Want to receive this digest in your inbox? To subscribe, simply click here and choose DARE: Daily Alert on Rights and Expression from the list.

News organizations raise objections to parts of Facebook’s plans to combat misinformation in political advertising. Online hoaxers move within minutes to create fake Facebook accounts and spread other falsehoods in wake of shooting at Texas school. Conservative websites help fuel campaign to out FBI informant in Russian campaign influence case. Border Patrol agent detains two U.S. citizens because they were speaking Spanish at a Montana gas station. -Dru Menaker, Chief Operating Officer

 

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

U.S.

News Organizations Flag Concerns on Facebook’s Political-Ad Rules
A trade group representing news organizations raised concerns in a letter to Facebook that the company’s rules on political ads are overly broad and could affect their ability to promote stories on the social network.
WALL STREET JOURNAL

Fake Facebook Accounts and Online Lies Multiply in Hours After Santa Fe School Shooting
In the first hours after the Texas school shooting on Friday, online hoaxers moved quickly to spread a viral lie, creating fake Facebook accounts with the suspected shooter’s name and a doctored photo showing him wearing a “Hillary 2016” hat.
WASHINGTON POST

Talk of Unproven FBI ‘Plant’ in Trump Campaign Circulates Among Republicans
While the Justice Department is refusing to provide access to information lawmakers need to confirm suspicions, arguing that doing so would endanger the person’s life, little has been done to check the conservatives in favor of identification.
HILL

A Border Patrol Agent Detained Two U.S. Citizens At a Gas Station After Hearing Them Speak Spanish
A Montana woman said she plans to take legal action after a Border Patrol agent detained and questioned her and a friend—both U.S. citizens—when he overheard them speaking Spanish at a gas station.
WASHINGTON POST

New Trump Administration Rule Will Force Doctors to Stop Saying “Abortion”
The Trump administration is planning to instate a rule that will bar recipients of federal family planning funding from educating women about abortion options, making referrals to doctors that provide abortions, or providing abortion care.
SLATE

 
Global

The Mafia Reporter With a Police Escort (and the 200 Journalists Like Him)
Considered to be an enemy of the mafia, Paolo Borrometi has been living in isolation, though he is never alone. Almost 200 reporters in Italy, including Borrometi, live under police protection. “We just want to do our job and our duty, to tell stories.”
NEW YORK TIMES

Scouring Hate Off Facebook in Germany
Germany, home to a tough new online hate speech law, has become a laboratory for one of the most pressing issues for governments today: how and whether to regulate the world’s biggest social network, Facebook.
BUSINESS TIMES

Asia Bibi Will Be Given Another Chance At Justice
Asia Bibi will have the opportunity to have her appeal heard at the Pakistani Supreme Court. Bibi, a Christian Pakistani woman was convicted and sentenced to death on the grounds of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed.
FORBES

Off the Charts: Why Chinese Publishers Don’t Want Maps in their Books
Publishers are less willing to print books with any map of China, and some even suggest their authors remove maps before they proceed with a book deal because the process of getting them approved for publication is difficult and costly.
SOUTH MORNING POST

Iranian Women Threw Off the Hijab—What Happened Next?
Five years ago, Masih Alinejad founded #MyStealthyFreedom, a social media movement opposing the mandatory head scarf. Since then, the movement has gained more traction and the government’s reaction has been severe.
BBC

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]