For authoritarian leaders across the globe, the coronavirus emergency presents an opportunity to silence critics and consolidate power.

On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, host Nico Perrino is joined by international free expression experts Jacob Mchangama and Sarah McLaughlin to discuss how countries like Turkey, Hungary, Egypt, and Thailand are banning “fake news” amidst the pandemic — but, in doing so, are making the crisis worse. 

Mchangama is the executive director of Justitia, a Copenhagen-based think tank focused on human rights and the rule of law. He is also the host and producer of the podcast Clear and Present Danger: A History of Free Speech. McLaughlin is the director of Targeted Advocacy at FIRE. 

Show notes:

• “Coronavirus has started a censorship pandemic” by Jacob Mchangama and Sarah McLaughlin
• Clear and Present Danger podcast: A conversation with Monika Bickert, Head of Global Policy Management at Facebook
• Podcast: “The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history,” a lecture by John M. Barry
• “Hospitals must let doctors and nurses speak out,” an interview with Nicholas Christakis by Conor Friedersdorf
• “Responding to ‘Zoombombing’: Best practices for students and faculty” by FIRE’s Alex Morey
• FIRE statement on protecting academic freedom and freedom of expression in virtual classrooms

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