Yanni Chen on TikTok Ban, Richard Mendel on Youth and Crime
Does banning TokTok threaten First Amendment freedoms? A judge says the government “acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation.”
On Campus Gaza Protests, Media Let Police Tell the Story—Even When They’re Wrong
There are plenty of ways to report on the arrests of protestors without relying on the word of police officials.
‘The US State Department Is Complicit With Juan Orlando Hernández’
CounterSpin interview with Suyapa Portillo Villeda on Honduran ex-president conviction
“The United States, through the coup d’etat, was in cahoots with elite power in Honduras that replaced a democratically elected president.”
Monifa Bandele on Reimagining Public Safety, Svante Myrick on Roadblocks to Voting
Communities are hard at work reimagining public safety without punitive policing. There’s new work on those possibilities.
‘We Have to Do the Hard Work of Looking at Context’
Transcript of The Best of CounterSpin 2023
The best of CounterSpin for 2023 is only a sample of the valuable conversations it’s been our pleasure to host this year.
‘”Material Support” in the Form of Speech Can Be Criminalized’
Wadie Said on the new Gaza McCarthyism
“There’s a question of who gets on the list…. It’s not something that you or I can say anything about or influence.”
Baltimore’s New Nonprofit Outlet Looks a Lot Like the Same Old Corporate News
The nonprofit Baltimore Banner has stirred up controversy for seeming to perpetuate the worst habits of its corporate news competitor.
Police Seek a Radio Silence That Would Mute Critics in the Press
Journalists are protesting moves to hide police conversations from the public, because the public deserves to know what police do.
The Baltimore Sun’s Reckoning on Freddie Gray
The Baltimore Sun’s narrative of Freddie Gray’s death was largely shaped by police’s version of events, presented with limited skepticism.
Georgia’s RICO Law Is in the News—but Its Use to Silence Protesters Gets a Pass
When a new example arose of RICO being used to punish the powerless rather than the powerful, concern was hard to find in corporate media.
Raid on Kansas Paper Shows Perilous State of Free Press
The Marion County Record case is a reminder that the US is no stranger to local powers using their authority to silence critical journalism.
Shankar Narayan on Facial Misrecognition, Braxton Brewington on Student Debt Abolition
Facial recognition, a technology that has been proven wrong, has been deemed harmful, in principle and in practice, for years now.
‘We Need a Gender-Inclusive Understanding of Police Violence’
“Not a lot of people would understand that Black women are often killed by the police when they actually ask for help.”
Kevin Minofu on Say Her Name
Say Her Name is about adding Black women to our understanding of police violence—to help make our response more meaningful and impactful.
Southern Discomfort: Attacks on Freedom Need Condemnation
These cases haven’t received an outcry from major newspaper editorial boards on their violation of constitutional rights.
‘Charging Domestic Terrorism Is Intended to Make the Cost of Protesting Too High’
“Whenever there’s…national solidarity, we always see this narrative of ‘outside agitators’ being used to discredit the entire movement.”
Cody Bloomfield on Anti-Activist Terrorism Charges
Some officials fully intend to treat anyone who stands in opposition to whatever they decide they want to do as enemies of the state.
Who Gets to Talk About How Police Need to Change?
The New York Times leaned heavily on official sources when reporting on policing policy—giving the biggest platform to the targets of reform.
Cop City Coverage Fails to Question Narratives of Militarized Police
Journalists should clearly present the evidence supporting protesters’ and police narratives, given police’s well-documented record of lying.
‘People Have Been Protesting Against Cop City Since We Found Out About It’
“Domestic terrorism charges are purposely meant to put fear in the heart of organizers…not only on this issue, but in future issues.”
