The Free Speech Union

The Charlie Hebdo attack divided Prof Matei Candea's friends. It also prompted him to embark on an anthropological study of free speech.

The result is "Reason, Carnival and Honour: An Anthropology of Free Speech", a book which explores the hidden assumptions behind free speech debates.

Professor Candea discusses his book with Dr Jan MacVarish, the Free Speech Union's director of national engagement.

#freespeech #censorshipdebate

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Buy Professor Matei Candea’s book, Reason, Carnival and Honour, published by Pelican: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0241711258?tag=prhmarketing2552-21

Professor Matei Candea’s website: https://www.candea.org/

Comedian, author and commentator Andrew Doyle joins FSU General Secretary Lord Young to discuss a little-noticed government-commissioned report on misinformation and its implications for public debate.

The report's Orwellian proposals include "psychological inoculation", "pre-bunking" and game-based "interventions" to steer the public towards state-approved political messages.

Andrew Doyle and Lord Young also discuss:

Why Andrew and Graham Linehan are working from Arizona

Government proposals to give prominence online to approved news sources such as the BBC and Channel 4 News

#freespeech #censorshipdebate #onlinesafety

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Follow Andrew Doyle

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Andrew's website: https://www.andrewdoyle.org/

Andrew's Substack: https://substack.com/@andrewdoyle

Read Andrew Doyle's Substack article about proposals to "inoculate" us against "wrongthink": https://www.andrewdoyle.org/p/the-government-report-that-wants

Read Lord Young's Spectator article on the dangers of policing misinformation: https://spectator.com/article/the-dangers-of-policing-misinformation/

Read the report commissioned by the UK government's Office for Science, "False and Misleading Information: An Evidence Summary and Map for Policy and Practice" here: https://usher.ed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2026-05/False%20and%20Misleading%20Information%3A%20An%20Evidence%20Summary%20and%20Map%20for%20Policy%20and%20Practice%20.pdf

Sentenced to 31 months in prison for a tweet posted in anger after the Southport murders in 2024, Lucy Connolly pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred. But should she have opted for a jury trial instead? One year after her release from prison, she talks to the FSU's Connie Shaw about her new life as a free speech campaigner and the author of A Tweet Too Far?

#freespeech #twotierpolicing

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Follow Lucy Connolly

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Substack: https://lucyconnolly1.substack.com/

Leaked documents obtained by investigative journalist Paul Holden revealed an anti-free speech project at the heart of the Starmer government.

In this edition of the Free Speech Union's podcast, Holden tells the FSU's David Rose why he fears free speech and online privacy could be further eroded under incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

#freespeech #onlineprivacy #labourparty

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Follow Paul Holden

Paul is Director of Investigations at Shadow World Investigations: https://shadowworldinvestigations.org/

He is the author of "The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney, and the Crisis of British Democracy"

The latest threat to free speech on trans issues has been published by the government.

The draft Conversion Practices Bill purports to protect gay and trans people from abuse. It creates a new criminal offence, punishable with up to five years in prison.

Minister for Equalities, Emily Bailey MP, claims it won't stop parents and therapists talking openly to children with identity issues. She says it only crimnalises conversion practices which are abusive and which cause serious harm. However, James Esses, a therapist and campaigner who challenges children who believe they are "trapped in the wrong body" argues that the proposed new law puts him at risk of jail. #freespeech #transgender

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Follow James Esses

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Substack: https://substack.com/@jamesesses

James's home page: https://jamesesses.com/