Free Speech - Quillette

The Heckler’s Veto and the Right to Free Association

It's not just a matter of weighing up one group’s free speech against another group’s counter-speech. It’s also about one group’s freedom of association being impeded.

Holly Lawford-Smith

27 Nov 2023 · 7 min read

The Cancellation of Bertrand Russell

Eight decades later, the issues raised by the Russell case—the rights to free speech and academic freedom—have still not been settled.

James Huffman

15 Sep 2023 · 9 min read

Tolerating Intolerance: The Free Speech Paradox

The true power of free expression is revealed even in defenses of speech advocating against it.

Angel Eduardo

31 Aug 2023 · 6 min read

The Great Misinformation Panic

By going to war against "misinformation" governments are merely diverting finite resources from addressing real harm to people and property, which purportedly justifies the panic in the first place.

Dara Macdonald

31 Jul 2023 · 7 min read

Fear and Self-Censorship in Higher Education

Unless we can conquer our anxiety and restructure the way we interact, dreams of social unification will remain dead on arrival.

Ash Kahn

5 May 2023 · 10 min read

Corporate Rainbow Marketing: Too Much of a Good Thing

A recent dust-up involving NHL goalie James Reimer demonstrates the folly of pitting Pride PR against the conscience of individual actors.

Allan Stratton

23 Mar 2023 · 6 min read

Words Don’t Matter

We have power over words, not vice versa.

Lawrence M. Krauss

13 Mar 2023 · 6 min read

Amy Wax and Academic Freedom

The investigation into the polarizing law professor violates the most basic tenets of academic freedom.

Steven Grant

6 Mar 2023 · 12 min read

Ending Discrimination by Twitter

Gender critical feminists are among those who have been excluded from Twitter for years. The time is right for a correction.

Holly Lawford-Smith

28 Nov 2022 · 8 min read

The Case Against Hate-Speech Laws: a Canadian Perspective

It is not science fiction to imagine that Section 319 and other as-yet-undrafted Canadian “anti-hate” laws will metastasize.

Jonathan Kay

4 Jun 2022 · 5 min read

The Disgraceful Firing of Joshua T. Katz

Joshua Katz knew it was dangerous to go public with his objections to a Princeton faculty letter, but he did so because his conscience demanded it. For this, he has paid an intolerable price.

The Quillette Editorial Board

26 May 2022 · 12 min read

Twitter’s current policy on content isn’t one dimensional: It serves up both false positives and false negatives—wrongly banning certain accounts for thoughtcrimes while permitting others to continue on the platform despite engaging in grotesquely abusive behavior.

The Quillette Editorial Board

6 May 2022 · 4 min read

Problems with Mill’s Masterpiece

The condition of human life is such that we must of necessity be restrained and compelled by circumstances in nearly every action of our lives. Why, then, is liberty, defined as Mr. Mill defines it, to be regarded as so precious? ~James Fitzjames Stephen Of all the works written in

Bo Winegard

2 Apr 2022 · 18 min read

Stephen Kershnar and the Importance of Unaskable Questions

Unpopular, unorthodox and extreme opinions no less than any others need their spokesmen, in order that our chances of discovering truths and making wise decisions be increased. ~Joel Feinberg In January of this year, SUNY Fredonia ethicist Stephen Kershnar appeared on an episode [https://anchor.fm/braininavat/episodes/Sexual-Taboos--Stephen-Kershnar-e1dlqgp/a-a7ao457]

Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff

26 Mar 2022 · 7 min read

How Much Real-World Extremism Does Online Hate Actually Cause?

While calls to censor hate speech and violent extremist content on social media platforms are common [https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/30/mark-zuckerberg-calls-for-tighter-internet-regulations-we-need-a-more-active-role-for-governments.html] , there’s little evidence that online incitement [https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000260382] leads to real-world radicalization. Ironically, such calls may actually galvanize extremists,

Bill Ottman and Jesse Morton

20 Mar 2022 · 6 min read