BBC cuts 11 ‘racist’ Mitchell and Webb sketches from iPlayer anniversary release
Viewers and Reddit users noticed the gaps after the iPlayer upload. Neither Mitchell nor Webb has commented. BBC News said it had asked them.
Free speech
Latest reporting and analysis on free speech.
Călin Georgescu arrested in early hours with huge police force
Officers of the organised-crime and terrorism directorate and the national police executed five home-search warrants in Bucharest, Mogoșoaia, Ciolpani and Buftea.
French TV channel apologises after documentary shows French nuclear missile hitting Tel Aviv
The clip ran in Rafale, drones et canons : la révolution des armes françaises, a documentary on modern French weaponry first broadcast on September 1.
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Zelensky’s former press secretary barred from European Parliament after criticism of his policies
Iuliia Mendel was due to speak on peace and diplomacy at an ESN event in Strasbourg, alongside AfD and Weltwoche figures.
Ghent students walk out after honorary vice-rector condemns Cofnas ‘lynching’
Professor Freddy Mortier, a honorary vice-rector and professor in ethics , used the platform to call out colleagues who had ganged up on Cofnas.
Belgian defence minister says anti-terror law could be used against communist festival
Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken stated that the new anti-terror law could target foreign speakers at the upcoming ManiFiesta festival, citing concerns over…
Spain’s Interior Ministry admits secret ideological files on dozens of journalists
The Spanish Government says the dossier was for internal use only and denies it amounted to a blacklist.
Swedish court convicts activist who named sex offenders on Facebook
Aggravated defamation carries a maximum of two years in prison. The court said the posts had spread so widely that they could not be regarded as justifiable.
Turkish comic who mocked Erdoğan rearrested on separate charges just after being released
Deniz Göktaş was detained at Istanbul Airport on July 2 after returning from a trip abroad and jailed the following day.
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AfD politicians barred from video game fair Gamescom
MEP Mary Khan said "With the AfD leading the polls in Saxony-Anhalt, Gamescom will soon discover that political reality is not so easy to switch off".
‘I’ve gotten many death threats, a tremendous amount of hate’, dr. Nathan Cofnas tells Brussels Signal
He published on July 21. UK papers followed. Cambridge opened an investigation. Arday resigned on August 5 and was found dead in his home 9 days later.
Heinz lifts ban on Christian references for personalised ketchup labels after backlash
The company’s British online customisation service previously blocked those Christian references while accepting “Allah”, “Islam”, “Muslim” and even…
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Hungarian public television resumes news after government-ordered blackout
Weeks earlier the Prime Minister overturned an editorial appointment at the broadcaster with a comment on Facebook.
Ghent University suspends academic who exposed Arday fraud, eyes firing him
The researcher in question is Nathan Cofnas, an American philosopher of biology who joined Ghent in 2026.
German study puts true Covid infections at 14 per cent of PCR positives
The analysis compared nationwide swab results against antibody screening run by the same laboratories, a method other scientists say cannot show the tests were wrong.
Russian court jails Yabloko deputy chairman for 11 years as Supreme Court confirms election ban
The Central Election Commission struck Yabloko from the federal ballot paper on August 18, leaving 10 parties in the list contest.
Elon Musk says X will make government censorship requests clearly visible
Users will be informed when a government authority seeks the removal of a specific post or the restriction of an account.
GB News presenter forced from home after police warn of threat from Channel smugglers
Officers advised the couple to pack a bag immediately, avoid using their own car in case it had been tampered with and travel by black cab to a safe location.
Attal calls for referendum after French court strikes down under-15 social media ban
The Constitutional Council found that Article 1 of the law, adopted by parliament on July 21, constituted "an infringement that is neither appropriate, necessary,…
Cambridge college issues content warning for Little Red Riding Hood over ‘themes of violence’
The warning is the latest example of content advisories applied to literary material at Cambridge.
Court confirms weapons permit revocations for AfD members in Saxony-Anhalt
That provision states that a person is generally considered unreliable if they belong to or support an association that pursues aims directed against the constitutional…
German majority turns against ‘firewall’ barring AfD
Among those open to cooperation, 32 per cent favoured decisions being made on a case-by-case basis, while 27 per cent said cooperation should actively be sought.
Campact tells supporters how to talk friends and family out of voting AfD
The German campaign group urges patience, listening and empathy, though critics say the advice casts AfD voters as pupils in need of correction.
More than 1,000 German lawyers back call for AfD ban ‘to protect democracy’
The appeal was organised by the Republican Lawyers' Association, a German legal association associated with progressive and left-wing legal circles.
French conservative journalist attacked by far-left mob
According to accounts based on his complaint and phone footage, he was recognised while leaving a bar with friends.
French Greens leader calls for ban on X during elections
She argued that the platform, owned by Elon Musk, should be treated as a content editor rather than a neutral intermediary.
Conservative GB News marks full year as Britain’s number one news channel
The channel first overtook both the BBC News Channel and Sky News for a full calendar month in July 2025.
Bolloré media condemn expulsion of Russian commentator as attack on free speech
The media groups rejected the implication that controversial political views should justify exclusion from public debate.
France orders expulsion of ex-RT France chief Xenia Fedorova over alleged Kremlin propaganda
Authorities accuse Xenia Fedorova of spreading Russian state narratives through her appearances on French television and radio.
Chega denies staging break-in at Ventura’s parliament office
The party says a cleaner found the room disturbed before any of its MPs arrived, as police take fingerprints and request parliamentary entry records.