Facebook rolls out new plan to combat so-called fake news (disinformation would be more accurate) and some conservatives cry foul at the prospect of fact-checking and calling out spurious sources. -Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director

 

DARE: Daily Alert on Rights and Expression

PEN America’s take on today’s most pressing threats to free expression

U.S.

Facebook Details Its New Plan To Combat Fake News Stories
Providing new details about how it’s trying to counter the spread of fake news on its services, Facebook says it’s working with fact-checking groups to identify bogus stories—and to warn users if a story has been reported as fake.
NPR

Police Department’s Social Media Censorship Went Too Far
A federal appeals court ruled that a local police department in Virginia unconstitutionally shielded itself from public scrutiny by imposing an overly restrictive social media policy on officers.
WALL STREET JOURNAL

Will Trump set a record for fewest news conferences by a president?
The last time Donald Trump held a news conference was on July 27. For the entire period since he has done only one-on-one interviews or brief gaggles with reporters. When it was Hillary Clinton who was skipping news conferences, this was a horrible affront to democracy; now it’s apparently no big deal.
WASHINGTON POST

College Officials Tell Students: You May Speak Freely As Long As It’s Within Our (Tiny) Speech Zone
Hostility to free speech has become a salient characteristic of American college campuses. Speech codes that make it dangerous for students to say things that might be regarded as offensive or “harassing” are all too common.
FORBES

The right shuts down free speech, too
The good news: Both the left and the right have reached consensus that free speech is important. The bad news: “Free speech” has apparently been redefined to mean “speech with which I agree.”
WASHINGTON POST

 
Global

The Thai Junta Tightens Control of the Internet Even Further
The legislature of military-ruled Thailand convened on Friday to mull revisions to a cybercrime law that critics say are too vague and restrict freedom of expression, with lawmakers appearing to disregard a petition signed by 300,000 people asking for revisions and public consultation.
TIME

Local journalist shot dead in Afghanistan
Mohammad Naseer Modasir, director of local Meli Paygham radio and the thirteenth journalist killed in Afghanistan this year, was shot and killed when he was travelling from office to his house in Mohammad Agha district.
GLOBAL TIMES

Croatian Journalist Blames Attack on Hateful Atmosphere
Domagoj Margetic, a Croatian investigative journalist who was assaulted in Zagreb on Tuesday, said the ‘atmosphere of hate’ was partly responsible for such attacks.
BALKAN INSIGHT

Journalist’s death exposes Algeria’s harsh libel laws
The Algerian government is coming under criticism for its treatment of a freelance British-Algerian journalist, Mohamed Tamalt, who died in a hospital on Sunday after being imprisoned under a draconian new law that criminalises offending the President and state institutions.
THE HINDU

Attacks on journalists in Myanmar highlight complications, dangers for the media
The murder of a Burmese reporter investigating illegal logging and the roadside beating of another, both in Myanmar earlier this week, have raised new fears about media safety in the country.
MONGABAY

DARE is a project of PEN America’s #LouderTogether campaign, bringing you a daily curated round-up of the most important free expression-related news from the U.S. and abroad. Send your feedback and story suggestions to [email protected]