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The White House restricts some members of the press access to President Trump’s summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Twitter permanently suspends far-right activist Jacob Wohl for creating accounts to allegedly manipulate the 2020 presidential election. Appeals court rejects government opposition to AT&T-Time Warner merger in case where President Trump’s objections to CNN figured. Reviews-aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes takes steps to fight trolls by disabling comments posting prior to movie release dates. PEN America conveys its Literary Awards to a cavalcade of extraordinary writers across genres and subjects; author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah received the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award for his debut short story collection, ‘Friday Black.’ -Dru Menaker, Chief Operating Officer

The most pressing threats and notable goings-on in free expression today

U.S.

White House Bans Four Journalists from Covering Trump-Kim Dinner Because of Shouted Questions
The White House abruptly banned four U.S. journalists from covering President Trump’s dinner with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un after some of them shouted questions at the leaders during their earlier meetings.
WASHINGTON POST

Twitter Suspends Far-Right Activist Jacob Wohl for Creating Accounts to Allegedly Manipulate the U.S. Presidential Election
Twitter has permanently suspended Jacob Wohl, a far-right activist who previously tried to fabricate evidence about special counsel Robert Mueller, for creating fake accounts in an alleged attempt to manipulate the 2020 presidential election.
WASHINGTON POST

Appeals Court Backs AT&T Acquisition of Time Warner
An appeals court has rejected the Justice Department’s bid to overturn a ruling that cleared the way for AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner.
CNN

Rotten Tomatoes Bans User Comments before Films’ Release
The changes are intended to “more accurately and authentically represent the voice of fans, while protecting our data and public forums from bad actors,” Rotten Tomatoes said.
VARIETY

Ghanaian American Writer Wins $75,000 Award from PEN America
The literary and human rights organization PEN America announced that Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s “Friday Black” had received the Jean Stein Book Award. It was presented during a ceremony Tuesday night in Manhattan.
ASSOCIATED PRESS

 
Global

Chinese Broadcaster Censors Rami Malek Oscars Speech
A Chinese broadcaster is facing criticism after its online transmission of the Oscars amended a reference to homosexuality in best actor winner Rami Malek’s speech.
BBC NEWS

Concerns Persist about Myanmar Speech Freedoms
While a clampdown on free speech and peaceful assembly is being used increasingly, the use of hate rhetoric through social media is also rising, often through military-connected media groups.
VOICE OF AMERICA

‘They Just Want Me in Prison’: MintPress Interviews Jailed Ukrainian Journalist Kirill Vyshinsky
“The Ukraine courts are still dependent on political authorities, and the special service is used to carry out political schemes and to fight inconvenient points of view and dissent, rather than to protect national security.”
MINTPRESS

Support for Publisher and Bookseller Khaled Lutfi, Sentenced to 5 Years
Although some authors and publishers have been reluctant to speak out about the case, there is a solidarity campaign using the hashtag #متضامن_مع_خالد_لطفي. Authors including Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji have tweeted about Lutfi.
ARAB LIT

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