The attacks on free speech should terrify us all
Over the weekend, federal immigration officials arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist at Columbia University, for speaking out against Israel during campus protests. The arrest is a disturbing escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to detain and deport student activists.
Khalil, who was a graduate student at Columbia until last December, was taken into custody on Saturday night by ICE agents at his university-owned apartment. During the arrest, an ICE agent informed his lawyer that they were following State Department instructions to revoke Khalil’s student visa. When his lawyer explained that Khalil was not on a student visa, he was a permanent resident holding a green card, the agent responded that the green card would be revoked instead.
Khalil’s arrest is the first publicly known deportation effort under Trump’s promised crackdown on students who joined protests against the war in Gaza that swept college campuses last spring. The administration has claimed participants forfeited their rights to remain in the country by supporting Hamas.
McLaughlin signaled the arrest was directly connected to Khalil’s role in the protests, alleging he “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” As ICE agents arrived at Khalil’s Manhattan residence Saturday night, they also threatened to arrest Khalil’s wife, an American citizen who is eight months pregnant, Greer said.
Khalil’s attorney said they were initially informed that he was being held at an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey. But when his wife tried to visit Sunday, she learned he was not there. Greer said she still did not know Khalil’s whereabouts as of Sunday night.
It turns out that Khalil was actually transported across state lines and is now being held in a detention facility in Louisiana, without knowledge of his lawyer or wife.
This morning, it was revealed that ICE agents also visited a second Palestinian student living in Columbia-owned housing over the weekend and attempted to take her into custody, but were turned away at the door.
Trump posted on Truth social that this is just beginning of a new, widespread campus crackdown, promising “many” more arrests of students “across the country” who protested for Palestine or against Israel’s war in Gaza.
No matter where you stand on Israel and Gaza, these blatant attacks on free speech should terrify you. We are witnessing the most aggressive crackdowns on speech, both online and off, that we’ve seen in decades. And while Trump’s assault on free speech are unprecedented, as I’ve reported, it’s important to also acknowledge how the Democrats continue to aid these efforts.
Biden’s coalition spent the past 4 years banding together to squash progressive movements and crack down on activism and free speech both online and off. From the TikTok ban to dangerous censorship bills like the Kids Online Safety Act and age verification laws—which the Heritage Foundation has clearly stated will be used to censor progressive speech like reproductive justice content— Democrats continue to aid in the dismantling of civil liberties.
From 2021 to 2024 we witnessed things like RICO charges being levied at protesters fighting against “cop city” in Atlanta, mask bans that lock disabled people out of public life, and young college students facing federal charges for peaceful protests, again, all under Democratic leadership.
Trump is now building on these efforts in an alarming way, and I think that the best way for regular people to fight back against this campaign is to begin educating yourself on issues related to free speech. One great place to start, is by reading TechDirt, a fantastic tech news website that’s been leading the coverage on assaults on free speech and civil liberties, especially related to the internet.
David Enrich, the New York Times business investigations editor, also has a book out this week(!!) about the decades-long conservative movement to dismantle the Supreme Court ruling that protects freedom of the press. It’s called Murder the Truth and the book reads like a thriller. I read the entire thing in a day because it’s so captivating. It’s the perfect primer on the right wing’s war against free speech.
If you’re looking to learn more about free speech and how Trump and the far right is seeking to weaponize our speech laws to silence dissent, this book a must read.
First week sales are crucial for a book’s success, so ORDER IT TODAY. 👈👈👈
User Mag is a 100% reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, become a free or paid subscriber.
Sam Seder on Jubilee
Jubilee is a YouTube behemoth. It’s amassed 9.8 million subscribers on its main channel by producing social experiments and debates over polarizing questions such as ‘is being fat is a choice?’ The company’s stated goal is to spark conversations that help us all come together more around our shared humanity. In reality, they produce a lot of viral rage bait. I interviewed Jubilee’s founder a few months ago for my podcast, which you can watch here.
Last week, however, progressive pundit Sam Seder of Majority Report went on and debated 20 Trump supporters and it went so hilariously bad that it’s now become a viral meme.
There are plenty of mind boggling clips circulating, but the Trump supporters did so poorly that the online right has now convinced themselves that the conservatives in the video were actually the leftists and that Sam was the conservative, debasing them with facts and logic.
Some depressing stats on women’s rights
The FT has a new piece out on how support for female equality is edging up in some areas, but going backwards among young men. Some stats from the piece:
- 48% of people worldwide now believe women’s rights efforts have gone far enough.
- 28% of young men think a man who stays at home to look after the kids is less of a man.
- 57% of Gen Z men believe feminism has gone too far and now discriminates against men.
- Working women still earn 20% less than men globally.
- Male directors were paid at least $100,000 more than their female counterparts.
What I’m reading
Flooding the zone against Blake Lively
Justin Baldoni wins by overpowering the media. — Spitfire News
MeidasTouch Pops on Podcast Charts as Progressives Search for Answers
The company is a leader among numerous digital-first outlets that have been reshaping the progressive media landscape since President Trump took office. — NY Times
In an era of misinformation, should brands even bother trying to tell the truth?
Design agency Taxi Studio’s founder and CCO Spencer Buck argues that brands need to stop positioning themselves around logic or ‘truth.’ — The Drum
A Political Reporter Takes Her Scoops to YouTube
Most online political media stars traffic in highly partisan viewpoints. Tara Palmeri hopes that playing it straight will pay off. — NY Times
User Mag is a 100% reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
User Mag news rundown
- Pipe Rock Theory is “the Citizen Kane of vertically oriented video.”
- Poppi founder Allison Ellsworth spoke at SXSW about the online backlash to the company’s vending machine influencer stunt that got them cancelled online, sharing what she learned from the experience.
- Buzz ball gender reveal.
- Generation Beta are just cute little babies, but their parents are already grappling with the negative associations with the word Beta.
- Toy collectibles are having a moment, offering status and community to those who collect.
- Fly.pieter.com is an in-browser fun free-to-play MMO flight simulator.
- I’m fascinated by these behind the scenes videos of online arcades that people run, where thousands of people play arcade games through their phones via livestream.
- Electronic music festivals evolving into full-fledged lifestyle brands via clothing, homewares and electronics.
- McDonald’s is no longer the world’s largest fast food chain. Chinese bubble tea and ice cream chain Mixue Bingcheng has overtaken them as the fast-food chain with the most locations.
- TikTok comment sections are being flooded with religious messages lately and no one really knows why.
I think it’s interesting to see stan accounts grappling with the political evolutions of the stars they stan:
- After 38 hours, a YouTuber beat to beat the world record for longest time standing still. Despite people tagging him and police being called.
- Volkswagen is bringing back physical buttons. I predicted this re-buttonification last fall!
- Germantown, TN, dropped charges against resident Alexis Luttrell for keeping skeletons in her yard after Halloween. A win for Halloween lovers everywhere!
- Influencer powEnvy has left the Ye Squad to join the Bruzz House. (If you’re confused I’ll have an explainer on all this soon).
- Dave Portnoy is quietly shopping a memoir.
- Media entrepreneur Jessica Lessin chats with DealBook about the news landscape and her latest media bet.
- Jeremy Fragrance posted a video of himself grinding on a chair while clarifying that he follows the teachings of Jesus.
- On Love Is Blind, finalist Ben was rejected at the altar by Sara, because of his views on BLM, LGBTQ and the vaccine. Conservatives are extremely angry about this.
- After an influencer’s a video about her new, women-only gym called Girls Spot, went viral and thousands of people donated money, the influencer came out as transphobic and said that only biological women would be allowed in. Now there’s backlash because she’s apparently not returning any of the money she got from supporters who thought it would be LGBTQ inclusive.
- The NYT put together an interactive on the break-neck pace of the Gen Z trend cycle.
- The Cardi B and Penn Badgley saga [A Thread]
- New Macbook keyboards finally make it clear which button is the mute button.
- Haribo gummy Crocs collab launches tomorrow.
I cannot produce this newsletter without your financial support. Your money goes directly towards reporting costs.
For more User Mag follow my meme page and subscribe to my YouTube channel. You can buy me a coffee here.
Listen to my podcast Power User on Apple Podcasts:
Or follow Power User on Spotify:
Related Knowledge Center: Free speech and public protest
The First Amendment is facing challenging times: Crackdowns on campus protests prompted both-sides claims of intolerance. Attempts to head off dangerous health misinformation have been characterized as violations of free speech. Donald Trump is publicly punishing news outlets that deviate from his administration’s version of events while privately suing some outlets into submission.
The White House vs. the press | Voiceless America
Related Knowledge Center: Democracy and politics
News organizations are scrambling to find a coverage approach that adequately informs the American public about the country’s slide from democracy to authoritarian rule.