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In the Media

Articles That Mention the Free Speech Union

“Universities are turning debating chambers into echo chambers”: Institutions adopt stricter vetting rules for guest speakers and suggest trigger warnings and safe spaces for “controversial” speakers who might “cause upset”

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Toby Young, of the Free Speech Union, said: “The people running these debating societies have lost sight of their original purpose, which was to expose students to a range of different views, including those they may find challenging and disagreeable, so they can develop their own ideas and opinions and learn how to defend them in the public square. Safe spaces, trigger warnings and risk assessments have turned what were once debating chambers into echo chambers.”

Miles Dilworth, Daily Mail, 9th October 2022.

Student union BANS white students from attending Black History Month events – sparking accusations of racial segregation

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Leader of the Free Speech Union Toby Young has also weighed into the debate as he labelled the group ‘zealots’ who were failing to see the bigger picture. “At some point, you’d think it would be clear to these zealots that you’re not going to reduce racial discrimination by discriminating against people on the basis of their race, but they’re so blinkered by ideological groupthink they cannot see this glaring contradiction,” he said.

Arthur Parashar, MailOnline, 9th October 2022.

Access to finance systems must be protected in the age of cancel culture

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PayPal has reversed its decision to close the accounts of the Free Speech Union (FSU) and the child welfare organisation UsforThem. But this ugly incident should not be forgotten. It reveals the vulnerability of even the most respectable pressure groups to arbitrary action by those who, for whatever reason, object to their message. PayPal may have backed down, but this problem is not going to go away.

Jonathan Sumption, The Times, 6th October 2022.

Fury over arrest of Catholic mother over claims she posted “malicious” messages online: Campaigners condemn Surrey Police for “wasting time on trivial nonsense” after swooping on vicar’s wife following “Twitter spat about gender issues”

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This afternoon Toby Young, General Secretary of the Free Speech Union told MailOnline: “Police forces in England and Wales have been told by the Home Secretary and the head of the College of Policing to stop investigating Twitter spats and focus on crime. Unfortunately, it seems like Surrey Police didn’t get the memo. If I was a Surrey resident who’d been burgled and couldn’t persuade the local police to do anything about it, I’d be extremely angry that they’re wasting time on this trivial nonsense. Something has gone very, very wrong at Surrey Police. They need to get their priorities straight.”

Dan Sales, MailOnline, 5th October 2022.

Oxford University students fear freshers’ fair stalls may be too triggering for some

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Toby Young, the founder of the Free Speech Union and an alumnus of Oxford University, told The Telegraph: “This absurd mollycoddling does students no favours. The Oxford Students’ Union is effectively telling students that just seeing a young man in a blue rosette standing behind a trestle table could have a catastrophic impact on their mental health. Surely, a better message to send to students is that sticks and stones may break their bones but words can never hurt them?”

Louisa Clarence-Smith, The Telegraph, 3rd October 2022.

The left’s suicidal pact with Silicon Valley

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Mr Dee’s fascistic offence was to take the side of the Free Speech Union when it was locked out of its accounts by PayPal on the utterly spurious grounds that it engaged in ‘misinformation’. The Daily Sceptic, the website set up by the FSU’s founder Toby Young, was similarly defunded by PayPal’s thoughtpolice.

Brendan O’Neill, Spiked, 30th September 2022.

PayPal Lifts Ban on Free Speech Union After Backlash

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PayPal has reinstated the accounts of the Free Speech Union, a few days after leading British MPs called the ban an “orchestrated, politically-motivated move.” Accounts from the Free Speech Union (FSU) and the Daily Sceptic blog, which were frozen by Paypal without a clear explanation earlier this month have now been restored, according to its founder Toby Young.

Owen Evans, The Epoch Times, 28th September 2022.

Why I went to war with PayPal

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Like most people who believe in free speech, I have been watching the rollout of a Chinese-style social-credit system across the West with mounting alarm. The most glaring example of this was in February, when Justin Trudeau’s government crushed the Canadian truckers’ ‘Freedom Convoy’ by getting banks to freeze the accounts of the protesters. But there are other, less high-profile instances of people with dissenting views being deplatformed by companies like Patreon, CrowdJustice and GoFundMe. Even Coutts, the private bank of the rich, now has a clause in its terms and conditions reserving the right to close the accounts of customers who engage in “discriminatory conduct”.

Toby Young, Spiked, 28th September 2022.

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