A Congressman Questioned Reports of Deadly Conditions at an ICE Detention Center. Then Two More People Died.

Legal & Courts

I warned that if immediate action was not taken, this would happen again and again. I am devastated that I was right. Two weeks after the hearing, two more people detained at Delaney Hall died, reportedly from inadequate medical care. Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo, a 39-year-old man who had lived in Plainfield, New Jersey for more than two decades, died after suffering a medical emergency. He was a construction worker, a father to a 12-year-old U.S. citizen daughter, and a beloved member of his community. According to his family, Mr. Lopez Cornejo had managed diabetes, high blood pressure, and epilepsy…

Contents   In the online world, a battle is taking place. Governments around the world are wrestling for control of the internet. Some want simply to protect their sovereignty, but others are actively trying to suppress dissent. In this issue, James Ball considers how moves to regulate online platforms could cause more problems than they solve. Former Belsat journalist Yahuen Merkis details the horrific process of going from reporter to jailed political prisoner in his home country. Emma Briant outlines the hypocrisy at the heart of the Trump administration. She has joined the legal fight back to stop the US government from deporting the professionals and researchers who write about social media companies and how they work. Enjoy the magazine. It has reports and discussions from around the world about how censorship works today, and about how brave artists continue to struggle to explain the complexity of the world.   Up Front   DEATH BY A THOUSAND BOTS: SALLY GIMSONBots control the web, but who controls the bots? THE INDEX: MARK STIMPSONThe latest free expression news   Features   THE FIGHT AGAINST A CULTURAL TAKEOVER IN FRANCE: EMILY BOYLEVincent Bolloré’s battle for control over France’s media WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MADE: VIKTÓRIA SEDÜLTLife in Hungary after Orbán LIKE FATHER LIKE DAUGHTER: AKBAR NOTEZAIMahrang Baloch talks books WELCOME TO THE BANNED BOOKS MUSEUM: KATIE DANCEY-DOWNSA curiosity in Tallinn THEY TRIED TO BREAK ME BUT IT DIDN’T WORK: YAUHEN MERKISThree years in prison but stillholding out hope for Belarus THE NHS CONSULTANT, THE PRIVATE CONSULTANCY AND THE SLAPP: TOMMY GREENEPublic-interest journalism shouldn’t be shut down A DOG COLLAR MUSEUM?: HOLLY BREWERMuseums owe us a duty of care   Special Report   A BIG TECH WAR WE COULD ALL LOSE: JAMES BALLRegulating social media holds hidden threats INDIA’S NEW DIGITAL CENSORSHIP ECOSYSTEM: VIREN NAIDUA new front in the war on free expression THE RAPID RISE OF SLOPAGANDA: MACKENZIE ARGENTMisinformation and the internet DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY IS THE NEW BATTLEFIELD: VICTORIA BAINESEscaping US tech hegemony THE BRUTAL TRUTH: CONNOR O’BRIENLiveLeak and life in the pre-censorship internet THE GREAT FIREWALL OF CHINA: MARK STIMPSONGreatFire burrows a tunnel under China’s internet blockade   Comment   ELEVATING THE DEBATE ABOUT FREE SPEECH: AKIN AJAYIA new book suggests a different approach to understanding free speech rights TRUMP TRIES TO MUZZLE FREE SPEECH TO PROTECT SOCIAL MEDIA GIANTS: EMMA BRIANTSocial media companies are a legitimate area of academic research STAYING FOR THE FIGHT: SALIL TRIPATHIA tribute to Václav Havel DON’T LET FACTS GET IN THE WAY OFA LEGAL ARGUMENT: STEPHEN YOUNG, HARRY HOBBSGobbledegook underminesthe authority of the law A LAST CHAPTER FOR HONG KONG’S“YELLOW” BOOKSHOPS: JEMIMAH STEINFELDAnother loss for independent thinking – and reading “MAYA ANGELOU IS KIND OF MY SHAKESPEARE”: BIM ADEWUNMIAngelou embodied myriad experiences of blackness   Culture   PROTECTION OR CENSORSHIP: BÄNOO ZANIranian poets silenced by editorial timidity A HUMAN FACE TO THE FACELESS: KAYA GENÇOn being a social media censor CHEKHOV IN AMERICA – HOPE, AND A WARNING: SALIL TRIPATHIA new play sets The Seagull as a meditation on our uncertain times READING BETWEEN THE LINES: JAN FOXPoetry as medicine for the spirit WOMEN OF HISTORY: BETTANY HUGHESWomen in society, across time   You can read these articles and more by becoming an Index member here. READ MORE

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Media & Culture

May an Employer Fire a White Woman for Wearing Hair in Cornrows?

The Baltimore Rock Opera Society fired its recently hired executive director, allegedly because she was wearing her hair in cornrows and thus engaging in supposed cultural appropriation. The concern wasn’t that cornrows were seen as unprofessional as such, but rather that a white woman was wearing a hairstyle that is seen as culturally black. (Katie Herzog at Blocked and Reported has a very good new podcast episode on this.) Such a firing, I think, is illegal under federal antidiscrimination law, though it’s possible (but not certain) that BROS may have a First Amendment defense, given the particular job that the…

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