Intellectual Freedom News 8/21/2026
Highlights
- Korean-American Librarian Champions Free Speech Amid U.S. Book Bans | Chosun Daily
- The Pulitzer Prizes, in partnership with the American Library Association, present new traveling exhibition, Pulitzer on the Road: Prize-Winning Works That Inform, Empower & Inspire, to be displayed at 20 public libraries nationwide | ALA
Censorship
- Arizona school district removes 3 books from classroom curriculum. Here’s why. | 12News (AZ)
- Peoria Unified addresses ‘book ban,’ NAACP weighs in | Daily Indpendent (AZ)
- Peoria Unified governing board to discuss prohibited books | Daily Independent (AZ)
- Censorship in Los Angeles School District Could Become National Norm, Educators Warn | Truthout (CA)
- St. Charles County Library Board to Decide Whether King James Bible Stays on Shelves | Hoodline (MO)
- Turning Point USA Lubbock challenges LISD on age-inappropriate books | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (TX)
- Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick lists books he believes should be removed from school shelves | KVUE (TX)
- Somerset County school library policy draws challenge from state teachers union | WBOC (MD)
- Disinvited lecturer returns to Notre Dame | Observer (IN)
- Utah just banned the book that inspired the hit film ‘Precious’ from all public schools | Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Americans are destroying license-plate cameras as surveillance backlash grows | Washington Post
- U.S. Citizen Who Deleted Phone’s Data Says His Prosecution Puts Privacy at Risk | New York Times
- Their cities dropped Flock surveillance cameras. They’re still being watched | Guardian (CO)
First Amendment & Civil Rights
- U.S. Investigated Left-Leaning Groups During Minnesota Immigration Crackdown | New York Times (MN)
- Trump’s attack on a think tank is an affront to the First Amendment | Washington Post
- Dearborn prepares for anti-Islam protest spurred by Jake Lang, Lorenzo Sewell | CBS News (MI)
- Trump’s Election Meddling Erodes Our Democracy | New York Times
- i9 Investigation: Iowa Board tried to suppress report on Center for Intellectual Freedom | KCRG (IA)
Academic Freedom & Student Speech
- The Heritage Foundation’s ‘Project Censorship’ | Inside Higher Ed
- Whistleblower Says Trump Officials ‘Predetermined’ Conclusions in Harvard Antisemitism Probe | Harvard Crimson (MA)
- Judge Dismisses Federal Government’s Antisemitism Case Against Harvard | New York Times (MA)
- Faculty raise concerns about limits to their freedom of speech | Daily Tar Heel (NC)
- A Public Texas University Censored My Classroom | ACLU (TX)
- A Texas University Becomes a Petri Dish for a Conservative Overhaul | New York Times (TX)
- Connecticut leaders react to Linda McMahon letter to colleges and universities | NBC Connecticut (CT)
- How to Fight Authoritarian Attacks on Higher Education | Knight Foundation
- Who Really Politicized Higher Education? | Inside Higher Ed
Legislation
State & Local Governance
- In Wyoming’s G.O.P. Primaries, an Emphatic Rebuke of the Hard Right | New York Times (WY)
- Book bans, censorship, and funding fears challenge Ohio public school librarians | Highland County Press (OH)
- Where do incoming Rutherford Co Commissioners stand on book banning | Daily News Journal (TN)
- Springfield-Greene County Library adopts Intellectual Freedom Policy | Springfield News-Leader (MO)
- Two Democrat-endorsed candidates win Sarasota school board, ousting conservative majority | WUSF (FL)
- Book removals, teacher burnout and enrollment losses shape Escambia School Board District 1 race | Florida Trib (FL)
- Book bans, LGBTQ+ outing policy under scrutiny in state candidate Sonja Shaw’s Chino Valley district | Los Angeles Times (CA)
Social Media & A.I.
- China Wants to Shape What the World’s A.I. Knows | New York Times
- Google Just Made It Easier for Campaigns to Send You Fund-Raising Emails | New York Times
Media & Digital Literacy
- ABC and Disney sue FCC, alleging First Amendment violations | NPR
- Fake Polls in Wisconsin and California Were Part of a ‘Social Experiment’ | New York Times
International
- ‘Overwhelmed’: Alberta book restrictions, related costs leave libraries in dark, advocate says | Calgary Herald (Canada)
- In Gyeongnam, the exhibition ‘Banned Books, Read Again’ highlights Japanese colonial-era publication censorship | Khan (Korea)
- Bondi library removes book How to Sell a Genocide from shelves after complaint | Guardian (Australia)
Around the Web
- Librarians build collections for communities, not factions | Boston Globe
- CBLDF Expands Board, Staff | Daily Cartoonist
- Let’s talk about sex and the First Amendment | Daily Tar Heel
- The number of books banned from US libraries has surged since Trump’s first term | Star
- The War on Literature Depicted in ’The Librarians’ Is Still Being Waged | Hollywood Reporter
- Embattled Peninsula Public Library board faces public outcry over recent decisions | Newsday
- Public Library Workers In Geneva, Illinois ‘Go Union’ With AFSCME | WNY Labor Today
- Resist hate with free speech, not censorship | Seattle Times
- Editorial: Returning reasoned local control of our school, public libraries | Sun
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