Freedom IndexMedia & Culture
Media & Culture explores how journalism, entertainment, and creative industries influence—and are influenced by—free speech. From press freedom to artistic expression, this category highlights the cultural impact of censorship and the ongoing struggle for open dialogue.
In brief Strategy used 61% of its dedicated cash buffer ($1.38 billion) to repurchase $1.5 billion in convertible notes. Despite…
This summer, the United States celebrates its 250th birthday. In 1776, few people believed this new version of self-government would…
In brief StepAudio 2.5 Realtime is an end-to-end real-time speech model with fully customizable personas in Chinese and English. StepFun…
One of America’s top AI companies—Anthropic—refused to sign off on a contract unless the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) promised…
I. Michael, Antoine Fuqua’s new biopic of Michael Jackson, has broken multiple box-office records since its release on 24 April 2026.…
In brief The U.K. sanctioned HTX and other crypto firms over alleged ties to Russian sanctions evasion networks. British institutions…
from the rake-after-rake-after-rake dept I’m starting to wonder if RFK Jr. can do anything right at all. After the courts…
There’s a lot happening in today’s decision in Thakur v. Trump, by Ninth Circuit Judges Richard Paez, Morgan Christen, and…
In brief Researchers at Zhejiang University developed AudioHijack, which hides imperceptible commands in audio to manipulate large audio-language models with…
From Alshara v. Republic of Iraq, decided today by Judge Linda Parker (E.D. Mich.): Pursuant to § 1915(e)(2), the Court…
In brief Researchers found that every AI model tested showed positive bias toward Catholicism and negative bias toward Jehovah’s Witnesses.…
From Eby v. Bd. of Curators, decided today by the Missouri Court of Appeals (Chief Judge John P. Torbitzky, joined…