Ruth Smeeth: “Free speech is a force for good”

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”114273″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Free speech is a powerful thing.  It gives us all the right to use our voice, to engage in debates about the future and the past. It is one of our basic human rights and gave authority to so many campaigns which have shaped the countries we live in. It empowered the civil rights movement, it enabled the feminists, it galvanised the LGBT+ rights campaign and it facilitated the anti-racism and anti-fascism campaigns which gave so many of us a place in society. As with all our human rights it is to be used, celebrated and protected and cherished. It is a force for good.

There are times though when ‘debate’ on social media could make you believe that everybody hates each other. That we have nothing in common and that no-one else’s voice or opinion is valid. That anger and hate rather than conversation and debate are the current manifestation of our free speech. We know that not to be true in our offline world – but like it or not this does have an impact on our free speech; it doesn’t engender positive engagement but it does create a chilling effect.  And the quality of our national conversation is all the poorer for it.

Index takes no position on any issue other than the protection of free speech.  We don’t advocate for one side over another in a debate.  But rather we celebrate debate and engagement and education, things that I think we should all cherish.

On Tuesday night, 150 leading writers and academics from across the political spectrum signed a joint open letter for Harper’s magazine decrying the current state of debate and engagement.  Many of them have a track record in the fight to protect free speech, in fact several have previously written for Index.  All of these people have a profile and voice. They aren’t being silenced. But they are rightly worried about the quality and calibre of our collective national conversations. And they raise valid concerns that other people are being silenced.

Their words are a warning and a message that should inspire debate, as it has in recent days:

“The restriction of debate, whether by a repressive government or an intolerant society, invariably hurts those who lack power and makes everyone less capable of democratic participation. The way to defeat bad ideas is by exposure, argument, and persuasion, not by trying to silence or wish them away. We refuse any false choice between justice and freedom, which cannot exist without each other.”

Our role at Index is clear – we exist to provide a voice for the voiceless – a platform for the persecuted.  That’s what we were established to do 49 years ago.  But, we also will campaign relentlessly to ensure that our basic human right of free speech and free expression is not only enshrined in law, but protected and respected.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][three_column_post title=”YOU MIGHT LIKE TO READ” category_id=”581″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The Londoner: Corbyn critic Ruth Smeeth is freedom of speech CEO (Evening Standard)

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]CEO of Index on Censorship Ruth Smeeth speaks to the Evening Standard about her appointment to the role and the importance of freedom of speech in today’s fractured society.

“You have the right to hold and espouse vile views, but you don’t have the right to incite violence,” Smeeth said.

“There has been too much hate recently. People have the right to hate but they need to think about what it’s doing to society.”

Read the full article here[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Ruth Smeeth (The Political Party podcast)

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Newly appointed CEO of Index on Censorship Ruth Smeeth talks to host of The Political Podcast Matt Forde about the history of Index on Censorship as we approach our 50th anniversary, how her experiences as Labour MP led her to Index, and the importance of free speech in today’s society.

“This was originally set up for writers and scholars as a place that they could be heard and that other people could celebrate them.”

“The experiences of the last five years [as an MP] made me a different person, it made me genuinely cherish the free press because that meant there was a platform to counter the conspiracy.”

Listen to the full podcast here[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Our free speech is under attack, in the UK and across the world, and we need to fight to protect it

Credit: Singlespeedfahrer/Petr Vodicka/Amy Fenton/Executive Office of the President/ Philip Halling/Isac Nóbrega/The White House

George Floyd. Dr Li Wenliang. Amy Fenton. JK Rowling. Edward Colston. Jair Bolsonaro. Donald Trump.

Love or loathe these people, the actions of each have opened a new debate in 2020. From the Black Lives Matter movement to the debate on sexuality, to the freedom of the press in the UK, to the role of Government and state actors hiding details of a public health emergency from their citizens.

If we have learnt anything at all from the turmoil that 2020 has given the world, it’s that free speech is vital; free expression is central to who we are and; that journalistic freedom is integral to the type of global society we aspire to live in.

Today, I’m joining the team at Index on Censorship as its new CEO. Index has spent the last half century providing a voice for the voiceless. Giving those who live under repressive regimes a platform to tell the world of their experiences and enabling artists to share their work with the world when they can’t share it with their neighbours.

Our work has never been more important.  There have been over 200 attacks on media freedom across the globe, since the end of March this year, related to Covid-19. In the US alone there have been over 400 press freedom ‘incidents’ since the murder of George Floyd, including 58 arrests of journalists, 86 physical attacks and 52 tear gassings.  In the UK, this weekend, on the streets of London we saw journalists attacked while reporting on a far-right demo in our capital.

My role in the months ahead is to highlight the threats to free speech, both in the UK and further afield, to celebrate free speech, to open a debate on what free speech should look like in the 21st century and most importantly to keep providing a platform for those people who can’t have one in their own country.

The editorial in the first edition of Index on Censorship in 1972, stated:  There is a real danger… of a journal like INDEX turning into a bulletin of frustration. But then, on the other hand, there is the magnificent resilience and inexhaustible resourcefulness of the human spirit in adversity.

With you, the team at Index will continue to fight against the frustration while celebrating the magnificent resilience of the human spirit.  And I can’t wait to get stuck in.

Ruth

PS Join us to protect and promote freedom of speech in the UK and across the world by making a donation.