Using history to move forward the public dialogue on free speech and social justice.

Free Speech News Round Up || Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2) and More

Ample news about censorship and free speech has continued to come out as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. There have also been unrelated free speech news items around the world worth highlighting.

Despite a Widespread Crackdown, Protests in Russia against the War have Continued

The latest report from OVD-Info, a watchdog in Russia puts the number of protesters against the war who have been arrested at over 7,500.1 Some of those protesters include children who put flowers at the Ukrainian embassy to honor those who have died in Ukraine.2 Also among those arrested is Yelena Osipova, an elderly woman who is apparently a long-time activist in St. Petersburg and survivor of the Nazi siege of Leningrad.

Russian television, unsurprisingly, has been mum on the arrests, showing only state-approved propaganda about the war.3 Their reports have selectively edited information about the conflict and made outright fabrications in order to make it appear that Ukraine (or as they say, Ukrainian “nationalists”) is largely responsible for both the conflict and any civilian casualties.

The European Union has Officially Banned Russian State Media

The European Union's ban on Russian state media took effect today, 2 March.4 The ban covers Russian channels Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their online platforms. At the moment, individual journalists have not been targeted by the sanctions, and, strictly speaking, the ban only applies to the broadcasting of information, rather than to all journalistic activities. The sanctions are being justified on the grounds that the channels act as state propaganda, rather than news.

Another Reminder that Russia is Not the Only Country with Propaganda

In this op-ed, Mustafa Bayoumi notes how racism has pervaded the news reports on the war in Ukraine.

Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, has cracked down on anyone in the party who dares to not parrot the official line on Ukraine.5 Protest group, Stop the War, highlights the way that opposition to Western militarism has come under fire in recent days. As member Lindsey German writes:

“Quite disgracefully, it has been bandied about in the present crisis from MPs and journalists who want to attack the anti-war movement — anyone taking such a position must be in hock to another state (in this case Russia) and acting against a supposed “national interest.” They simply cannot comprehend that campaigners can oppose wars and the foreign policy of their own government while at the same time opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Yet that is the position of the Stop the War Coalition. We condemn Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The people of Ukraine and Russia — and elsewhere in Europe — are the ones who will suffer as a result. It will also lead to much greater instability, both military and economic, throughout Europe and more widely.

Yet this conflict did not start in recent weeks. It is the product of a system where war is baked into a network of inter-imperialist rivalries, of which our government is at the heart. I therefore reject the narrative of the Johnson government which like its predecessors over the past three decades has waged aggressive wars.”6

In America, voices opposing the race towards militarism and greater provocation by the West have been limited in the mainstream press, but they do exist. In the lead-up to the war, both the Libertarian Party and the Green Party of the United States put out statements pushing to de-escalate the rising tensions in Eastern Europe.7 Since the war has begun the World Socialist Website, operated by the Fourth International has also condemned, at length, the aggressive violence by both Russia and the West, highlighting as other opposition voices did, the major role played by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).8 Yet, just as in the lead-up the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, most of the mainstream press continues to bang the war drum.

Meanwhile, on the Home Front...Right-Wing Censorship Wave Continues to Grow

The media narrative that it is really “politically correct” leftists, rather than right-wing conservatives, that are the serious threat to free speech continues to fly in the face of political reality. The Florida legislature has just passed a bill that would ban teachers from discussing LGBT issues in younger grades, and allow parents to sue schools which talk about them.9 Once again, Republicans are pushing so-called “parent's rights” over the right of children to receive information, form their own opinions, and be themselves. This homophobic bill goes even further, effectively forcing teachers and other school personnel to out students to their parents, despite the risk of violence, abuse, and retaliation by bigoted parents.

In Virginia, Republican Governor and Self-Appointed Censor, Glenn Youngkin has continued to roll his censorship machine across the landscape of public education. Using the vague language of “inherently divisive concepts” yet again, the Governor has banned initiatives to promote equity in the commonwealth's public schools.10 This comes as a result of his first executive order which directed the State Superintendent to ban anything that the government calls an “inherently divisive concept.” As the term is completely meaningless and vague, that left it open for the Superintendent to interpret it however they pleased. They chose to interpret it as concepts which violate certain provisions of the Civil Rights Act, despite the clear and obvious intent of the law to promote equity.

Obviously, this move was lambasted by experts and those who actually understand education and the need to address injustices and inequalities in our schools. As, “David Hinojosa, director of the educational opportunities project for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, says, 'it's quite outlandish to suggest that diversity, equity and inclusion training materials that will help students access the learning they need – especially students of color – violate the title six of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.' He added reports like this one are 'politically charged opinions' with no strong legal theories or arguments. He and several other groups submitted a joint civil rights letter to the Texas attorney general last fall arguing against attempts to prohibit anti-racist ideas and teachings informed by critical race theory, an academic framework for understanding how systemic racism operates. They argued the attempts run counter to the principles of the First and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution.” It's clear that Youngkin's moves here are blatantly unconstitutional and they ought to be brought to court before his lust for censorship grows any further.