The spirit if not the letter of the First Amendment prohibits both sophisticated and simple-minded violations of free speech, writes Bruce Fein. (j4p4n, Openclipart)By Bruce Fein / Consortium NewsAs the name NewsGuard portends, its Orwellian purpose is to safeguard readers from news sources that it stigmatizes with a red label akin to a scarlet letter. NewsGuard’s website denies even a cameo appearance to the most trenchant and heralded paladins for free speech. The spirit if not the letter of the First Amendment prohibits both sophisticated and simple-minded violations of free speech. It seeks to suppress facts or opinions that diverge from its gospel by threatening a scarlet letter in hopes of diminishing the dissenter’s readership.

Source: Washington Post June 08, 2022 23:29 UTC