Katy Glenn Bass
@katygb.bsky.social
Research Director, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University
This is the single most effective pro-vaccine piece I've ever read. Especially if you are also active on other, bigger social media platforms, share the gift link below. You might save a life. (I am already extremely pro-vaccine and I suspect most others on this platform are too.)
This is a vivid, horribly relevant read. “She does not sleep well. And as you lift up her pajama top to check her rash one morning, you see that her breathing is labored, shadows pooling between her ribs when she sucks in air. You suffer an icy moment of realization: This is a medical crisis.”
This Is How a Child Dies of Measles
When your family becomes a data point in an outbreak
www.theatlantic.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:49 PM
This is the single most effective pro-vaccine piece I've ever read. Especially if you are also active on other, bigger social media platforms, share the gift link below. You might save a life. (I am already extremely pro-vaccine and I suspect most others on this platform are too.)
Reposted by Katy Glenn Bass
My team at the Crowd Counting Consortium (@djpressman.bsky.social, Soha Hammam, & Chris Shay) has shared a big data update, covering all recorded US protests through Jan 2026. Some key takeaways 🧵:
February 12, 2026 at 6:19 PM
My team at the Crowd Counting Consortium (@djpressman.bsky.social, Soha Hammam, & Chris Shay) has shared a big data update, covering all recorded US protests through Jan 2026. Some key takeaways 🧵:
Looking forward to working with a lot of smart, committed people on this. One of the things that keeps me motivated is the belief that the post-Trump period (and there will be one) may be a time when genuine rethinking/rebuilding of democratic institutions is possible. We should be ready for it.
New Knight Institute Initiative to Focus on "Reconstructing Free Expression" After Trump. @jameeljaffer.bsky.social: "This initiative is meant to encourage creative and ambitious thinking about how to build a system of free expression that serves democracy better." knightcolumbia.org/content/new-...
New Knight Institute Initiative to Focus on “Reconstructing Free Expression” After Trump
knightcolumbia.org
February 11, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Looking forward to working with a lot of smart, committed people on this. One of the things that keeps me motivated is the belief that the post-Trump period (and there will be one) may be a time when genuine rethinking/rebuilding of democratic institutions is possible. We should be ready for it.
Reposted by Katy Glenn Bass
The arrests of Lemon and Fort are intended to deter journalists from doing work we need them to do, and that the First Amendment was meant to protect. DOJ should drop these prosecutions or the courts should throw them out. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
Knight Institute Condemns Arrest of Journalists Reporting on Minneapolis Protests
knightcolumbia.org
January 30, 2026 at 3:57 PM
The arrests of Lemon and Fort are intended to deter journalists from doing work we need them to do, and that the First Amendment was meant to protect. DOJ should drop these prosecutions or the courts should throw them out. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
Reposted by Katy Glenn Bass
No Kings is hosting what is shaping up to be the largest ICE Watch training in history tonight.
Join here: www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...
Join here: www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...
January 26, 2026 at 4:01 PM
No Kings is hosting what is shaping up to be the largest ICE Watch training in history tonight.
Join here: www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...
Join here: www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...
Reposted by Katy Glenn Bass
Apropos of the TikTok news last week, I have a piece coming out abt how the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the ban-or-sale law belongs in the First Amendment anticanon. It's not just wrong, but so wrong we should hold it up as an exceptional symbol of wrongness.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
TikTok v. Garland and the First Amendment Anticanon
<p><span>This essay argues that last term’s decision in <i>TikTok v. Garland</i>, which unanimously upheld the federal law that sought to ban TikTok in the Unit
papers.ssrn.com
January 26, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Apropos of the TikTok news last week, I have a piece coming out abt how the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the ban-or-sale law belongs in the First Amendment anticanon. It's not just wrong, but so wrong we should hold it up as an exceptional symbol of wrongness.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
www.mobilize.us?tag_ids=29132
Find your local ICE Out For Good event👇 and get out there this weekend. It is really important to peacefully demonstrate how angry we are right now. Make them feel it. I believe we will.
Find your local ICE Out For Good event👇 and get out there this weekend. It is really important to peacefully demonstrate how angry we are right now. Make them feel it. I believe we will.
Volunteer Opportunities, Events, and Petitions Near Me · Mobilize
Create change in your community. Find events, petitions, volunteer opportunities, and fundraisers in your local area, organized by charities, campaigns, political organizations, grassroots groups, and...
www.mobilize.us
January 9, 2026 at 11:15 PM
www.mobilize.us?tag_ids=29132
Find your local ICE Out For Good event👇 and get out there this weekend. It is really important to peacefully demonstrate how angry we are right now. Make them feel it. I believe we will.
Find your local ICE Out For Good event👇 and get out there this weekend. It is really important to peacefully demonstrate how angry we are right now. Make them feel it. I believe we will.
As someone who edits a lot of essays (including the one by Yoel that this book incorrectly quotes) - a good cite check process should have caught this. If I’d published a piece where an error of this magnitude somehow slipped past the checker, I would feel obligated to issue a correction.
A small (personal) example of this book’s intellectual dishonesty:
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
My father-in-law is reading In Covid’s Wake, and excitedly told me he found a passage where I’m quoted. The quote in question is me saying the FBI worked to censor speech on social media.
Huh? When did I say that?!
December 24, 2025 at 10:35 PM
As someone who edits a lot of essays (including the one by Yoel that this book incorrectly quotes) - a good cite check process should have caught this. If I’d published a piece where an error of this magnitude somehow slipped past the checker, I would feel obligated to issue a correction.
Reposted by Katy Glenn Bass
NB: When I, a professor of law, profess that an act is unlawful, I am not doing it to inform the lawbreaker, but rather to inform you, the reader.
So the question “what, like you think he cares?” is inapposite. The question is whether *you* care. I think you should, which is why I bother.
So the question “what, like you think he cares?” is inapposite. The question is whether *you* care. I think you should, which is why I bother.
December 18, 2025 at 9:01 PM
NB: When I, a professor of law, profess that an act is unlawful, I am not doing it to inform the lawbreaker, but rather to inform you, the reader.
So the question “what, like you think he cares?” is inapposite. The question is whether *you* care. I think you should, which is why I bother.
So the question “what, like you think he cares?” is inapposite. The question is whether *you* care. I think you should, which is why I bother.
Reposted by Katy Glenn Bass
How can scientists make a difference when democratic norms, institutions, & rights are under threat?
Weds @ 12:30 ET join me, Jon Penney, Sarah Brayne, & @katygb.bsky.social for a @knightcolumbia.org panel on science, the courts, & chilling effects. WE NEED YOU 🫵🏽
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
Weds @ 12:30 ET join me, Jon Penney, Sarah Brayne, & @katygb.bsky.social for a @knightcolumbia.org panel on science, the courts, & chilling effects. WE NEED YOU 🫵🏽
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
The Science of Chilling Effects
knightcolumbia.org
December 8, 2025 at 10:35 PM
How can scientists make a difference when democratic norms, institutions, & rights are under threat?
Weds @ 12:30 ET join me, Jon Penney, Sarah Brayne, & @katygb.bsky.social for a @knightcolumbia.org panel on science, the courts, & chilling effects. WE NEED YOU 🫵🏽
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
Weds @ 12:30 ET join me, Jon Penney, Sarah Brayne, & @katygb.bsky.social for a @knightcolumbia.org panel on science, the courts, & chilling effects. WE NEED YOU 🫵🏽
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
Next Wednesday 12/10, 12:30 ET: Join our @knightcolumbia.org webinar to hear @natematias.bsky.social @penney.bsky.social @sarahbrayne.bsky.social talk about using social science to study chilling effects, and how courts use this kind of evidence: knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
The Science of Chilling Effects
knightcolumbia.org
December 5, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Next Wednesday 12/10, 12:30 ET: Join our @knightcolumbia.org webinar to hear @natematias.bsky.social @penney.bsky.social @sarahbrayne.bsky.social talk about using social science to study chilling effects, and how courts use this kind of evidence: knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
Reposted by Katy Glenn Bass
Dec. 10: Join me online @knightcolumbia.org to talk with social scientists and legal experts about studying chilling effects: How can we use science to detect and measure chill? We'll get into study design, existing findings, & how courts look at social science:
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
The Science of Chilling Effects
knightcolumbia.org
November 24, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Dec. 10: Join me online @knightcolumbia.org to talk with social scientists and legal experts about studying chilling effects: How can we use science to detect and measure chill? We'll get into study design, existing findings, & how courts look at social science:
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
Dec. 10: Join me online @knightcolumbia.org to talk with social scientists and legal experts about studying chilling effects: How can we use science to detect and measure chill? We'll get into study design, existing findings, & how courts look at social science:
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
The Science of Chilling Effects
knightcolumbia.org
November 24, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Dec. 10: Join me online @knightcolumbia.org to talk with social scientists and legal experts about studying chilling effects: How can we use science to detect and measure chill? We'll get into study design, existing findings, & how courts look at social science:
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
Reposted by Katy Glenn Bass
The joy this man has doing his patriotic duty
I’m howling.
November 20, 2025 at 3:10 PM
The joy this man has doing his patriotic duty
Monday 12:30 ET: The chilling effects of the Trump administration's policies (and jawboning) are widespread - how are they being challenged in court, and what is the state of 1A doctrine on chilling effects? An expert panel will discuss, including current cases AAUP v. Rubio and UAW v. State Dept:
Want to learn more about chilling effects and why they matter to the First Amendment? Join our webinar with litigators and experts on Monday, Nov. 17, including @carriedecell.bsky.social @evelyndouek.bsky.social @penney.bsky.social @stacylivingston.bsky.social:
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
Litigating Chilling Effects
knightcolumbia.org
November 13, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Monday 12:30 ET: The chilling effects of the Trump administration's policies (and jawboning) are widespread - how are they being challenged in court, and what is the state of 1A doctrine on chilling effects? An expert panel will discuss, including current cases AAUP v. Rubio and UAW v. State Dept:
Call for proposals 👇 for our @knightcolumbia.org project on the legal profession in an age of authoritarianism: What is the role of lawyers in defending democracy? What factors contribute to lawyers’ role in either resisting authoritarianism or accommodating it?
knightcolumbia.org/blog/call-fo...
knightcolumbia.org/blog/call-fo...
November 10, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Call for proposals 👇 for our @knightcolumbia.org project on the legal profession in an age of authoritarianism: What is the role of lawyers in defending democracy? What factors contribute to lawyers’ role in either resisting authoritarianism or accommodating it?
knightcolumbia.org/blog/call-fo...
knightcolumbia.org/blog/call-fo...
Reposted by Katy Glenn Bass
We @knightcolumbia.org are doing two online events on chilling effects: First on 11/17 on the state of 1A doctrine and current cases involving chilling effects claims, and 2nd on 12/10 on using social science to study the chill caused by particular laws and policies. RSVP links below & in next post:
Want to learn more about chilling effects and why they matter to the First Amendment? Join our webinar with litigators and experts on Monday, Nov. 17, including @carriedecell.bsky.social @evelyndouek.bsky.social @penney.bsky.social @stacylivingston.bsky.social:
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
Litigating Chilling Effects
knightcolumbia.org
November 3, 2025 at 3:21 PM
We @knightcolumbia.org are doing two online events on chilling effects: First on 11/17 on the state of 1A doctrine and current cases involving chilling effects claims, and 2nd on 12/10 on using social science to study the chill caused by particular laws and policies. RSVP links below & in next post:
Reposted by Katy Glenn Bass
A striking feature of Trump 2.0 is that while elites capitulated immediately, ordinary citizens are using democratic institutions--e.g. the right to trial-by-jury--to the absolute hilt in defence of democracy.
Robber barons and sincecured pundits gave in; the citizenry fights back harder than ever.
Robber barons and sincecured pundits gave in; the citizenry fights back harder than ever.
straight-up jury nullification. this guy did it, confessed to it, and the jury instructions explicitly said that if he did it intentionally, it was assault.
BREAKING: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT EATS A LOSS IN 'SANDWICH GUY' CASE AS JURORS FIND DEFENDANT NOT GUILTY www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
November 6, 2025 at 7:39 PM
A striking feature of Trump 2.0 is that while elites capitulated immediately, ordinary citizens are using democratic institutions--e.g. the right to trial-by-jury--to the absolute hilt in defence of democracy.
Robber barons and sincecured pundits gave in; the citizenry fights back harder than ever.
Robber barons and sincecured pundits gave in; the citizenry fights back harder than ever.
Thinking about how important the First Amendment right to record is to getting strong findings of fact like this from judges. The government will lie, so having footage - esp. from multiple views/angles - is crucial. And it's why journalists and those recording are targeted by law enforcement.
Ellis: "The government would have people believe, instead, that the Chicagoland area is in a vice hold of violence, ransacked by rioters and attacked by agitators. That simply is untrue. And the government's own evidence in this case belies that assertion."
November 6, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Thinking about how important the First Amendment right to record is to getting strong findings of fact like this from judges. The government will lie, so having footage - esp. from multiple views/angles - is crucial. And it's why journalists and those recording are targeted by law enforcement.
We @knightcolumbia.org are doing two online events on chilling effects: First on 11/17 on the state of 1A doctrine and current cases involving chilling effects claims, and 2nd on 12/10 on using social science to study the chill caused by particular laws and policies. RSVP links below & in next post:
Want to learn more about chilling effects and why they matter to the First Amendment? Join our webinar with litigators and experts on Monday, Nov. 17, including @carriedecell.bsky.social @evelyndouek.bsky.social @penney.bsky.social @stacylivingston.bsky.social:
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
Litigating Chilling Effects
knightcolumbia.org
November 3, 2025 at 3:21 PM
We @knightcolumbia.org are doing two online events on chilling effects: First on 11/17 on the state of 1A doctrine and current cases involving chilling effects claims, and 2nd on 12/10 on using social science to study the chill caused by particular laws and policies. RSVP links below & in next post:
Come have lunch and listen to a terrific group of experts discuss the future of press freedom on Wednesday Nov. 5 at @columbiajournalism.bsky.social, RSVP details below:
📌 11/5 EVENT: A panel of legal experts and journalists discuss how to protect #pressfreedom and support journalists under Trump. Feat. @randersenjones.bsky.social, @attorneynora.bsky.social, @azmatzahra.bsky.social, @joelsimonsays.bsky.social, @sulliview.bsky.social, & @sonjawest.bsky.social. RSVP.
October 31, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Come have lunch and listen to a terrific group of experts discuss the future of press freedom on Wednesday Nov. 5 at @columbiajournalism.bsky.social, RSVP details below:
Appropriate moment for an info session on chilling effects and the First Amendment - details and RSVP here: knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
October 30, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Appropriate moment for an info session on chilling effects and the First Amendment - details and RSVP here: knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
Investigative reporting is so important! Charges dropped a day after @philinvestigates.com interview with the sheriff aired.
CHARGES DROPPED! Tennessee authorities dismiss charges against man who posted Trump meme www.newschannel5.com/news/newscha...
CHARGES DROPPED! Tennessee authorities dismiss charges against man who posted Trump meme
Newly released video raises new questions about the arrest of a progressive Tennessee man for posting a Trump meme in a Facebook group
www.newschannel5.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Investigative reporting is so important! Charges dropped a day after @philinvestigates.com interview with the sheriff aired.
Reposted by Katy Glenn Bass
Want to learn more about chilling effects and why they matter to the First Amendment? Join our webinar with litigators and experts on Monday, Nov. 17, including @carriedecell.bsky.social @evelyndouek.bsky.social @penney.bsky.social @stacylivingston.bsky.social:
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
Litigating Chilling Effects
knightcolumbia.org
October 28, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Want to learn more about chilling effects and why they matter to the First Amendment? Join our webinar with litigators and experts on Monday, Nov. 17, including @carriedecell.bsky.social @evelyndouek.bsky.social @penney.bsky.social @stacylivingston.bsky.social:
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
Reposted by Katy Glenn Bass
Since moving to civil society, I've noticed a huge dearth of support for researchers working in the space - although there are tons of us! Come join this D&SxACLUxCDT event where we talk about the opportunities and challenges of research to support tech policy & advocacy!
Advocating with Evidence: Lessons for Tech Researchers in Civil Society.
Join us on November 13 for an online discussion featuring @alicetiara.bsky.social @mkgerchick.bsky.social @jordanaut.bsky.social and me.
Organized by @cdt.org @datasociety.bsky.social @aclu.org
cdt.org/event/advoca...
Join us on November 13 for an online discussion featuring @alicetiara.bsky.social @mkgerchick.bsky.social @jordanaut.bsky.social and me.
Organized by @cdt.org @datasociety.bsky.social @aclu.org
cdt.org/event/advoca...
October 28, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Since moving to civil society, I've noticed a huge dearth of support for researchers working in the space - although there are tons of us! Come join this D&SxACLUxCDT event where we talk about the opportunities and challenges of research to support tech policy & advocacy!