PEN America: DARE: Daily Alert on Rights and Expression

PEN America: DARE: Daily Alert on Rights and Expression

PEN America

PEN America’s take on today’s most pressing threats to free expression

FEBRUARY 8, 2017reprinted from PEN America, pen.org

A top White House aide admits that administration plans to continuing crying “fake news” until the media provides more favorable coverage. Senator Elizabeth Warren is gaveled into silence under an obscure Senate rule after trying to read a letter from Coretta Scott King about Jeff Sessions during final debates on his nomination as Attorney General. An anxious nation tunes into 9th Circuit oral argument on the President’s immigration ban, listening as skeptical judges query whether the ban must stand up as rationally based. — Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director, PEN America

U.S.

Warren violates arcane rule, sparking Senate dustup
The Massachusetts Democrat ran afoul of the chamber’s arcane rules by reading a three-decade-old letter from Dr. Martin Luther King’s widow that dated to Sen. Jeff Sessions’ failed judicial nomination three decades ago
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WH official: We’ll say ‘fake news’ until media realizes attitude of attacking the President is wrong
Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, said Monday that the administration will continue using the term “fake news” until the media understands that their “monumental desire” to attack the President is wrong.
CNN

Ninth Circuit Judges Seem Opposed To Lifting Temporary Ban On Trump’s Immigration Order
A three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals appeared to favor letting a judge’s temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of President Trump’s immigration order stand for a while longer.
FORBES

D.C. police demand Facebook hand over data on Trump protesters
The D.C. police department subpoenaed Facebook for information regarding several protesters arrested while demonstrating against the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Jan. 20.
MASHABLE

Conway clashes with CNN’s Jake Tapper on air
Conway defended the administration, saying it has a “high regard for the facts” and also said that CNN is not “fake news” despite Trump repeatedly accusing the network of putting out false stories.
POLITICO

Global

The blogger jailed for visiting a country that ‘doesn’t exist’
A popular travel blogger known more for his wry observations than his political views has ended up in jail – and at the centre of a geopolitical row – after visiting a disputed territory and thumbing his nose at the authorities.
BBC

Blacklist casts pall over South Korea’s artists
Film distributor Kim Il-kwon was one of thousands of artists secretly blacklisted by the conservative government for voicing “left-wing” thoughts — meaning criticism of the authorities.
THE JAPAN TIMES

Why has Cameroon blocked the internet?
Three weeks after reports that Cameroon had blocked the internet in English-speaking parts of the country, residents say services have yet to be restored. So what is going on?
BBC

UN rights expert urges Thailand to loosen restrictions around monarchy defamation law
As a student activist awaits trial in detention for posting a news article about the new monarchy on social media, an independent United Nations expert today called on Thai authorities to stop using royal defamation laws to stifle free speech.
UN NEWS CENTRE

Uzbekistan: Emboldened Media Shedding Self-Censorship
The appearance of a controversial piece offers evidence that, slowly and tentatively, some news outlets in Uzbekistan are dabbling with easing their policy of self-censorship on sensitive topics.
EURASIA NET

DARE is a project of PEN America’s #LouderTogether campaign, bringing you a daily-curated roundup of the most important free expression-related news from the U.S. and abroad. Send your feedback and story suggestions to loudertogether@pen.org.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.