[Libs-Or] Multnomah County Library's Intellectual Freedom Newsletter –January 2025

[Jennifer Keyser]

Dear Oregon Library Community,

The January edition of Multnomah County Library's Intellectual Freedom
Newsletter is now available (PDF version attached). The newsletter is heavy
with articles on disinformation, a reflection of changes at the federal
level and in connection to natural disasters. You will also find articles
on censorship, copyright and privacy.  AI Spotlight looks at digital
literacy in relation to AI as well as touches on privacy and
copyright issues.
Thanks for reading and all your work in supporting intellectual freedom!

-Multnomah County Library's Intellectual Freedom Committee


Rights, Responsibilities & Reactions
Intellectual Freedom Newsletter – January 2025

------------------------------
 BookRiot offers some tips on talking about censorship: How To Explain Book
Bans to Those Who Want to Understand
<https://bookriot.com/ways-to-explain-book-bans/> (BookRiot, 18 min).
Related, a review of pro-censorship and anti-library bills
<https://wellsourced.substack.com/p/the-pro-censorship-anti-library-bills>
(Well
Sourced, 20 min). (censorship, legislation)

The Hill reports on how the new Department of Education dismissed complaints
<https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5105641-education-department-biden-book-bans/amp/>
about book bans (1 min). See the responses against the shift from ALA
<https://www.ala.org/news/2025/01/book-bans-are-real>, NCAC
<https://ncac.org/news/statement-from-the-national-coalition-against-censorships-ncac-kids-right-to-read-project-krrp-on-the-u-s-department-of-educations-dismissal-of-book-bans-as-a-hoax>,
GLAAD
<https://glaad.org/federal-agency-former-champion-for-intellectual-freedom-parrots-book-ban-misinformation/>,
and the Author’s Guild
<https://authorsguild.org/news/ag-responds-to-department-of-education-dismissal-of-book-ban-cases/>,
which note the harm, affront to civil rights, the baseless claims rooted in
disinformation, and the set back against fighting censorship. (censorship)

Willamette Week reports on an organization
<https://www.wweek.com/news/2025/01/05/unrest-in-portland-motivated-christian-leader-to-build-parental-rights-movement/>
based in Tigard that is focused on parental rights, following the lead of
Moms for Liberty (3 min). (first amendment, censorship)

Meta announced a shift away from fact-checking of posts
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/07/technology/meta-fact-checking-facebook.html>
by outside partners towards relying on users to provide notes (NY Times, 10
min). The decision has greater implications, see Meta’s fact-checking
partners were ‘Blindsided’
<https://www.wired.com/story/metas-fact-checking-partners-blindsided/>
(WIRED, 8 min), The danger of Meta’s big fact-checking changes
<https://www.vox.com/politics/393863/meta-mark-zuckerberg-fact-checking-trump>
(Vox, 9 min), Meta’s changes will lead to clash with EU and UK
<https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/08/metas-changes-to-social-media-policing-will-lead-to-clash-with-eu-and-uk-say-experts>
(The Guardian, 6 min) and Meta goes MAGA
<https://popular.info/p/meta-goes-maga> (Popular Information, 8 min). (
disinformation)

Politico investigates how the disinformation field is in disarray
<https://www.politico.eu/article/nobody-tricked-vote-donald-trump-disinformation-panic-over/>
and how rhetoric underpins the current political climate (12 min). Here is
a short thought piece on addressing disinformation claims
<https://jhzimm1.substack.com/p/you-cant-push-a-string> with positive
counterclaims, including an infographic (Substack, 4 min). For a deeper
dive, a recent study in Science
<https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl2829> examines the appeal
of disinformation (for key points, see this press release from Northwestern
<https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2024/11/misinformation-exploits-outrage-to-spread-online-new-northwestern-study-suggests/?fj=1>
(4 min)). (disinformation)

More disinformation news: As natural disasters unfold, disinformation is
being spread as a way to explain what is happening. Mother Jones dives into
the phenomena
<https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/01/los-angeles-fires-conspiracies/>
(7 min). To dispel the onslaught of disinformation, the state of
California launched
a website to fight misinformation about California’s fires
<https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/gov-gavin-newsom-launches-website-to-fight-misinformation-about-californias-fires>
(10 News, 4 min). GovTech looks at other steps states are taking
<https://www.govtech.com/products/states-work-to-fight-disinformation-during-emergencies>
and the limitations in combating disinformation (7 min).  Related,
Disinformation
over deportations is spreading
<https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/video/disinformation-over-deportations-is-spreading-ice-continuing-to-make-arrests/>
(CBS Minnesota, 3min). (disinformation)

The New York Times’ Book Review delves into the concept of plagiarism as a
plot in fiction
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/02/books/review/plagiarism-plot.html>,
which brings forth the fine line between influence and appropriation (11
min). (copyright)

The Library of Congress provides a brief explainer of copyright in relation
to public domain
<https://blogs.loc.gov/copyright/2025/01/lifecycle-of-copyright-1929-works-in-the-public-domain/>
and showcases new entries (12 min). Internet Archive celebrated items
entering the public domain
<https://blog.archive.org/2025/01/23/virtual-public-domain-day-celebrates-1929-creative-works-1924-sound-recordings/>
in 2025, including  The Skeleton Dance
<https://blog.archive.org/2025/01/13/public-domain-spotlight-the-skeleton-dance/>
(1 min) and Popeye
<https://blog.archive.org/2025/01/16/public-domain-spotlight-popeye/> (7
min). A look beyond the public domain: A Few of Jessamyn West's Favorite
Things <https://www.libraryfutures.net/post/public-domain-2025> highlights
works that are without copyright restriction (Library Futures, 3 min). (
copyright)

The US Supreme Court upheld a law banning TikTok
<https://www.statesman.com/story/news/state/2025/01/22/tiktok-ban-banned-trump-who-bought-2025-meta-elon-musk-ceo-reversal-executive-order-delay/77852924007/>,
although an executive order delayed the ban (Austin-American Statesman, 7
min). The Verge reports
<https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/24/24346165/tiktok-supreme-court-first-amendment-tech-regulation>
(8 min) on the free speech and privacy implications of the ban, and
Georgetown University's Free Speech Project has a comprehensive collection
<https://freespeechproject.georgetown.edu/tiktok/> of articles and opinions
on the topic. (first amendment, privacy)

NPR’s 1A podcast looks at the movement to restrict minors' social media use
<https://www.npr.org/2026/01/01/1263204086/zz-1a-socials> (11 min).
Marketplace examines on an executive order on online free speech could
upend content moderation
<https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-tech/how-trumps-executive-order-on-online-free-speech-could-upend-content-moderation/>
(10 min). (first amendment, access)

The Electronic Frontier Foundation offers some social media privacy tips
<https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/mad-meta-dont-let-them-collect-and-monetize-your-personal-data>
(9 min). (privacy)

UK library releases Holocaust archive online
<https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/01/uk-library-releases-massive-holocaust-archive-online/>
; explore the digital archive
<https://wienerholocaustlibrary.org/2025/01/27/wiener-digital-collections-thousands-of-documents-of-nazi-horrors-digitised-for-unprecedented-online-access/>
(Vanguard News, 2 min). The Guardian reports on the return of banned books
to shelves
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/27/we-were-raided-regularly-with-assad-gone-banned-books-return-to-syrias-shelves>
after the end of a dictatorship in Syria (5 min). The New York Times
provides an interactive quiz
<https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/01/13/books/review/controversial-books-quiz.html>
that examines controversies with books that are considered classics (5
min). (access, censorship)

AI Spotlight

The Washington Post reports on how AI is getting in the way of consumers'
access
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2025/01/13/online-shopping-product-roundups/>
to accurate information and offer tips on finding relevant info (6
min). (information
literacy)



Futurism’s The Byte reports on more copyright issues with OpenAI
<https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-copyrighted-material-parliament> (3
min). (copyright)

The Conversation calls out risks with the promises of AI Agents
<https://theconversation.com/ai-agents-promise-to-arrange-your-finances-do-your-taxes-book-your-holidays-and-put-us-all-at-risk-247021?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Global%20AI%20%20January%2024%202025%20-%203236633045&utm_content=Global%20AI%20%20January%2024%202025%20-%203236633045+CID_18b5fafcefddd6511e91ad2a1e369012&utm_source=campaign_monitor_global&utm_term=AI%20agents%20promise%20to%20arrange%20your%20finances%20do%20your%20taxes%20book%20your%20holidays%20%20and%20put%20us%20all%20at%20risk>
to improve your life (Conversation, 7 min). New research on the impact of AI
<https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/1/6> in the workplace indicates it
impacts critical thinking (Societies, 67 min). (privacy, information
literacy)

------------------------------

Additional Resources

ALA Intellectual Freedom Blog: https://www.oif.ala.org A blog dedicated to
intellectual freedom issues, and includes the Intellectual Freedom News
<https://www.oif.ala.org/category/intellectual-freedom-news/> –a weekly
roundup of IF related articles

Oregon Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Toolkit
<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/iftoolkit/home> (published February 8,
2022). A range of tools and resources relating to IF challenges and
policies created by the OLA Intellectual Freedom Committee.

Rights, Responsibilities & Reactions is a monthly roundup of Intellectual
Freedom News compiled by the Multnomah County Library Intellectual Freedom
Committee. We welcome suggestions at lib.ifc at multco.us.


*Jennifer Keyser *(she/her)
*Policy Coordinator Librarian*
Monday - Friday
971-429-4699
Multnomah County Library
multcolib.org

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