This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact press@ifs.org.  

Washington Post: Newly empowered Republicans are coming for Big Tech, alleging collusion

By Cat Zakrzewski and Cristiano Lima 

.....On Wednesday, Musk’s “Twitter Files” will take center stage in a Capitol Hill hearing where GOP leaders will try to advance their campaign to turn Twitter’s decision to briefly block sharing a story about the president’s son into evidence of a broad conspiracy. Conservatives have long argued that Silicon Valley favors Democrats by systematically suppressing right-wing viewpoints on social media. These allegations have evolved in nearly a half-decade of warnings, as politicians in Washington and beyond fixate on the industry’s communications with Democratic leaders, seeking to cast the opposing party as against free speech.

Washington Post: Live-streaming traffic stop is free speech, but protecting it is a challenge

By Rachel Weiner

.....A federal appeals court ruled this week that live-streaming traffic stops is protected speech under the First Amendment after a North Carolina man challenged police’s claims that doing so is barred for safety reasons.

“Recording police encounters creates information that contributes to discussion about governmental affairs. So too does livestreaming disseminate that information, often creating its own record. We thus hold that livestreaming a police traffic stop is speech protected by the First Amendment,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled Tuesday.

New York Times: The People Onscreen Are Fake. The Disinformation Is Real.

By Adam Satariano and Paul Mozur

.....With few laws to manage the spread of the technology, disinformation experts have long warned that deepfake videos could further sever people’s ability to discern reality from forgeries online, potentially being misused to set off unrest or incept a political scandal. Those predictions have now become reality.

OpenSecrets: “Midterm spending spree”: Cost of 2022 federal elections tops $8.9 billion, a new midterm record

By Taylor Giorno

.....The 2022 federal election cost more than $8.9 billion, blowing past the inflation-adjusted $7.1 billion spent on the 2018 midterm elections, a new OpenSecrets analysis of year-end disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission found…

Raw Story: Crime spree hits one of Trump's top supporters in Congress

.....Another Republican congressman — one of former President Donald Trump’s top supporters — has lost gobs of campaign cash to cyberthieves.

The re-election campaign of two-term Republican Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas reported that someone on July 7 made an “unauthorized” withdrawal from its campaign account, according to Federal Election Commission records reviewed by Raw Story.

Roll Call: Not couch cushion money: Former members sitting on $54 million

By Kate Ackley and Herb Jackson

.....Members of the 117th Congress who have since left Capitol Hill still hold nearly $54 million in leftover political money — cash they may tap to make contributions as lobbyists or bank for future runs. 

NBC Montana: House committee hears 2 bills that would revise campaign laws

By Joshua Margolis

.....The House State Administration Committee heard a pair of bills on Tuesday that would revise laws relating to political campaigns.

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