Focus Issues
Because many challenges to free expression transcend national and regional boundaries, PEN America looks at Focus Issues through a comparative lens to identify trends in free expression violations and strategies to address them in communities around the world. Read below to learn more about the prevailing threats to free expression today.
Distinct local contexts can shape threats to free expression and the resistance that challenge them. Learn more the conditions for free expression in our Focus Regions.
Newsroom Transparency Tracker
The Newsroom Transparency Tracker encourages news outlets to be accountable to the public and empowers news consumers to make informed choices. More
Campus Free Speech
While free speech is alive and well on campus, it is not free from threats, and must be vigilantly guarded if its continued strength is to be assured. More
PEN America v. Trump
The suit seeks to stop President Trump from using the machinery of government to retaliate or threaten reprisals against journalists and media outlets for coverage he dislikes. More
Fraudulent News
The proliferation of false information and rising distrust in the established news media, due in part to a deliberate campaign of denigration, pose a looming crisis for American democracy… More
Online Harassment
Online hate and harassment pose a growing threat to free expression. PEN America’s Online Harassment Field Manual and trainings equip writers, journalists, and all those active online with tools… More
#LouderTogether: Donald Trump and New Threats to Expression
As a candidate, President Donald Trump ran on a platform that was explicitly hostile to a free press, dismissive of the voices of minority populations, and indifferent to fact-based… More
The M Word: Muslim Americans Take the Mic
Follow us on Facebook! For centuries, Muslim Americans have played a vital role in building America’s varied and inspiring cultural landscape. But throughout history, their voices have often been marginalized… More
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PEN America On 
We made an error - Saeed Jones is no longer a PEN America Member. We congratulate Saeed on being on The New Yorker’s list of Best Books for 2019.
Two publishers of prestigious scientific journals said they would re-evaluate previously published papers, on ethnic minorities and co-written by scientists backed by the Chinese gov, to ensure the authors got consent from those they studied: https://bit.ly/389lXFc via @nytimes.
In a portfolio commissioned by the @econhardship, poet @dougvangundy and photographer Matt Eich sought to shed light on life in Webster County, West Virginia and add dimension and detail to an often oversimplified portrayal of the area: https://bit.ly/3676dk9.