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Can a tenured professor be fired for making porn? That's the question, perhaps unprecedented in the annals of higher education, that the University of Wisconsin set out to answer last month. On September 27, the system's board of regents sat down to rule on whether <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/professors-turned-porn-stars-free-speech-campus-battle-wisconsin-2024-6">Joe Gow</a>, who taught communications at UW-La Crosse, should be stripped of his tenure and dismissed for producing porn videos with his wife, a fellow academic named Carmen Wilson, and uploading them to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pornhub-is-awash-in-lawsuits-unverified-videos-2024-7">Pornhub</a>. The productions — with titles like "Juicy Anniversary" and "Vacation Sex" — featured Gow and Wilson having sex in a variety of racy scenarios, often with big-name porn stars.Gow had been fired from his position as chancellor of UW-La Crosse, a school of 11,000 students on the banks of the Mississippi River, after someone saw the videos and forwarded them to his boss. But dismissing a tenured professor is far more complicated than firing a top executive. Academic tenure is one of the strongest job protections you can get in America. It's effectively a lifetime appointment, designed to enable professors to teach views that might be unpopular or controversial. "It allows professors to speak truth to power, without fearing that they may lose their jobs for offending <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-college-sports-change-donor-fatigue-nil-recruiting-student-athletes-2024-6">donors</a> and the university and lawmakers," says Zach Greenberg of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. "It's unprecedented whenever a tenured professor gets fired. It's only happened a couple times in the history of Wisconsin."The university, calling Gow's behavior "abhorrent," went all out to make the case that he should be fired. "We don't want to be known as Porn U," said Betsy Morgan, who replaced Gow as interim chancellor. The university hired a white-shoe <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mass-torts-lawsuits-lawyers-settlements-strippers-hard-partying-money-2024-9">law firm</a> to scour 11 hours' worth of Gow and Wilson's videos and their self-published memoirs, "Married with Benefits" and "Monogamy with Benefits: How Porn Enriches Our Relationship." The firm produced a 318-page report brimming with detailed descriptions of the sexual techniques Gow enjoyed, along with pages of sex-toy ads that were sent to his work email. In March, Morgan started proceedings to dismiss Gow, charging him with unethical conduct, refusal to cooperate with the investigation, and violation of workplace policies. (Gow, the investigation revealed, had used a campus copier to print a vegan cookbook.)Gow was unapologetic. He declared that he had no plans to stop making porn and argued that the university was violating his <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-ban-bill-is-first-amendment-disaster-may-survive-courts-2024-4">First Amendment</a> rights. By the time the board of regents met to hear the case and issue its decision, the battle had devolved into a rancorous, often surreal showdown over the future of academic freedom in America. With private and state universities embroiled in debates over "woke indoctrination" and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/university-overreaction-pro-palestinian-protests-police-arrests-dissent-expert-2024-5">campus protests</a>, many academics feared that Gow's case could set a sweeping precedent that tenured professors can be fired over anything in their private lives that universities find inappropriate."It's a violation of academic freedom," says Tom Ginsburg, a law professor and faculty director of the Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression at the University of Chicago. "He's being fired for embarrassing behavior outside the workplace, but there's no end of such behavior. So once we go down this route, universities can find a pretextual reason for firing almost anyone."The opening round in the battle over Gow's professorship took place at a hearing in June. The session, held in a windowless conference room of a sports arena in Onalaska, began with the bang of a gavel wielded by a UW-La Crosse biology professor. Gow was being tried not before a judge or jury but by a faculty committee made up of five of his colleagues.The university began by arguing that Gow, as a state employee, enjoyed no right to freedom of speech. Wade Harrison, the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guide-moving-abroad-for-college-according-to-university-advisors-diploma-2024-9">university's</a> general counsel, cited San Diego v. Roe, a case in which a police officer was fired for selling videos of himself masturbating while wearing his police uniform, in effect profiting from his position.Donald Downs, a First Amendment scholar and emeritus professor at the university, told me after the hearing he found that argument alarming. The San Diego case shouldn't apply to Gow, he said, for one big reason: Police officers don't have academic freedom. "If our job is going to be seen as no different from the police officer or any other regular job out there," Downs argued, "then we're not going to be able to do our job."<div type="image" title="Joe Gow and wife" height="1822" width="2763" msid="114188637" hostid="261" sizebytes="723682"></div>The university tried to prove that Gow had damaged its reputation, claiming that several top donors had threatened to stop giving if the star of "Bedroom Shenanigans" was allowed to teach undergrads. Harrison also placed Gow's memoirs on trial. He recited a passage in which Gow — under the nom de plume Jay Hart — hires "Tom," a male stripper, "to perform sex acts" with his wife."In 'Monogamy with Benefits' you wrote that all events described are true," Harrison said. "Do you stand by that statement?""No," Gow retorted. "We should have said 'based on a true story.'"Harrison displayed several ads Gow had received from sex-toy companies. "Do you ever get email messages you never asked for? I believe we call it spam," Gow responded. "So you would fire someone for junk email?"The university then trotted out Jerry Bui, a forensic investigator who had raked through Gow's and Wilson's work computers. The strongest evidence of misconduct he could find was that the couple had "automatic logins" to a couple of porn sites. Though he couldn't find any browsing history of the sites, Bui speculated that Gow may have used "incognito mode" while watching porn at work or erased his browser history to cover his tracks.Gow, in his closing argument, dismissed the trial as a sham. "Tenure is based on the quality of one's teaching, research, and service," he told the committee. "This fruitless exercise has nothing to do with that."The committee, unswayed, voted unanimously that Gow should be fired. They argued that Gow had used his academic position to promote his porn, because in some videos, during foreplay, he mentioned his "Midwestern location" and "academic career." They also accused him of exploiting his public ouster as chancellor to boost his profile as a porn star.But the committee's decision was only a recommendation. More than two months later, Gow faced a second tribunal, before the board of regents for the state's university system: 17 executives, attorneys, and public servants and one dairy farmer who gathered in Madison to hear the case. The regents had made their position clear in a brief filed before the hearing. "The survival of a public university is dependent on legislative funding, grant funding, tuition revenue, and donations," they wrote. "Gow's behavior, left to continue, could negatively affect all four."At his first hearing, Gow had defended himself. Before the regents, he was represented by Mark Leitner, a partner at a top Milwaukee law firm. Leitner argued that the university was committing a textbook violation of free-speech rights. "We don't need the First Amendment to protect 'The Star-Spangled Banner,'" he said. "We need the First Amendment precisely when the danger of stifling controversial, unpopular speech is at its highest."But what's the danger of stifling porn? Leitner presented Gow's videos as part of his broader advocacy of nonmonogamy. "There is no doubt that sexual conduct is a matter of importance to people," Leitner told the regents. "Simply because Dr. Gow's views on what promotes a healthy and stable marriage do not comport with the views of the majority of society — that doesn't matter." Harrison, the university's counsel, dismissed the point: "Dr. Gow would love to, you know, try to rely on a hypertechnical First Amendment argument to get around his bad conduct.""It's not a hypertechnical argument," Leitner said. "It goes to the heart of what we're all about in this state and in this country."After Leitner concluded, the regents were given a chance to ask questions. They had none.Aweek later, the regents met again to decide Gow's fate. After deliberating in private for half an hour, they cast their votes one by one. Seventeen supported firing Gow. One abstained.Gow's 40-year career in academia was over. He also forfeited some $300,000 worth of accrued sick leave and other benefits.<div type="image" title="Joe Gow and wife" height="1536" width="2308" msid="114188633" hostid="261" sizebytes="93022"></div>As Gow left the hearing, walking hand in hand with Wilson, a phalanx of photographers snapped pictures as if they were the Bennifer of Wisconsin. Gow pulled out a prepared statement. Calling the regents a "board of hypocrites," he accused them of breaching the university's commitment to academic freedom and of caving to pressure from Republican state senators who had called for his dismissal. The regents, Gow said, "are willing to fire me for the short-term goodwill they get with the far right."On his two-hour ride home, Gow elaborated on the wider issues he believes are at stake. "There are many faculty who would say: Well, this guy, he's not one of us," he told me. "And that's unfortunate. Because if they can do this to me, they could do it to any tenured professor. Academia is not a law firm or a bank or an insurance company. We're in the truth business. We are dedicated to the fearless sifting and winnowing of the truth, and that's what this is supposed to be about."Gow's colleagues apparently didn't consider his porn videos the kind of expression that tenure is designed to protect: During his fight to remain on the faculty, none of them came to his defense in public. But Keith Whittington, a Yale law professor and founding chair of the Academic Freedom Alliance, sees Gow's case as setting a dangerous precedent. "University trustees are now going to be faced with the problem of explaining why it is that we're going to tolerate other members of the faculty posting controversial content," he says. He puts Gow's online porn in the same category as "posting inflammatory personal, political opinions on social media." In the wake of Gow's dismissal, he says, making such distinctions "is going to be a hard line to maintain."But the fight may not be over. Gow plans to file a federal lawsuit against the university, alleging a violation of his First Amendment rights. And in the meantime, he and Wilson plan to keep exercising those rights. Since being outed, they've released adult videos like "Top 10 Squirting Orgasms and Cumshots" and "Our Honeymoon with the Porn Stars," as well as tamer cooking-show fare like "Making Plant-Based Egg Salad." The videos pull in as much as $3,000 a month on OnlyFans, and the couple is getting requests to create customized content, including foot-fetish videos and gay scenes with Gow. But thrilling as their middle-aged sexual awakening has been, they say, it doesn't compensate for the loss of Gow's professorship."This is 2024," Gow says. "We thought we had come a ways in Wisconsin from the McCarthy era. Apparently not."<a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/hallie-lieberman">Hallie Lieberman</a> is a sex historian and journalist. She's the author of Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy.

The professor made porn. His firing may shape the future of free speech.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Elon Musk, a self-styled free-speech absolutist, actually has a spotty track record on the issue.</li><li>But in his ongoing public feud with Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes, Musk has a point.</li></ul>Even a broken clock is right twice a day.Billionaire businessman and X owner <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>, a self-styled free-speech absolutist, has for months been locked in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-fight-brazilian-supreme-court-justice-x-2024-4">public feud</a> with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes over content moderation concerns.But this time, despite his <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/judge-throws-out-hate-speech-lawsuit-elon-musk-x-2024-3">poor track record</a> of actually living up to the values he espouses — for example, he has readily complied with moderation orders from India's increasingly authoritarian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — Musk might actually have a point.The battle between Musk and de Moraes hinges on government requests to ban social media accounts associated with extremist groups engaging in disinformation campaigns favoring Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's ousted far-right president.Musk has repeatedly refused to abide by de Moraes' orders to remove accounts affiliated with the "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-defies-brazil-order-to-block-x-accounts-2024-4">digital militias</a>" the justice is targeting as part of his anti-disinformation task force. Musk has also, against Brazilian law, refused to appoint a legal representative to handle government requests to remove content from the site.In response, de Moraes has levied millions of dollars in fines against X, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brazil-judge-orders-elon-musk-x-stop-operations-2024-8">blocked access to the site</a> around the country, announced plans to fine Brazilians who attempted to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vpn-demand-surges-brazil-x-banned-legal-threats-fines-2024-9">access the app through VPNs,</a> and threatened a local X employee with jail time.Despite Musk being a far-from-perfect avatar for free speech issues, the Brazilian justice has taken a more extreme stance to address disinformation than other democratic leaders — one that appears to be bordering on outright censorship, critics say.Veridiana Alimonti, a Brazil-based expert with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Bloomberg that, by international standards of freedom of expression, it's "problematic" to block access to an entire platform, especially one that hosts both legal and illegal speech."I don't post on X anymore myself, and I will not lament its passing when it disappears," tech journalist Casey Newton wrote in his Platformer newsletter. "But whatever role the 140 X accounts in question in Brazil may have played in threatening Brazil's democracy, they cannot have threatened it more than silencing the 20 million or so Brazilians who have been using it regularly."<h2 id="14d73b7e-374a-4bfd-a770-e6b7627cd912">Musk's questionable free speech record</h2>After he purchased Twitter in 2022, Musk quickly reduced moderation on the platform and restored accounts once banned for spreading false information, like those of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-said-donald-trumps-twitter-account-will-be-reinstated-2022-11">former President Donald Trump</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-restores-alex-jones-account-5-years-after-ban-2023-12">conspiracy theorist Alex Jones</a>, in the name of free speech.More recently, he was one of the first social media moguls to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-arrest-france-free-speech-2024-8">defend Telegraph founder Pavel Durov</a> when last month <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-arrested-french-airport-2024-8">French police arrested Durov</a>, in part due to his <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-charges-questions-free-speech-censorship-2024-8">refusal to moderate content</a> more strictly on his messaging app.Musk's commitment to the issue of free speech, however, is otherwise spotty, if not outright hypocritical.The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-ceo-elon-musk">Tesla CEO</a> has banned <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/musk-said-comedy-now-legal-twitter-jokes-getting-users-suspended-2022-11">parody accounts</a> that impersonated him and threatened to sue bloggers critical of him and his companies. He has also <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/free-speech-absolutist-elon-musk-censors-employees-critics-2022-3">fired employees who disagreed with him</a>.Perhaps even more egregious, at least in the context of his battle in Brazil, Musk said last year he had <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/musk-twitter-no-actual-choice-censorship-governmental-request-free-speech-2023-5">no "actual choice"</a> but to comply with government requests to restrict content in Turkey and India — both large democracies that have, in recent years, become more autocratic. One analysis by El Pais estimated that, under his leadership, X complied with 83% of requests from authoritarian governments to remove content.Though his history on the issue is inconsistent, Musk has made himself central to the conversation about censorship, content moderation, and free speech worldwide in part by picking fights like the one he has in Brazil.<h2 id="a4f17cb4-b06a-458e-9258-a98ac7bd5985">The battle in Brazil</h2>In Brazil, the battle got real for Musk.In addition to slapping X with more than $3 million in fines and threatening to jail the company's employees, prompting the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/x-closes-brazil-office-elon-musk-alexandre-de-moraes-2024-8">closure of X's Brazilian office</a>, de Moraes also targeted Musk's other business ventures in the country.The Brazilian judge briefly froze the financial accounts for Starlink — a subsidiary of Musk's company SpaceX that provides internet connectivity through its constellation of satellites — in order to collect the fines on X.When Starlink refused to comply with orders to block access to X in the country, Brazilian telecom regulators weighed slapping the company with sanctions and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brazil-starlink-sanctions-amid-feud-elon-musk-x-2024-9">revoking the company's license to operate</a>.Starlink backed down, eventually complying with legal demands to block X in Brazil, but Musk hasn't given up.<h2 id="5f8a4d7c-bd6f-4f1f-8964-e222c474bfdf">Musk argues in memes</h2>For now, Musk seems to be defending free speech (and X's presence in Brazil) by publicly attacking de Moraes.In a series of recent posts on X, Musk questioned de Moraes' credibility and political motives, calling him "an evil dictator cosplaying as a judge" and accusing the justice of being "engaged in serious, repeated &amp; deliberate interference" in Brazil's most recent presidential election, during which voters elected leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva over Bolsonaro.He has also shared images of de Moraes alongside Lord Voldemort from the "Harry Potter" franchise and suggested the judge belongs behind bars.These attacks may ultimately work against Musk and his companies.His decision not to appeal de Moraes' orders in court (and instead turn the topic into a battle of memes online) has scattered about 20 million active Brazillian X users to new platforms, including Bluesky and Threads."Where this is heading from here will really depend on Elon Musk. I think if Elon Musk decides to start to comply, as he eventually did in India, for example, it might be that X comes back," Mariana Valente, a law professor and the director of Brazil's InternetLab, a think tank, told Bloomberg. "But if Elon Musk doesn't act differently, I think X or Twitter will be blocked in Brazil for a long time."

Elon Musk is an imperfect mascot for free speech — but he's got a point on Brazil

Booker Prize-winning author <keyword id="20555217" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arundhati-Roy" source="keywords">Arundhati Roy</keyword>, currently facing the threat of prosecution over historic comments on Kashmir 14 years ago, was on Thursday honoured with the prestigious <keyword id="22202137" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pen-Pinter-Prize" source="keywords">Pen Pinter Prize</keyword> 2024 for her "unflinching and unswerving" writings. The prize, established in 2009 by the charity <keyword id="22202138" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="English-PEN" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="English PEN" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="English PEN">English PEN</keyword>, defends <keyword id="20100163" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freedom-of-expression" source="keywords">freedom of expression</keyword> and celebrates <keyword id="19987262" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="literature" source="keywords">literature</keyword> in memory of Nobel-Laureate playwright <keyword id="22202139" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Harold-Pinter" source="keywords">Harold Pinter</keyword>. Roy expressed her delight at being named this year's winner amid an "incomprehensible turn" the world is taking. "I am delighted to accept the PEN Pinter prize. I wish Harold Pinter were with us today to write about the almost incomprehensible turn the world is taking. Since he isn't, some of us must do our utmost to try to fill his shoes," said 62-year-old Roy. The renowned author, who won the <keyword id="20316916" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Booker-Prize" source="keywords">Booker Prize</keyword> for her debut novel 'The God of Small Things', was chosen by this year's judges - Chair of English PEN Ruth Borthwick; actor and activist Khalid Abdalla; and writer and musician Roger Robinson. She will receive the award at a ceremony co-hosted by the British Library on October 10, where she will also deliver an address. "Roy tells urgent stories of injustice with wit and beauty. While India remains an important focus, she is truly an internationalist thinker, and her powerful voice is not to be silenced," said Borthwick. "Arundhati Roy is a luminous voice of freedom and justice whose words have come with fierce clarity and determination for almost 30 years now," said Abdalla. "This year, as the world faces the deep histories that have created this moment in Gaza, our need for writers who are 'unflinching and unswerving' has been immense. In honoring Arundhati Roy this year, we are celebrating both the dignity of her body of work and the timeliness of her words, that arrive with the depth of her craft exactly when we need them most," he said. "Arundhati Roy was the unanimous choice for this prestigious award, a testament to her unparalleled contribution to literature. Her vast body of work, encompassing both fiction and non-fiction, has not only captivated readers worldwide but also consistently focused on themes of <keyword id="19934927" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-justice" source="keywords">social justice</keyword>, " added Robinson. The judges noted Roy's incisive commentary on issues ranging from environmental degradation to human rights abuses demonstrates her commitment to advocating for the marginalized and challenging the status quo. "Her unique voice and unwavering dedication to these causes make her a deserving recipient of this honour," they said. The prize will be shared with a "Writer of Courage" - one who is active in defence of freedom of expression, often at great risk to their own safety and liberty. The co-winner will be selected and announced by Arundhati Roy from a shortlist of cases supported by English PEN. The prize is awarded annually to a writer of outstanding literary merit resident in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland or the Commonwealth who, in the words of Harold Pinter's Nobel Prize in Literature speech, casts an "unflinching, unswerving" gaze upon the world and shows a "fierce intellectual determination... to define the real truth of our lives and our societies".

Arundhati Roy awarded Pen Pinter Prize for her 'unflinching' writing

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Vice President Kamala Harris delivered an impassioned acceptance speech.</li><li>Harris took care to portray herself as a president who would represent "all Americans."</li></ul>Vice President <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-political-contributions-by-name-for-trump-vs-harris-2024-8">Kamala Harris</a> on Thursday delivered an impassioned speech in which she reintroduced herself to the nation, connecting her past representing the people as a prosecutor with a desire to be "a president for all Americans.""I will be a President who unites us around our highest aspirations," she said. "A President who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical, and has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life's work."Harris' acceptance speech capped off an unprecedented rise that began as one of the least popular vice presidents in recent memory. Now, she is firmly ensconced as just the second woman in American history to be a major party's presidential nominee.Former President <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-rnc-speech-assassination-attempt-takeaways-2024-7">Donald Trump </a>tried to hew to a call for unity in his major convention address given just days after he survived an assassination attempt. After detailing his harrowing experience, Trump meandered into his usual stump speech that included nods to his false claim that 2020 election was stolen from him.Like other Democrats this week, Harris said Trump was just in the race to better himself."Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails," she said. "How he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States. Not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: Himself."Harris focused on a call for unity, which was accompanied by progressive policies, such as an ambitious plan to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-kamala-harris-plans-to-build-3-million-new-homes-2024-8">address the housing shortage.</a>"You know our opponents are out there every day denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is. Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach: never let anyone tell you are; you show them who you are. America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness, and endless possibilities. We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world."Trump's advisors appeared unimpressed by the spectacle."A candidacy based on nothing - provided a speech literally on nothing," Chris LaCivita, one of Trump's co-campaign managers, wrote on X.<h2 id="3e20286a-a899-4976-b5fa-55b0541b6f22">Kamala Harris is not going back to 2020.</h2>Amid her sprint to the nomination, Harris has jettisoned many of the progressive policies that defined her 2020 primary campaign. Addressing one of her biggest potential weaknesses, Harris reiterated her support for the bipartisan Senate immigration plan, which is the most conservative immigration policy Democrats have supported in decades. Even some Senate Republicans blamed Trump for killing that deal."Well, I refuse to play politics with our security," Harris said. "Here is my pledge to you: As President, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed."In contrast, Harris was among a handful of candidates during the 2020 primary season who expressed support for decriminalizing the act itself of crossing a border illegally.Fellow Democrats are cheering on her reinvention even as Republicans try to brand her as a flip-flooper."In my district, I say what works in Michigan works in San Francisco what works in Francisco might not work in Michigan," Pelosi told Politico in an interview on the sidelines. "And we must win Michigan."Pennslyvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who Harris considered a possible running mate, praised the vice president for reversing her 2020 view that fracking should be banned. Shapiro praised Harris' evolution on the issue as a "sign of strength.""It's a sign that she has listened to the importance of energy in Pennsylvania and that she's going to continue to help us be a net energy exporter and put people to work," Shapiro told Politico.Trump and GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance have labeled Harris a "chameleon." Trump has undermined the attack by suggesting that core elements of Harris' identity have also changed — most notably, he declared before a room of Black journalists that Harris wasn't really Black.Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan delivered a fiery convention address that urged his fellow Republicans to support Harris even if they don't agree with her on every issue. On Thursday morning, Duncan seemed to suggest it's a lot easier for him to make peace with Harris' current trajectory."I mean, certainly, she was painted. And -- and rightfully so, as somebody very far left in her 2020 stances in policy positions. But she certainly walked back from some of those," Duncan said on CNN.<h2 id="dfc86b1e-b01c-4553-8e1f-68b958fedf6c">Harris' second act could carry her to the presidency.</h2>Missteps typified Harris' early time in the Biden administration. She angered Sen. Joe Manchin, then a West Virginia Democrat, by talking to reporters in his state. Her <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/557282-vp-harris-not-discounting-concerns-about-events-at-us-border-during/">response</a> to Lester Holt about not visiting the US-Mexico border overshadowed Harris' outreach to Mexico and Guatemala. Worst of all, staffers <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/30/kamala-harris-office-dissent-497290">continued</a> to leave Harris as she navigated her historic vice presidency.Harris rejuvenated her political standing by leading the Biden administration's response to the Supreme Court's landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In doing so, she leaned back into the edge that drew eyebrows when she grilled Trump administration officials on Capitol Hill. Few could have predicted how much she would skyrocket after President Joe Biden abruptly left the race.As Politico detailed, she <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-donors-grassroots-more-than-joe-biden-2024-8">had more donors</a> in the first 10 days of her campaign than Biden did in 15 months. Harris has narrowed the race to the point that the presidency once again is considered a toss-up. Political prognosticators have moved most of the seven swing states away from Trump.

Harris' DNC speech proves she finally knows who she needs to be to win

<ul class="summary-list"><li>JD Vance suggested the US may reconsider NATO support if the EU tries to regulate Elon Musk's X.</li><li>Vance seemed to reference a letter from Thierry Breton to Musk.</li></ul>JD Vance suggested that the US may reconsider its support for NATO if the European Union pursued regulations targeting social media platforms, particularly Elon Musk's X.Vance made the remarks during a recent <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrgmwtpAsWc">appearance on the "Shawn Ryan Show</a>," where he expressed concerns about a perceived threat to free speech.Vance, Donald Trump's running mate in the upcoming presidential election, claimed on the show that an EU official had threatened to arrest Musk if he platformed Trump."The leader, I forget exactly which official it was within the European Union, but sent Elon this threatening letter that basically said: 'We're gonna arrest you if you platform Donald Trump,'" Vance said."What America should be saying is, if NATO wants us to continue supporting them and NATO wants us to continue to be a good participant in this military alliance, why don't you respect American values and respect free speech?" he continued, adding that it was "insane that we would support a military alliance if that military alliance isn't going to be pro-free speech."Vance seemed to be referring to a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/ThierryBreton/status/1823033048109367549">letter posted on X in August by Thierry Breton</a>, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market at the time.Breton addressed the letter to Musk ahead of the X owner's much-publicized interview with Trump, warning him against amplifying "harmful content."Breton wrote that Musk and X had an obligation to comply with EU law, ensuring freedom of expression and information but making sure that "all proportionate and effective mitigation measures are put in place regarding the amplification of harmful content in connection with relevant events."The EU Commission had previously <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_24_3761">said</a> in July that X did not comply with the EU's Digital Services Act on advertising transparency and in relation to its verified accounts policy.Breton said that the commission's preliminary findings suggested that X's blue checks "deceive users" and infringe the DSA.Responding to the findings on his social media platform, Musk said that the European Commission had previously offered X "an illegal secret deal.""If we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us. The other platforms accepted that deal. X did not," he added.Despite Musk's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-brazil-free-speech-content-moderation-fines-seizure-2024-9">long-running battle for free speech</a>, he has previously <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-suspends-multiple-journalists-whod-been-covering-elon-musk-2022-12">suspended the X (then Twitter) accounts of multiple journalists</a> who had been covering or criticizing him.Business Insider has contacted representatives for Vance for comment.<div type="image" title="Donald Trump glares in a meeting in which the NATO flag sits in the background." height="3119" width="4679" msid="113558132" hostid="261" sizebytes="282676"></div>US-NATO tensions have been back under the spotlight in the run-up to the US election in November.Trump has long urged fellow NATO members to increase their defense spending.In February, the former president even suggested that the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-trump-nato-russia-comments-appalling-unhinged-2024-2">US could let Russia attack non-paying NATO countries</a>, much to the White House's ire.NATO defense ministers agreed in 2006 to commit at least 2% of GDP to funding the alliance, but a few countries — including <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/why-we-fight-over-canadian-defense-spending">Canada</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://cepa.org/article/spain-natos-laggard/">Spain</a> — have fallen below this level.According to NATO estimates, Poland is set to be the biggest NATO spender in 2024, allocating 4.12% of its GDP. Estonia comes in second place at 3.43%, while the US sits in third at 3.38%.For its part, NATO has acknowledged that there's been a historic imbalance between US military spending and that of non-US allies.In July, a post on its site said: "The volume of US defence expenditure represents approximately two thirds of the defence spending of the Alliance as a whole.""However, this is not the amount that the United States contributes to the operational running of NATO, which is shared with all Allies according to the principle of common funding," it added.

JD Vance suggested the US's support for NATO could be pulled if Europe tries to regulate X as free speech debate rumbles on

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Vice President Kamala Harris briefly took the DNC stage on Monday.</li><li>Harris thanked Joe Biden ahead of his primetime speech kicking off the convention.</li></ul>Vice President Kamala Harris surprised crowds on the first day of the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/democratic-national-convention-preview-harris-gaza-war-protests-election-2024-8">Democratic National Convention</a>, offering brief remarks and thanking President Joe Biden ahead of his scheduled handoff speech on Monday.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris">Harris</a> took the stage to rapturous cheers from the crowd as Beyoncé's "Freedom" rang out through Chicago's United Center.According to the official agenda, Harris wasn't set to speak on Monday but delivered brief introductory comments, telling the crowd that "this is going to be a great week."She used most of her short time onstage to praise Biden and drum up excitement for his speech, set for later in the evening."I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible President Joe Biden, who will be speaking later tonight," she said."Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you will continue to do; we are forever grateful to you," Harris added.Biden is set to deliver a prime-time address on Monday. His remarks will kick off the convention, which was previously set to serve as his reelection event until he bowed out of the race last month following a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happened-biden-trump-debate-takeaways-2024-6">disastrous debate performance</a> with former President Donald Trump in late June.The president is expected to use his speech to review his administration's accomplishments and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-endorses-kamala-harris-after-dropping-out-2024-7">officially coronate Harris</a> as his successor.According to NBC News, following the speech, Biden will not attend the rest of the DNC, which runs through Thursday. Media reports in recent days have suggested the president is still frustrated by members of his party who <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pelosi-defends-pushing-biden-out-country-is-very-happy-2024-8">pushed for his replacement</a> as the candidate.Harris finished her remarks on Monday by praising the diversity in the Democratic party."Looking out at everyone tonight, I see the beauty of our great nation. People from every corner of our country and every walk of life are here, united by our shared vision for the future of our country, and this November, we will come together and declare with one voice, as one people, we are moving forward," she said.

Kamala Harris makes surprise DNC appearance to thank Joe Biden before his big handover speech

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A Yale University professor called Israel "genocidal" and "murderous."</li><li>A student-led petition calling for her ouster has more than 44,000 signatures.</li></ul>A petition with tens of thousands of signatures is calling for Yale University to terminate a professor after she described Israel as "murderous" and "genocidal" on the day Hamas launched one of its deadliest attacks on the country.In response to the backlash, Yale University has reasserted its commitment to freedom of speech.Yale told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/yale-students-call-for-professors-resignation-after-israel-hamas-war-social-media-posts/3123857/">NBC Connecticut</a> in a statement that the university "is committed to freedom of expression, and the comments posted on Professor Grewal's personal accounts represent her own views."One self-identified Yale student, Netanel Crispe, created <a target="_blank" href="https://www.change.org/p/remove-zareena-grewal-from-the-yale-faculty-for-hate-speech">a Change.org petition</a> calling for the ouster of Zareena Grewal, an associate professor of American studies, ethnicity, race, migration, and religious studies. The petition has so far gathered more than 44,000 signatures.According to the petition, Grewal posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on October 7 to say that she was praying for the people of Palestine."My heart is in my throat. Prayers for Palestinians. Israeli [sic] is a murderous, genocidal settler state and Palestinians have every right to resist through armed struggle, solidarity. #FreePalestine," Grewal said in the post, according to the petition.Earlier on October 7, Hamas launched a wave of unprecedented terror attacks in Israel, killing more than 1,000 and taking dozens of hostages. The attack ended a nearly 20-year stalemate that has been characterized by rising tension over Israel's occupation of the West Bank and blockade of Gaza.Israel has since <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-formally-declares-war-on-hamas-seeks-full-control-gaza-2023-10">declared a state of war</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-wipes-out-hamas-another-group-will-take-its-place-2023-10">vowed to completely destroy Hamas</a>. Israel's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-hamas-war-weapons-may-be-used-gaza-ground-operation-2023-10">airstrikes</a> over the densely populated Gaza strip have killed 1,900 people so far in response, at least 614 of them <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.insider.com/children-rights-gaza-palestine-israel-human-rights-united-nations-2023-10?_gl=1*z0e9u5*_ga*MTYxMjAzNzYxMy4xNjgxODQzOTg1*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTY5NzI5NjM5MC4yNTguMS4xNjk3Mjk3MzIwLjU3LjAuMA..">children</a>.Grewal has since made her X account private, and her posts are no longer visible.Crispe said in the petition that condoning violence and advocating for a terrorist organization are values that that "run contrary to the values of Yale University.""She has unequivocally proven that she has no right being in her current role or in the field of education if she considers war crimes against civilians to be acts of resistance," the petition says.Neither Yale nor Grewal responded to Insider's requests for comment.

Yale is citing freedom of speech amid student anger after a professor called Israel a 'murderous genocidal settler state'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke at an event for Iowa Rep. Randy Feenstra on Saturday.</li><li>The event took place the same weekend former President Donald Trump was in the state.</li></ul>Calling Florida a "refuge of sanity," Gov. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-desantis-feud-timeline-parental-rights-education-florida-2023-4">Ron DeSantis</a> said Saturday people can't stop moving to the state because of its track record as a "citadel of freedom."In the same speech, DeSantis proudly spoke of his administration's track record of pushing for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anti-crt-moms-for-liberty-teachers-breaking-new-discrimination-law-2021-11">books to be removed from schools,</a> eliminating diversity programs, ousting critics from office, and moving toward banning teachers from sharing their preferred pronouns.DeSantis — who is expected to announce his 2024 presidential campaign at any moment — attended the Saturday event in support Iowa Rep. Randy Feenstra. Former President Donald Trump, who is running again in 2024 as a Republican, is also planning a large outdoor rally in Des Moines, Iowa later in the day.In his speech, DeSantis pointed to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-gets-top-ranking-in-education-amid-desantis-war-on-woke-2023-5">rankings</a> released by US News &amp; World Report on May 2, which places Florida at #1 in education based on graduation rates. DeSantis, said he's "very proud" that Florida also ranks in first place for parental involvement in education."We're very proud of that," he said. "But none of that would have been possible had we not stood up when it counted." On May 3, Florida <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-lawmaker-pitching-major-expansion-of-dont-say-gay-bill-2023-3">passed two bills</a> that ban college diversity programs and make it illegal to require students or teachers to use <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teacher-suspended-after-refusing-use-students-pronouns-gets-95k-settlement-2022-9">pronouns</a> that do not align with someone's assigned sex at birth. DeSantis, who will soon sign them into law, said the legislation was designed to "nix the pronoun Olympics in schools.""We're not doing the pronoun stuff," DeSantis said. "Your teacher can't make you list pronouns. We're just not doing it."Research has shown that using incorrect pronouns or misgendering transgender people can have <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fsah0000070" target="_blank" rel="noopener">harmful effects</a> on their mental health. According to a survey from The Trevor Project, More than 40% of LGBTQ <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lgbtq-youth-suicide-survey-anti-trans-laws-policies-2023-5">youth said they considered suicide</a> in the last year, and that anti-LGBTQ laws were making their mental health worse.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-desantis-superintendent-dont-say-gay-bill-moms-for-liberty-2023-4">Moms for Liberty</a>, which originated in Florida, is a conservative parent group that has led the charge nationally in the push to remove books from schools with LGBTQ+ themes. The group has pushed to have its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moms-for-liberty-plan-to-elect-own-candidates-school-boards-2022-7">members elected</a> to local school boards. Last month, the state Department of Education tried<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-desantis-superintendent-dont-say-gay-bill-moms-for-liberty-2023-4"> to oust a superintendent</a> critical of DeSantis after the group sent him a letter about the official.DeSantis also touted his habit of removing government officials who are critical of him or disagree with his political views from office in his speech on Saturday.DeSantis bragged about ousting elected Tampa prosecutor Andrew Warren in August 2022 after Warren said he would not enforce the state's restrictions on abortion on gender-affirming care. "I removed him from his position," he said. "He is gone and that's the type of accountability we need."

DeSantis calls Florida a 'citadel of freedom' in Iowa speech celebrating the state's book and pronoun bans

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Robert De Niro will not be honored at the National Association of Broadcasters ceremony, a report said.</li><li>The film star called Trump a "clown" outside the former president's criminal trial in New York City.</li></ul>Robert De Niro will no longer be honored at the National Association of Broadcasters award ceremony after making a slew of anti-Trump comments outside the former president's criminal trial, said a report.The Oscar-winning actor was set to receive the NAB's top individual honor, the Leadership Foundation's Service to America Award, next Tuesday in Washington, DC.In <a target="_blank" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4694239-broadcasters-de-niro-award-trump-courthouse-hush-money-trial/">a statement to The Hill,</a> a spokesperson for the group said, "While we strongly support the right of every American to exercise free speech and participate in civic engagement, it is clear that Mr. De Niro's recent high-profile activities will create a distraction from the philanthropic work that we were hoping to recognize," the statement said, per The Hill."To maintain the focus on service of the award winners, Mr. De Niro will no longer be attending the event."In a <a target="_blank" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4694239-broadcasters-de-niro-award-trump-courthouse-hush-money-trial/">statement</a> to the Hill in response to the NAB's decision to rescind the award, De Niro said, "I support the work of the NAB Leadership Foundation and would like to express my appreciation and gratitude for what the Foundation has done and will continue to do for the good of us all, and I wish them well for their continued good work," it said.De Niro has been<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/robert-de-niro-about-trump-feud-timeline-2024-5"> feuding with Trump for 13 years</a>, according to a report by Business Insider's Ayomikun Adekaiyero.The two New Yorkers first came to verbal blows Trump after questioned the citizenship status of then-president, <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-obama-birth-certificate-2017-2017-11">Barack Obama</a>.Outside the courthouse on Tuesday, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/robert-de-niro-about-trump-feud-timeline-2024-5">De Niro said he had joined the Biden campaign</a> because it was the only way to "preserve our freedoms.""If Trump returns to the White House, you can kiss these freedoms goodbye that we all take for granted."De Niro, who recently voiced an ad for the Biden campaign, called Donald Trump a "clown," adding that "we've forgotten the lessons of history that showed us other clowns who weren't taken seriously until they became vicious dictators.""With Trump, we have a second chance, and no one is laughing now. This is the time to stop him by voting him out once and for all.""If he gets in, I can tell you right now, he will never leave," said De Niro.Trump responded to De Niro's comments on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday."I never knew how small, both mentally and physically, Wacko Former Actor Robert De Niro was," the former president wrote."Today, De Niro, who suffers from an incurable case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, commonly known in the medical community as TDS, was met, outside the Courthouse, with a force far greater than the Radical Left - MAGA."Trump later posted what appeared to be a <a target="_blank" href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112530879876870305">deep-fake video of De Niro</a> speaking at the podium outside the courthouse."'I'm speaking to you today because I'm a scared little man, a washed up actor with lots of skeletons in my closet. People like me need Joe Biden and power not because he's any good, but because he enjoys the same sick perversions," it said..

Robert De Niro denied top broadcast award following his anti-Trump speech outside court, report says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke out in support of the now-ousted Tucker Carlson.</li><li>He cited Carlson leaving Fox News as an example of poor press standards in the US.</li></ul>Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday trashed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-tucker-carlson-origin-story-2022-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tucker Carlson's</a> ousting from Fox News, joining the Kremlin's chorus of support for the TV host.Lavrov was speaking at a Tuesday press conference in New York, during which he bashed Western journalism.He cited Carlson's departure from Fox as an example of what — according to him — is the deterioration of press freedom in the US."The First Amendment of the United States Constitution apparently means nothing in practice," Lavrov said. The First Amendment does not protect journalists from being fired by their employers."I heard that Tucker Carlson has left Fox News. It's curious news. What is this related to? I can only guess," he said. "But clearly, the wealth of views in the American information space has suffered as a result."Lavrov's comments about Carlson were brief, but he isn't alone in the Kremlin's praise for the right-wing TV figure.On Fox News, Carlson's views on the war in Ukraine would often align with Moscow's war narrative. Carlson, on his show, has questioned <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-state-tv-features-tucker-carlson-and-rep-madison-cawthorn-2022-3">if Ukraine is a sovereign country.</a> He's also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-claims-ukraine-president-dictator-why-not-backing-russisa-2022-2">attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-suggests-audit-of-volodymyr-zelenskyys-finances-2022-4">slammed US aid to Kyiv.</a>Russian state media would periodically seize such opportunities and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-state-tv-features-tucker-carlson-and-rep-madison-cawthorn-2022-3">broadcast segments of Carlson's show</a>, saying his commentary showed that even some Americans support the Kremlin's stances.Evgeny Popov, host of the Russian TV show "60 Minutes," in January 2022 called Carlson one of the "voices of truth and reason," and lamented that Carlson was being "silenced and marginalized" in the US, <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/tucker-carlsons-pro-putin-bias-has-gone-too-far-kremlin-tv-says">reported The Daily Beast's Julia Davis.</a>That was a month before the war in Ukraine began, but it was also when Russia was amassing troops at its borders. Carlson said at the time that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-denies-being-russian-agent-after-taking-kremlins-side-2022-1">he was rooting for Russia</a>, <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/tucker-carlson-says-hes-rooting-for-russia-in-conflict-with-ukraine-then-claims-hes-joking?via=twitter_page" target="_blank" rel="noopener">then backpedaled</a> and said he was joking<a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/tucker-carlson-says-hes-rooting-for-russia-in-conflict-with-ukraine-then-claims-hes-joking?via=twitter_page" target="_blank" rel="noopener">.</a>And when Carlson suggested without evidence in October that the US was behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nord-stream-russian-tv-tucker-carlson-claim-united-states-sabotaged-2022-10#:~:text=Russian%20state%20TV%20channels%20have,according%20to%20The%20Washington%20Post.">Russian state TV replayed his commentary at least 12 times in a single day.</a>It got to the point where the Kremlin told state media it was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kremlin-memo-ukraine-war-russian-tucker-carlson-mother-jones-2022-3">"essential" to feature Carlson "as much as possible,"</a> per a leaked <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/03/exclusive-kremlin-putin-russia-ukraine-war-memo-tucker-carlson-fox/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">memo obtained by Mother Jones in March 2022.</a>More recently, Vladimir Solovyov — a Russian TV host known as one of the Kremlin's most prominent propagandists — said on Tuesday that he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-to-tucker-carlson-run-for-president-visit-moscow-2023-4">sent an email to encourage Carlson when he left Fox News.</a>"You have our admiration and support in any endeavor you choose for yourself next, be it running for president of the United States (which you should totally do, by the way) or making an independent media project. We'll happily offer you a job if you wish to carry on as a presenter and host!" <a href="https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1650529177131417603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1650530808585932800%7Ctwgr%5E0d895735cec659b2e3105490d3b3cef7a4d6ff38%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Frussia-to-tucker-carlson-run-for-president-visit-moscow-2023-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Solovyov wrote to Carlson.</a>Fox News announced that it parted ways with Tucker Carlson on Monday without <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-out-at-fox-news-2023-4">specifying why the host was ousted.</a> Carlson was blindsided and found out about the announcement 10 minutes before it was made, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/tucker-carlson-is-leaving-fox-news-db31f2fa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/04/24/business/tucker-carlson-fox-news#tucker-carlson-fox-news-dismissal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times reported.</a>In the wake of his departure, Carlson has hired entertainment lawyer Bryan Freedman, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/don-lemon-tucker-carlson-cnn-fox-hire-lawyer-bryan-freedman-2023-4">who's known for helping TV hosts secure multimillion payouts from messy media breakups.</a>

Russia's foreign minister joins Tucker Carlson's Kremlin fanbase, blasting the TV host's ousting as an offense to freedom of speech

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-subscribers-paid-substack-short-selling-bear-cave-2023-10">Substack's</a> founder says it will not remove white supremacist and Nazi blogs from the platform. </li><li>Some of these blogs have paying subscribers, which means Substack likely profits. </li></ul>Earlier this month, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/substack-extremism-nazi-white-supremacy-newsletters/676156/?gift=QOMQv_-OzUwtM49NPzkD3qrbGPZCc7jGHcdGDSsLNWk&amp;utm_source=copy-link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=share">The Atlantic</a> published a report that Substack was hosting blogs with overt Nazi symbols like the swastika in their logos and others with taglines like "Your pro-White policy destination."On Thursday, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-feud-between-elon-musks-twitter-and-substack-explained-2023-4">Substack</a> founder <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-a-job-at-substack-according-to-cofounder-2021-2">Hamish McKenzie</a> posted a <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/@hamish/note/c-45811343">response</a> to the criticism, and reaffirmed the decision not to remove or demonetize those blogs.A group of Substack writers, some of them among the most prominent and popular on the platform, also signed a <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/home/post/p-139757629">letter</a> saying that they stand by Substack's decision. It is simply freedom of speech, they said. Substack didn't respond to my request for comment.Here's what this all seems to be omitting: the money.Instead of a debate about free expression, this is more about whether customers feel good about a company that is profiting from Nazis. That feels a whole lot more simple: Substack is likely making money from these Nazi blogs, some of which are monetized and have paying subscribers, of which Substack takes a 10% cut.That's one of the nice things about money: You don't have to accept it from Nazis. Money has a way of making things a lot more clear. Content has moral ambiguity; money doesn't.You either take the Nazi money or you don't. Substack is apparently choosing to take it.Substack's business model is more akin to Etsy than pure posting platforms like X/Twitter or Reddit. Users sell driftwood with "Live laugh love" painted on it — or blog posts — strangers buy them, and Etsy/Substack takes a cut of the transaction. (Etsy does expressly forbid Nazi merchandise.)I imagine that Substack's leaders would prefer to imagine it as a platform for expression and ideas — a nobler cause than selling crocheted toilet cozies. That makes some sense: I agree that words and thoughts should have more value in our society than mere commerce; the freedom to write an essay is more important than the freedom to sell a customized mug.But the argument that this freedom of expression should be allowed to exist on the platform is different from whether Substack, the company, should be earning money from fans of Nazis and helping other Nazis make money.It's not surprising that Substack doesn't want to wade into the content moderation muck and mire that big social platforms like Facebook and YouTube have been battling. It's expensive, it sucks, it's a nightmare, no one is happy.Platforms like YouTube have had a "demonetization" option as a means of removing themselves from the yucky business of actively profiting off bad content. It seems odd that Substack isn't willing to pull that lever.Eventually, this does become a business problem for Substack. Right now, it seems that Nazi and extremist content is a very tiny amount of revenue for Substack. I'm guessing here, maybe it's 0.1% of their overall revenue. Just a trickle. But would people feel less comfortable if that changed to 20%? 50%? At what point does the trickle become too much?If the argument against stopping these blogs is that it's a slippery slope against speech, what about the slippery slope of Substack earning more more and more money this way?I'm reminded of an old viral <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/IamRageSparkle/status/1280892350202511361">Twitter thread</a> about a bartender who kicks out a polite customer with a Nazi patch on his vest. The bartender explains that if you let one polite Nazi drink at the bar once, he becomes a regular, and then he brings his friends, and pretty soon your business is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.techdirt.com/2023/04/14/substack-ceo-chris-best-doesnt-realize-hes-just-become-the-nazi-bar/">known as the Nazi bar</a>.If there's one thing that the recent evolution of X has proven is that if people with abhorrent ideas know they're allowed at the party, they'll come. And they'll <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/IamRageSparkle/status/1280892129036861442">bring</a> their friends.I like Substack's vision for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/17/1081194/how-to-fix-the-internet-online-discourse/">saving the internet</a> by creating an alternate to big ad-supported social platforms. A model where 1,000 true fans pay a small monthly fee to read quality content is, I think, is the way of the future.But Substack has made a very wrong choice about a very simple thing; don't take the Nazi money.

Substack's Nazi problem isn't about speech — it's about money

<ul class="summary-list"><li>There are two kinds of "free speech."</li><li>The Constitutionally protected kind is good — we can criticize our government without going to jail.</li></ul>Everyone has theories about why <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter">Elon Musk</a> publicly insulted and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tells-advertises-get-lost-twitter-dealbook-summit2023-11">threatened Twitter/X advertisers last week</a>.My colleague Katie Notopoulos describes one of those theories, which is that he's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-did-not-answer-biggest-question-x-twitter-2023-11">trying to tank the value of the company</a> so the banks that loaned him money to buy it will be forced to settle for less.Katie doesn't believe that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-looks-like-he-is-destroying-x-intentionally-2023-11">theory</a>.I don't either.I also don't believe the theory that Elon is just stupid or clueless about how to run an ad-supported media business. Whatever "stupid" is, Elon is the opposite of it.My theory is that Elon felt hurt and jilted by his advertisers and wanted to lash out at them — and also, that Elon cares more about being able to say what he thinks than about the consequences of saying it.Elon also knows that, unlike most of us, he can handle whatever consequences there might be.Elon owns <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter">Twitter/X</a>. So, unlike everyone who works there, he can't be fired for saying or tweeting/X-ing something. (And anyone who works there — or at any other company — would be fired for saying what Elon said last week).Also, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-net-worth">Elon is worth</a> something like $200 billion. So if Twitter goes bankrupt, and he vaporizes the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/did-elon-musk-buy-twitter-acquisition-details">$44 billion</a> he spent on it, well, then, whatever. He'll still have $150 billion left.I also think Elon wants to suggest that we should be able to say whatever we want without any consequences—and even that there is a Constitutional right for us to do this.If so, I respectfully disagree with Elon about that — the "no consequences" part AND the Constitution part.I also, respectfully, don't think Elon really thinks that.The First Amendment of the Constitution, the one protecting "freedom of speech," doesn't say that there can be no consequences to what we say. It just says that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/first-amendment-explained-twitter-censorship-hunter-biden-laptop-2022-12">Congress can't pass a law that prohibits us from saying it</a>.Of course speech has consequences! As it should!We know that from every conversation we have with one another. It matters a great deal what we say and how we say it. That's why most of us try to think before we speak, because we don't want to be insulting or rude. We also know that there's a big difference between something being illegal and just being inconsiderate or ill-advised.Anyway…Elon clearly wants Twitter/X to be a place where people are allowed to say a wider range of things than they could say under prior ownership. That's fine. He owns it. It's a private platform. He can do what he wants.And it's also fine for advertisers to say, "It's your platform, and you can do what you want, but we have a choice about where to spend our money, and we're choosing to spend it elsewhere."That choice by advertisers can be — and, in this case, is — a direct consequence of Elon's saying whatever he wants.I get that that's frustrating to Elon.It's painful enough to be told that something you said is dumb.It's much more painful to learn that what you said is so offensive or objectionable that it's causing your customers to close their wallets and leave your store.But Elon surely knows and respects that advertisers have a right to spend their money where they want and that, when choosing to where to spend it, they have the right to decide whether they like what they're seeing on a platform.And Elon, of course, has the same rights.I doubt, for example, that Elon will choose to have one of his other companies, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla">Tesla</a>, spend lots of their money advertising on Business Insider anytime soon — because I don't think he likes some of what we have published about Tesla.I wish Tesla and Elon did want to spend lots of their money with Business Insider — journalism is a tough business, and we would be grateful to Tesla and Elon for their support! I would also respectfully submit that the stuff we have published that has annoyed Elon was more carefully researched and considered than some of what is said on Twitter. But we are free to publish what we think is right. And Elon is free to take his business elsewhere.Neither of those decisions is illegal. But they both have consequences.And I would respectfully suggest that that is how it should be.A society in which everyone thinks it's smart and fun and decent and OK to run around shooting their mouths off all day and insulting and offending one another would be miserable to live in.In fact, it might be like living 24/7 in the darker corners of Twitter/X.I don't think even Elon would enjoy that!

You Searched For "Freedom of speech" and got 12 results

The professor made porn. His firing may shape the future of free speech.

Hallie Lieberman

Elon Musk is an imperfect mascot for free speech — but he's got a point on Brazil

Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert

Arundhati Roy awarded Pen Pinter Prize for her 'unflinching' writing

PTI

Harris' DNC speech proves she finally knows who she needs to be to win

Brent D. Griffiths

JD Vance suggested the US's support for NATO could be pulled if Europe tries to regulate X as free speech debate rumbles on

Rebecca Rommen

Kamala Harris makes surprise DNC appearance to thank Joe Biden before his big handover speech

Erin Snodgrass

Yale is citing freedom of speech amid student anger after a professor called Israel a 'murderous genocidal settler state'

Kenneth Niemeyer

DeSantis calls Florida a 'citadel of freedom' in Iowa speech celebrating the state's book and pronoun bans

Kenneth Niemeyer

Robert De Niro denied top broadcast award following his anti-Trump speech outside court, report says

Cameron Manley

Russia's foreign minister joins Tucker Carlson's Kremlin fanbase, blasting the TV host's ousting as an offense to freedom of speech

Matthew Loh

Substack's Nazi problem isn't about speech — it's about money

Katie Notopoulos

The kind of 'free speech' Elon Musk says he wants would be terrible

Henry Blodget

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