Ken White

First Amendment lawyer and former federal prosecutor; writes The Popehat Report and explains what the law actually says when people shout about free speech.

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What they believe

Whether calling for the genocide of a group breaches a university's harassment policy genuinely depends on context.

If you think the question “is calling for the genocide of a group against your policy” is an easy question with a one-word answer, you’re wrong.

popehat.substack.comSaid 7 Dec 2023This on korrents
Refusing to advertise on a platform is protected expression, not an attack on the platform owner's free speech.

Elon Musk’s sullen yawp amounts to a claim that he has a right for companies to sponsor his speech, no matter what he says. That’s nonsense, both legally and philosophically.

popehat.substack.comSaid 20 Nov 2023This on korrents

The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.

All 9 beliefs, on korrents

Feed

As its own page →

Everything, newest first — across every channel.

Sources

7 December 2023

Ken WhiteKorrents 7 Dec 2023

From one piece Stop Demanding Dumb Answers To Hard Questions 2 beliefs · popehat.substack.com

korrents.com
Demanding simple answers to hard questions is itself a political harm, not just an intellectual one.

America

Their words

The stubborn thirst for simple answers to hard questions is bad for America.

Stop Demanding Dumb Answers To Hard Questionspopehat.substack.com
korrents.com
Whether calling for the genocide of a group breaches a university's harassment policy genuinely depends on context.

Their words

If you think the question “is calling for the genocide of a group against your policy” is an easy question with a one-word answer, you’re wrong.

Stop Demanding Dumb Answers To Hard Questionspopehat.substack.com

20 November 2023

Ken WhiteKorrents 20 Nov 2023

From one piece My Free Speech Means You Have To Shut Up 3 beliefs · popehat.substack.com

korrents.com
The cancel-culture argument now mostly shields the powerful from criticism rather than protecting the powerless from being silenced.

Their words

In my view, too many critics of “cancel culture” are recklessly promoting not the speech of the powerless, but the censorious resentment of the powerful.

My Free Speech Means You Have To Shut Uppopehat.substack.com
korrents.com
Treating criticism as censorship is a widespread confusion, and it is wrong: the critic has speech rights of their own.

Americacensorship

Their words

“Your criticism violates my right to free speech” is a fatuous but common American sentiment.

My Free Speech Means You Have To Shut Uppopehat.substack.com
korrents.com
Refusing to advertise on a platform is protected expression, not an attack on the platform owner's free speech.

censorship

Their words

Elon Musk’s sullen yawp amounts to a claim that he has a right for companies to sponsor his speech, no matter what he says. That’s nonsense, both legally and philosophically.

My Free Speech Means You Have To Shut Uppopehat.substack.com

2 August 2023

Ken WhiteKorrents 2 Aug 2023

From one piece People Are Lying To You About The Trump Indictment 2 beliefs · popehat.substack.com

korrents.com
The way to tell legal analysis from partisan lying is to distrust absolute certainty and to trust conceded ambiguity.

politics

Their words

Be skeptical of absolute certainty not backed up with proof. Be skeptical of pronouncements that there’s only one way a court will ever possibly interpret something.

popehat.substack.com
korrents.com
Anyone who tells you a contested legal question has one obvious answer is lying to you rather than analysing it.

Their words

Here’s the point: there are legal and factual defenses to this indictment, but anyone telling you that it obviously, inarguably violates the law is lying to you.

popehat.substack.com

27 June 2023

Ken WhiteKorrents 27 Jun 2023

From one piece Supreme Court Clarifies "True Threats" First Amendment Exception 2 beliefs · popehat.substack.com

korrents.com
A threat loses First Amendment protection only if the speaker was at least reckless about it being taken as a threat.

government

Their words

Now, finally, the Court has resolved the question: the First Amendment requires that, at a minimum, the government prove that a speaker was reckless about whether their statement would be interpreted as threatening.

popehat.substack.com
korrents.com
There is no single reasonable person in America, which makes the objective test for a true threat very hard to administer.

America

Their words

As I’ve argued before, the so-called “objective standard” can be very difficult to administer in this big diverse messy country where we often don’t share a common sense of reality and there is no uniform “reasonable person.”

popehat.substack.com

17 June 2022

Ken WhiteRecommends 17 Jun 2022

Recommendsrcmnd.app
Very Serious

Their words

Josh Barro's newsletter and podcast.

popehat.substack.com

The whole feed →

Beliefs

Korrents What they believe 9 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
- Whether calling for the genocide of a group breaches a university's harassment policy genuinely depends on context.
  
  If you think the question “is calling for the genocide of a group against your policy” is an easy question with a one-word answer, you’re wrong.
  
  Stop Demanding Dumb Answers To Hard Questions Said 7 Dec 2023
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
- Demanding simple answers to hard questions is itself a political harm, not just an intellectual one.
  
  The stubborn thirst for simple answers to hard questions is bad for America.
  
  Stop Demanding Dumb Answers To Hard Questions Said 7 Dec 2023
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
  
  America
- Refusing to advertise on a platform is protected expression, not an attack on the platform owner's free speech.
  
  Elon Musk’s sullen yawp amounts to a claim that he has a right for companies to sponsor his speech, no matter what he says. That’s nonsense, both legally and philosophically.
  
  My Free Speech Means You Have To Shut Up Said 20 Nov 2023
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
  
  censorship
Show 6 more

Treating criticism as censorship is a widespread confusion, and it is wrong: the critic has speech rights of their own.

“Your criticism violates my right to free speech” is a fatuous but common American sentiment.

My Free Speech Means You Have To Shut Up Said 20 Nov 2023

Full record — everyone who holds this →

America censorship

The cancel-culture argument now mostly shields the powerful from criticism rather than protecting the powerless from being silenced.

In my view, too many critics of “cancel culture” are recklessly promoting not the speech of the powerless, but the censorious resentment of the powerful.

My Free Speech Means You Have To Shut Up Said 20 Nov 2023

Full record — everyone who holds this →

Anyone who tells you a contested legal question has one obvious answer is lying to you rather than analysing it.

Here’s the point: there are legal and factual defenses to this indictment, but anyone telling you that it obviously, inarguably violates the law is lying to you.

People Are Lying To You About The Trump Indictment Said 2 Aug 2023

Full record — everyone who holds this →

The way to tell legal analysis from partisan lying is to distrust absolute certainty and to trust conceded ambiguity.

Be skeptical of absolute certainty not backed up with proof. Be skeptical of pronouncements that there’s only one way a court will ever possibly interpret something.

People Are Lying To You About The Trump Indictment Said 2 Aug 2023

Full record — everyone who holds this →

politics

There is no single reasonable person in America, which makes the objective test for a true threat very hard to administer.

As I’ve argued before, the so-called “objective standard” can be very difficult to administer in this big diverse messy country where we often don’t share a common sense of reality and there is no uniform “reasonable person.”

Supreme Court Clarifies "True Threats" First Amendment Exception Said 27 Jun 2023

Full record — everyone who holds this →

America

A threat loses First Amendment protection only if the speaker was at least reckless about it being taken as a threat.

Now, finally, the Court has resolved the question: the First Amendment requires that, at a minimum, the government prove that a speaker was reckless about whether their statement would be interpreted as threatening.

Supreme Court Clarifies "True Threats" First Amendment Exception Said 27 Jun 2023

Full record — everyone who holds this →

government
All 9 beliefs →

What is a korrent?

A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.

Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.

Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.

Recommends rcmnd

rcmnd What they recommend 1 thing — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
- Recommends Very Serious 17 Jun 2022
  
  Josh Barro's newsletter and podcast.
  
  popehat.substack.com 17 Jun 2022
  
  What others say about Very Serious →
All 1 recommendation →

Where they publish

Newsletter The Popehat Report His newsletter on free speech and the courts. Has a feed.

Open popehat.substack.com

Link verified 20 Sept 2026.

About the English under a post

Some people here publish in a language other than English. Where they do, this site shows a machine translation beneath the post, in this typeface — the site's own, not theirs.

The post itself is never changed, moved or hidden: what is set in the serif above is exactly what the person published, and it is what to quote them on. A translation can be wrong in ways that matter, especially about tone.

Only the post's own words are translated. A quoted post, a linked article and a belief on korrents.com are left in their original language.