Free Speech → Free Nation
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
Non-profit Organizations
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 6,701 followers
FIRE: Principled. Nonpartisan. Defending your rights.
About us
FIRE’s mission is to defend and sustain the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought—the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them. FIRE recognizes that colleges and universities play a vital role in preserving free thought within a free society. To this end, we place a special emphasis on defending the individual rights of students and faculty members on our nation’s campuses, including freedom of speech, freedom of association, due process, legal equality, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience.
- Website
-
http://www.thefire.org
External link for Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
- Industry
- Non-profit Organizations
- Company size
- 51-200 employees
- Headquarters
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Type
- Nonprofit
- Founded
- 1999
- Specialties
- Education, Constitutional law, First Amendment law, and Higher Education
Locations
-
Primary
510 Walnut St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106, US
Employees at Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
Updates
-
Alarming new Title IX regulations strip students of free speech and due process protections–but these “federal” rules are anything but nationwide.
New Title IX regs are a confusing mess that threaten student rights
thefire.org
-
‘I’m pissed off,’ American satirist CJ Hopkins said in an exclusive interview with FIRE. If convicted, Hopkins could face either 60 days in a German jail or a fine of approximately $4,000 dollars for his satirical use of the Nazi swastika.
Germany punishes American writer over satirical swastika image
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression on LinkedIn
-
Alumni at UT Austin realized someone had to stand up for students’ free speech rights after last spring’s First Amendment violations. That’s why, with FIRE’s help, they founded the UT-Austin Coalition for Open Discourse to improve the free speech culture at the university and pressure the administration to take student speech seriously!
New alumni group brings free speech advocacy to UT Austin
thefire.org
-
“There’s no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech and especially around our democracy.” Yes, there is. It’s called the First Amendment. You might’ve heard the words “misinformation” and “disinformation” thrown around by political figures from the left, right, and center. This viral clip from 2023 features Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic candidate for Vice President, talking about misinformation. But sadly, calls to censor “misinformation” and “disinformation” are bipartisan these days. But the answer isn’t censorship — it’s more speech. In a liberal democracy, there’s only one solution to the problems of “misinformation” and “disinformation”: judging the truth for ourselves. An informed citizenry that can separate fact from fiction without the heavy hand of government regulation is what separates democracy from dictatorship. Because the alternative is to trust the government to decide the truth for us. And FIRE data shows Americans don’t want that, either. The third installment of FIRE’s National Speech Index found that roughly six out of ten Democrats, Republicans, and independents do not trust the government “at all” to decide what speech is hateful or false. Each day, the American people face the all-important task of perpetuating self-government through reflection, debate, and choice. Free speech is the most effective tool we have at our disposal to inform ourselves. If the government obtains the power to suppress protected speech as “hateful” or “misinformation,” make no mistake: that power will be abused. Nobody — not Democrats, not Republicans, and not independents — will be safe from censorship. As we’ve said before, free speech makes free people. The freer the speech, the freer the people. #freespeech #civilliberties #law #news #election
-
No, JD Vance didn’t fuck a couch. But saying he did is free speech. Here’s why.
No, JD Vance didn't fuck a couch. But saying he did is free speech. Here's why.
thefire.org
-
Free speech hero DEMOSTHENES fought an epic battle against conquering king Philip II of Macedon. ⚔️🏛️ Despite personal danger, The orator spent his life reminding the Athenian Assembly of their duty to defend democracy in the face of tyranny. By 384 BC when Demosthenes was born, the Athenians lacked confidence after crushing military defeats first by the Persians and then by the Spartans. Then another existential threat rose against Athens: KING PHILIP II OF MACEDON. Philip was a gifted general and strategist who immediately began manipulating Greek city-states against each other, even as he moved to conquer minor cities. Demosthenes was one of the first to recognize the threat Philip represented to Athens. But he wasn’t intimidated into silence. Even though outspoken enemies of Philip had the most to lose should Athens ever be conquered by Macedon. Demosthenes delivered a series of devastating speeches known as the “Philippics” that denounced Philip and challenged the men of Athens to live up to their ancient reputation as defenders of Greece. He even pointed to freedom of speech as a reason why the Athenian government was superior to its adversaries because, unlike Sparta where citizens could critique other governments but not their own, Athenians had the freedom to criticize and strive to improve Athens. Only after a failed peace treaty and months of strategic aggression by Philip did Demosthenes convince the Athenians to march against Philip. But even allied with Thebes, Athens suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Chaeronea. Though Philip showed restraint and did not outright occupy Athens, the city was essentially on notice. Comply with Philip or else… until Philip’s assassination 2 years later. Unfortunately, for Demosthenes, his story did not have a happy ending. In his time, Athens never became the powerful Greek city-state of its golden days, and Demosthenes died by his own hand in exile, running from Macedonian power. Demosthenes’ life testifies to the power of speech and its importance in democracy. The statesman was willing to sacrifice anything, including his life to defend a free Athens.
-
Overseers urgently comb college textbooks and syllabi for disfavored terms and ideas to purge. It might sound like the chilling opening of a dystopian novel, but it’s just another day for public college faculty in Florida.
Ctrl-F fail: Florida public universities get directive to keyword-search faculty syllabi to purge ‘anti-Israel bias'
thefire.org