Substack And FIRE Partner To Protect Writers’ Free Speech

Substack and FIRE are partnering to protect writers’ free speech in the US at a time when there are growing accusations that free speech is under attack.

In recent weeks, there have been a growing number of arrests and visa cancellations over what students have written or posted online. While the Trump administration has framed such actions as combating antisemitism, critics have labeled it as a blatant attack on free speech.

In their announcement, Substack and FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) highlighted one such example.

Earlier this week, federal immigration officials arrested a Tufts University student off the street, allegedly for an op-ed she wrote in a student newspaper calling for the university to divest from Israel. If true, this represents a chilling escalation in the government’s effort to target critics of American foreign policy.

In response, the two organizations are partnering to help provide assistance to writers whose freedom of speech is threatened, regardless of whether they write on Substack or not. In announcing the help, the two organizations called on America’s long history of tolerating and encouraging lively debate and dissenting voices.

Since our founding, America has long welcomed writers and thinkers from across the globe who come to this country and contribute to the richness of our political and cultural life. Christopher Hitchens was one of President Bill Clinton’s sharpest critics, Alexander Cockburn punched in all directions, and Ayn Rand minced no words in her condemnation of socialism.

To preserve America’s tradition as a home for fearless writing, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and Substack are partnering to support writers residing lawfully in this country targeted by the government for the content of their writing — those who, as Hitchens once put it, “committed no crime except that of thought in writing.” If you fit this category, whether or not you publish on Substack, we urge you to get in touch immediately at thefire.org/alarm or pages.substack.com/defender.

The two organizations conclude with a statement by President Ronald Reagan.

President Reagan recognized that freedom is “fragile, it needs protection” — and that’s exactly what FIRE and Substack intend to provide.

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