Press release: Freedom of speech at risk as UCT places guest lecture “on hold”
The 2024 Vice-Chancellor’s Open Lecture was to be delivered on 17 October by alumnus Claudius Senst, the chief executive of Bild newspaper, Germany’s largest daily by circulation. However, one day before the event the university announced that it had decided to put the event on ice “to allow for further discussions” in the light of “deep concerns” expressed by “stakeholders”.
FSU SA is concerned that a postponed event will become a cancelled event, and that once again UCT will have caved to the anti-free speech lobby. We urge the Vice-Chancellor to uphold the right for the divergence of opinions.
John Kerry wants to end free speech
The worst assault on free speech by the climate change lobby has just come from John Kerry, unsuccesful presidential candidate in 2004 election, Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017 and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate from 2021 to March 2024. Addressing a world audience at the World Economic Forum, he attacked the First Amendment of the American Constitution as a “major block” to “hammer it [disinformation] out of existence”.
Webinar: The war in free speech goes global
The first online meeting of the International Associations of Free Speech Unions – UK, New Zealand and Australia discuss the threats to free speech across the English-speaking world.
Webinar: The war on free speech goes global
The first online meeting of the International Association of Free Speech Unions, an alliance of Free Speech Unions in the UK, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The Directors of each organisation, Toby Young (FSU UK); Reuben Kirkham (FSU Australia); Sara Gon (FSU South Africa) and Jonathan Ayling (FSU New Zealand) discussed the remarkable similarity between the threats to free speech across the English-speaking world.
FSU’s Sara Gon on how to cool SA’s heat generated by freedom of speech (especially on social media) – BizNews interview
The right to speak freely is foundational to a successful society, but the user bears the responsibility for how the right is exercised. Should social media platforms have to curate content that the whole world is free to publish on? Aren’t they really no different from a telephone, a television set or a radio? Rather like a global message board, to be used at your peril.
How Zuckerberg censored Covid on Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg says he shouldn’t have caved in to the Biden administration’s pressure to censor information about Covid on Facebook and Instagram during Covid. Too right!
Free Speech Matters Episode 4: Why classical liberals now represent UCT’s alumni on Council
Welcome to the FSU SA’s podcast series on free speech and everything pertinent to it good, bad or perplexing. The series will deal with local and international issues that either have a bearing on South Africa or could provide valuable lessons or insights for South Africans.
FSU SA joins global free speech campaign
Free speech is under assault in the English speaking world. The UK, New Zealand and Australia are in a fraught position and, although free speech is not as threatened or not in the same way in South Africa, we’ve joined with the other FSUs to form the International Association of Free Speech Unions to assist aspirant unions to fight for free speech as foundational to healthy democracies.
Free Speech Matters Episode 3: ‘Lawfare’ – the powerful prosecuting the powerless for criminal hate speech
Welcome to the FSU SA’s podcast series on free speech and everything pertinent to it good, bad or perplexing. The series will deal with local and international issues that either have a bearing on South Africa or could provide valuable lessons or insights for South Africans.
Is racism in the eye of the powerful only?
The racism alleged against individuals who don’t hold power gets a lot of outraged attention, but the casual yet repeated racism intended to undermine the status of minorities by political leaders and their party officials gets little outraged media response. This is of particular concern given the power of the political elites both to wage ‘lawfare’ against the weak and to stir up racism to undermine societal relations.