washington Post data analysis has found, producing sky-high follower counts for an array of conservatives who echoed Trump’s false claims of election fraud, known… Continue reading

“A landmark Supreme Court fight over social media now looks likely”

September 20, 2022, 7:44 amcheap speech, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

WaPo: Conflicting lower court rulings about removing controversial material from social media platforms point toward a landmark Supreme Court decision on whether the First Amendment protects Big Tech’s editorial discretion or forbids its censorship of unpopular views.The stakes are high… Continue reading

“A federal court clears the way for a Texas social media law; The law, which had been blocked by a lower court, makes it possible to sue large social media platforms for taking down political viewpoints”

September 17, 2022, 3:38 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

NYT: A federal appeals court on Friday reversed a lower court’s order blocking a Texas law that stops large social media platforms from removing political posts, a blow for tech companies that say their content moderation decisions are protected… Continue reading

“Social media firms are prepping for the midterms. Experts say it may not be enough”

September 13, 2022, 10:07 amcampaigns, cheap speechRick Hasen

NPR: With two months to go until the midterms, tech companies are getting ready: rolling out fact checks, labeling misleading claims and setting up voting guides.The election playbooks being used by Facebook, Twitter, Google-owned YouTube and TikTok are… Continue reading

“Truth Social in limbo as merger partner grapples with another failed vote”

September 9, 2022, 7:19 amcheap speechRick Hasen

WaPo: Former president Donald Trump has failed to win another vote — this time, by the shareholders of an investment ally his social network Truth Social had been counting on for cash.Digital World Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company,… Continue reading

“Trump Embraces Conspiracy Theories He Only Winked at Before; The former president’s activity on his social network, Truth Social, openly promotes far-right and conspiratorial ideas that are usually confined to corners of the internet.”

September 2, 2022, 1:37 pmcheap speech, election subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: Mr. Trump has spent more than a decade on social media attacking enemies, cozying up to far-right ideas and sharing false information. He used Twitter to perpetuate the lie that President Barack Obama was not born in the… Continue reading

“YouTube and the ‘Big Lie’: Research Shows Cause for Concern”

September 2, 2022, 10:03 amcheap speechRick Hasen

Tech Policy Press: The “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was ‘stolen’ from former President Donald Trump is a persistent alternate reality for a sizable number of U.S. voters. As a result, violent threats against election workers are… Continue reading

“Trump shares barrage of QAnon content and other conspiracy theories on his social media platform”

August 30, 2022, 2:01 pmcheap speech, election subversion riskRick Hasen

NBC News: Former President Donald Trump spent Tuesday morning posting inflammatory messages on social media, including many explicitly promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory.While Trump has in the past promoted QAnon-inspired accounts and theories, the posts on his Truth Social account… Continue reading

“QAnon Accounts Found a Home, and Trump’s Support, on Truth Social”

August 29, 2022, 7:43 amcheap speechRick Hasen

NYT: Dozens of QAnon-boosting accounts decamped to Truth Social this year after they were banned by other social networks and have found support from the platform’s creator, former President Donald J. Trump, according to a report released on Monday… Continue reading

“Truth Social faces financial peril as worry about Trump’s future grows”

August 27, 2022, 7:52 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

WaPo: Former president Donald Trump’s Truth Social website is facing financial challenges as its traffic remains puny and the company that is scheduled to acquire it expresses fear that his legal troubles could lead to a decline in his… Continue reading