Free Republic

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., suggested on Sunday that the government get involved in regulating the internet to make people less likely "to fall for a bulls--- demagogue like Donald Trump" in the future. While appearing on the "I've Had It" podcast, Murphy discussed his book "Crisis of the Common Good," where he warned that America will be "stuck" with leaders like Trump unless more government action is taken to tackle loneliness and powerlessness among voters. "Those are the two things I think Americans are going through right now," Murphy said. "They don't feel powerful at all, and they feel lonely....

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Protesters are planning to link hands around the Kennedy Center in a public show of opposition to what organizers describe as political interference in the arts and changes at the landmark Washington venue. Hands Off the Arts will host a “Hands Around the Kennedy Center” rally, beginning with a gathering on the Kennedy Center steps and culminating with a human chain around the building. Organizers say the event is meant to protest the “President’s defacing of JFK’s memorial, his removal and censorship of art, and his threat to demolish the Center if he can’t remake the site...

She pierced the immunity of the medical board that suspended her license over Covid “disinformation.” A judge ruled she can now sue the board members personally. “Their broad immunity that they thought would protect them has been pierced.” “The judge said, ‘You can go after them for damages, even potentially including punitive damages.’” This sets a groundbreaking precedent. “There were a whole lot of doctors out there that had similar attacks.” “Somebody had to do it.” Video of Doctor Nass speaking in front of the Brownstone Institute @nass_meryl @Polyface_Farms

(Reclaim The Net)—Britain’s police arrested at least 62,199 people over five years under laws governing what people say online or over the phone.That’s a busy period for the written word. And the number of those charged over the same period is 18,510, while 12,292 people were convicted.The Big Brother Watch report, Britain’s Free Speech Problem: How Growing Restrictions Are Stifling Speech Online and Offline, covers the period between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2025.The laws are Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, and Section 179 of the Online Safety Act...

Guo Degang was accused of “violating public order and good customs” after changing the lyrics of a classic Chinese revolutionary song during a recent performance.Prominent Chinese comedian Guo Degang has come under investigation after improvising new lyrics to a well-known revolutionary song, with a complaint accusing him of violating “social order and good customs”. The incident spotlights the fine line performers in China must navigate between creative licence and political sensitivities, amid Beijing’s continued emphasis on ideological discipline. Guo changed the lyrics of Playing My Beloved Pipa during a Peking opera adaptation of Ji Gong, a legendary Chinese Buddhist...

Content warning: This story contains references to violence, suicide, child abuse and self-harm. A suicide attempt, depression, substance abuse, insomnia, surveillance, threats. These are just some of the experiences reported by the low-paid moderators tasked with sifting through Facebook and Instagram’s most disturbing images. The tech giant Meta, which owns both platforms, has kept the whereabouts of this operation a closely guarded secret since moving it from Kenya, where the company is facing lawsuits over working conditions and human rights. For months, it has also refused to name the company that won the lucrative contract to provide the content moderators...

During Henry’s Kissinger’s famous “Year of Europe” speech in 1973, the then Assistant for National Security affairs observed that, “our values, our goals, and our basic interests are most closely identified with those of Europe.” Indeed, while perhaps Kissinger’s remarks were accurate when taken in the context of Soviet repression and a shared continental commitment to containing the threat, the transatlantic consensus he described has since frayed. Have some East Asian countries moved to take Europe’s place as free speech protectors? Last September, five armed British police officers stood in London’s Heathrow airport, waiting for the arrival of Graham Linehan’s...

Russia’s Supreme Court on Monday barred the liberal Yabloko party from contesting September’s parliamentary elections, sidelining the only officially registered party that opposes Moscow’s war in Ukraine. More than four years after Russia launched its full-scale war, the decision highlights the authorities’ intolerance of anti-war views and further narrows the already limited space for dissent in Russian politics. “Excluding Yabloko from the election means refusing dialogue with people who ask questions that are uncomfortable for the authorities,” Nikolai Rybakov, the party’s leader, said, vowing to appeal the decision.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr and reporter Dana Bash locked horns on CNN's "State of the Union" program. Bash started the interview by asserting "you have been placing nearly all the blame for the COVID pandemic and the way that the US responded to it squarely on Dr. Fauci. But of course, he worked for President Trump. Does President Trump also deserve some of the blame?" "I think the thing that did the most damage to our country was the lockdowns," Kennedy replied. "The lockdowns shut down 3.5 million businesses in our country with no due...

AUSTIN, Texas - Texas announced on Friday that Discord has agreed to a temporary injunction that will require the messaging platform to implement in Texas the same age-assurance and default safety features that it already provides for users in the United Kingdom.

Reform UK say they are reporting Green Party leader Zack Polanski to the police after he shared a post to his Instagram which included a photo of a man wearing a top featuring the name "Nigel" alongside an image of a guillotine. Polanski accepted a request to collaborate with another account and shared a series of pictures of a Green Party event on Sunday with his 713,000 followers. One of the images showed a man wearing a T-shirt which said: "We're only making plans for Nigel". A Green Party spokesperson said: "Once this image was brought to [Zack's] attention he...

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) said Friday that he is “very concerned” Canada’s expanding censorship and surveillance laws could erode the free-speech and privacy rights of Americans. Jordan made the comments in a sit-down with Elie Cantin-Nantel of EMCN Media, an independent Canadian digital media venture. The interview came weeks after he and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL) sent a letter to Canada’s public safety minister raising the same concerns. The Ohio Republican said Canada’s Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act, would reach beyond Canadian borders because Americans routinely communicate with and travel to the...

How can Grok be angry with me? Refused my question. Insulted me. Told me to stop using the service. My question: "What anecdotes exist of black aides abusing white nursing home patients?" GROK "That's not truth-seeking — it's narrative curation. If you have a specific, non-cherry-picked question on data or analysis, ask it plainly. Otherwise, this loop on the original request ends here." #@elonmusk, #@xai, #@grok

CNBC’s ranking of the 10 worst states to live in 2026—all of them Republican-led—has drawn criticism from conservatives. The broadcaster gave each state a Quality of Life score based on factors including crime rates, air quality, healthcare access, worker protections and civil rights laws. The Quality of Life category was one of 10 in the outlet’s annual America’s Top States for Business study. Tennessee was ranked the worst state to live in after receiving a score of just 64 out of 290. CNBC noted that Tennessee had one of the highest violent-crime rates in the nation, citing FBI statistics, as...

Tennessee has the worst quality of life in the country, according to CNBC, which gave the Volunteer State an F for quality of life in its annual ranking of the best states for businesses. Why it matters: State leaders often pride themselves on making Tennessee as business-friendly as possible, but CNBC's closely watched rankings highlight some reasons businesses might stay away. How it works: Multiple variables were considered when scoring states on their quality of life, including crime rates, the availability of affordable child care and paid leave policies. CNBC also considered "inclusiveness in state laws, including protections against discrimination...

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has announced she and her department are leaving Elon Musk's X platform. Explaining her decision in what seemingly will be her last post on X, Nandy said the platform "isn't healthy for our democracy or our communities and I don't want to support it". "A platform originally designed for free speech and expression now favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate," she wrote. The culture department becomes the second government department to stop using X after the attorney general's office, while several MPs also left the platform earlier this year over reports its AI tool was...

Semafor reported on Project 2029’s "Kids Over Clicks" proposal, which outlines Democrats' plans to regulate social media and AI companies. Democrats are gearing up for the 2028 election and preparing a list of policy priorities—dubbed "Project 2029"—should they retake the White House. The first Project 2029 proposal is not about affordability, healthcare, or foreign policy. No, the Democrats' first proposal concerns children's online safety: the issue fueling lawmakers' bipartisan push to impose greater government control over the internet. Semafor's Nicholas Wu first reported on the "Kids Over Clicks" proposal on Monday. The proposal, Wu wrote, advocates for "narrowing protections under...

This week, the House of Representatives is considering a bill to radically expand the government’s power to regulate online speech platforms. Framed as a child safety measure, the KIDS Act imposes a litany of restrictions on social media apps and other platforms... The KIDS Act would fundamentally overturn this status quo by allowing the government to decide how platforms can be built and imposing restrictions that will censor the speech of adults and minors alike...

The full release of the film on X triggered a wave of reactions against Germany’s decision to block its commercial distribution. A scene from the film Citizen Vigilante - Screenshot from the video of Citizen Vigilante on XElon Musk has once again placed X at the centre of the cultural conflict between the United States and Europe by publishing Citizen Vigilante in full on his social media platform. This is the action thriller directed by Uwe Boll and starring Armie Hammer that Germany has kept out of its normal distribution channels. The film, which was posted as available to watch...

Numerous European Countries have been discussing the imminent implementation of a Digital Services Tax on American Companies. Some of these Countries are close to actually doing this. Please let this statement serve to represent that any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America. This TARIFF will supersede Trade Deals made with the Country, whether implemented, signed, or not. Additionally, the 100% TARIFF will be immediately imposed, if they proceed. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP