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Daily Archives: November 17, 2022

A Small Town Librarian Spoke Against Censorship. Then the Dark Money Came for Her.

The New York Times: “Amanda Jones is a librarian. This summer, worried that her town might try to ban books, she spoke up at a public library board meeting about the importance of a diverse collection and preserving young people’s access to books with sexual health content and L.G.B.T.Q. themes. A few days later, she found herself accused online of advocating for pornography in the children’s section. That was not unusual — fights about book banning have gotten ugly all over the country. But in response, Amanda did something that few others have done. [You can listen to this episode of “First Person” on Apple, Spotify Google or wherever you get your podcasts.] (A full transcript of the episode will be available midday on the Times website.)

See also a previous article via EdWeek – A School Librarian Pushes Back on Censorship and Gets Death Threats and Online Harassment

Resources for Journalists Reporting on Abortion

Physicians for Reproductive Health: “Abortion is a nuanced subject that brings together many aspects of our lives: health care, economics, insurance coverage, zip code, families, faith, immigration status, race, and gender. If you’re writing an article about abortion, you can use this resource as a starting place to ensure accurate and compassionate reporting. If you… Continue Reading

The 50 most banned books in America

CBS News: “During the 2021-2022 school year, more than 1,600 books were banned from school libraries. The bans affected 138 school districts in 32 states, according to a report from PEN America, an organization dedicated to protecting free expression in literature.  And the number of bans are only increasing yearly.  Texas and Florida lead the nation… Continue Reading

Feds arrest Russians accused of running the largest pirated e-book library

Ars Technica: “Last month, the alleged masterminds behind Z-Library—an e-book pirate site that claims to be “the world’s largest library”—were arrested. According to a press release yesterday from the US Department of Justice, Russian nationals Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova have been charged with “criminal copyright infringement, wire fraud and money laundering for operating Z-Library.”… Continue Reading

Senators to FTC: Twitter’s willful disregard for the safety and security of its users

Six Senator’s wrote to FTC Chair Khan: “We write regarding Twitter’s serious, willful disregard for the safety and security of its users, and encourage the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate any breach of Twitter’s consent decree or other violations of our consumer protection laws. In recent weeks, Twitter’s new Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk,… Continue Reading