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Hate Crime Hoaxes and How Colleges Handle Them
My latest article in The Daily Caller talks about this past spring’s rash of incidents of hateful expression at Oberlin College in Ohio—at least some of which turned out to be hoaxes committed by students who wanted to “troll” the campus. Such hoaxes have been a recurring problem on campuses. In my article, I explain that in addition to alarming campus community members, these incidents are often seized upon as an excuse to clamp down on protected speech.
Recent Articles
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TICKETS ON SALE: Step up to the Soapbox in Philadelphia, Nov. 4-6, 2026
Tickets on sale for Soapbox 2026 in Philly! Nov. 4–6. Fearless debates, bold speakers, and a gala celebrating free speech at America’s 250th.
LAWSUIT: FIRE sues Federal Trade Commission over agency’s targeting of news rating service
The Federal Trade Commission has unconstitutionally used its broad regulatory powers to attack NewsGuard, a private news organization, because it doesn’t like its news ratings.
The secret war against student journalists
Across the country, colleges are using conduct hearings to punish student reporters for basic newsgathering — chilling who gets to tell campus stories.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (of protected speech)
The FBI is probing Signal chats that track ICE activity — without evidence of a crime. That’s not law enforcement. It’s a First Amendment problem.