Was Florida one of 2023’s ‘worst censors’?
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a national free speech organization, has placed “Florida state officials” on its just-released “10 Worst Censors of 2023” list.
“Florida isn’t where ‘woke’ goes to die — it’s where the First Amendment goes to retire,” the organization said on its website Tuesday. “In Florida, officials have performative censorship down to an art — whether on campus or on stage.”
The group’s gripe? Multiple things. For instance, it denounced an antidrag show law passed last year that was halted by the courts, and how Florida went after a drag show venue even after undercover agents said they saw no “lewd” acts in front of minors.
The venue ended up settling with the state anyway for $5,000. It’s one of several drag venues that have settled despite there being no legal violations found, according to the Miami Herald.
FIRE also criticized an attempt by Gov. Ron DeSantis and a top higher education official to deactivate two pro-Palestinian organizations, as well as other controversial higher education changes, some of which have been blocked by courts, like parts of the “Stop WOKE Act.”
Florida joins the likes of “book censors” – “If there’s one thing the left and right can agree on, it’s that some books are beyond the pale,” FIRE quipped – and San Francisco State University.
In the list, FIRE criticized that university for “dragging out” an investigation into a professor who showed an image of Muhammad while teaching about the history of Islam.
It also mentioned how student protesters at the California school made former Olympic swimmer Riley Gaines, a critic of including transgender athletes in women’s sports, “flee for her safety.”
“This year’s list goes to show that no one is safe from the possibility of censorship,” said FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff in a statement. “Americans of all ages and professions are being pushed into a corner when trying to express themselves freely: Shut up or be shut up.”
This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com.