Freedom of speech is shifting under the Trump administration. We’re exploring how
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Many Americans are worried that their First Amendment right to free speech is fading.
NPR's Morning Edition has talked to legal experts, activists, immigration lawyers, scientists, students, teachers and others over several weeks to understand why.
Our series "The State of the First Amendment: The Right From Which All Other Rights Flow" will explore who felt censored before President Trump returned to office and who feels stifled now.
Our reporting found that scientists are scrubbing reports and federal grant applications of words the Trump administration has banned. Some student activists are afraid that participating in protests could lead to deportation. Teachers are nervous about a new online portal where students or parents can file complaints about diversity, equity and inclusion lessons in class with the U.S. Department of Education.
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"When students make connections to events in history that don't frame the current administration in a positive light and then ask questions, it gives me pause," says E., a high school history teacher, who asked NPR to use only her first initial for fear she could be reported for speaking out. "I've had to hold back, sometimes changing the subject abruptly, telling them that I can't comment."
Yet plenty of others — including anti-abortion activists, the far-right activist group Moms for Liberty and members of university Republican clubs — say they feel more free today to express views without fear of a backlash now that President Trump is back in office.
"We now have more members who are willing to help us publicize the club, attach their faces to the club, and be outwardly and openly conservative than we did before the election," says Miguel Muniz, president of the College Republicans at the University of California, Berkeley.
Free speech ranked as the second most important issue for voters heading into the 2024 presidential election, ahead of crime, immigration and health care, according to a poll by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression taken a month before the election. Republicans were more likely to rate it "very important" and nearly half of Republican respondents said they spoke less freely under President Joe Biden than they did under President Trump.
That may be why soon after President Trump was sworn back into office, one of the first actions he took was to sign an executive order aimed at "restoring freedom of speech and ending federal censorship."
His critics say his concern for free speech is only for speech his administration finds acceptable.
You can find all the stories in this series here.
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