Lies and the Law
Concern over the role that lies and deception of all kinds play in public life in the United States has reached new heights in the last few years, raising important questions about the meaning of freedom of speech. Among those questions is whether one of the foundational assumptions of modern First Amendment law still holds, that the best remedy for harmful speech—including harmfully false or misleading speech—is more speech.
This blog channel highlights the Institute’s examination of those questions and features posts related to our Lies and the Law series of public conversations and essays.
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Deep Dive: Lies and the Law
Past as Prologue: Lies in Historical Context
Institute publishes second set of essays from “Lies, Free Speech, and the Law” symposium
By Katy Glenn Bass -
Deep Dive: Lies and the Law
Knight Institute Publishes First Essays from “Lies, Free Speech, and the Law” Symposium
Authors look at legal status of different categories of false speech in public discourse
By Katy Glenn Bass -
Deep Dive: Lies and the Law
Symposium Suggests Large-Scale Societal Changes Are Needed to Lessen Impact of Harmful Lies
By A. Adam GlennInstitute’s “Lies, Free Speech, and the Law” event featured research from a diverse range of scholars on how to address the problem of falsehoods
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Deep Dive: Lies and the Law
Are We Climbing in or out of the Hole?
Artist Piotr Szyhalski on the making of the “Lies and the Law” series
By Kushal Dev -
Deep Dive: Lies and the Law
Freedom From the Marketplace of Speech
Four ways to render speech less susceptible to private coercion
By Amy Kapczynski -
Deep Dive: Lies and the Law
Of Noisy Songs and Mighty Rivers
Why the framework of “marketplace of ideas” is a fairy tale
By Yochai Benkler -
Deep Dive: Lies and the Law
“Truth Drives Out Lies” and Other Misinformation
Justice Kennedy, free speech fabulist
By David Pozen -
Institute Update: Lies and the Law
Knight Institute Symposium on “Lies, Free Speech, and the Law” to Feature Scholars in Law, Social Science, History, and Technology
Public event to be held April 8, 2022, at Columbia University, and online
By Katy Glenn Bass -
Deep Dive: Lies and the Law
Thoughts on Government Lies
Mapping the varieties of lies governments tell, with some help from Hannah Arendt
By David Luban
Event
Event
The Public's Right of Access to Court Proceedings: Power, Practice, and Promise
An event exploring the right of access, transparency in the courts, and technology law
Learn MoreLitigation
Lawsuit
The Foundation for Global Political Exchange v. Department of the Treasury
A case challenging OFAC’s suppression of the exchange of political ideas
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Deep Dive
Jawboning in 2025
When the new administration starts—led either by President Biden or President Trump—what will the state of jawboning be?
Learn MoreLitigation
Deep Dive
In a victory for free speech, lawsuit challenging mail digitization in jails will move forward
Case brought by incarcerated people and their loved ones in San Mateo, California
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