Letter From the President
June 3, 2025
We’re Not Out Of The Woods Yet
Here at CW, we're not tired of winning on free speech in the U.S., but globally, the battle is entering dangerous territory.
American censorship leaders are regrouping, working hand-in-glove with European governments and NGOs to export their speech control agenda. On July 1, the EU will begin enforcing sweeping censorship mandates for social media companies, mandates that could pressure platforms to censor the legal speech of Americans.
Meanwhile, with populist movements gaining ground, the EU and nations like the UK, Germany, France, and Romania are cracking down. But the new U.S. administration isn’t yielding, and neither are we.
Just this month, State Department officials traveled to France and Ireland to push for free speech rights.
Around the same time, the administration announced it would deny visas to foreign nationals engaged in censorship against Americans, U.S. tech companies, and people posting from inside the U.S.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the administration is considering sanctions against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes for authoritarian censorship orders.
At the end of last year, I traveled to Brazil to support their fight against censorship and speak at one of the largest free speech events in history. You may remember I remain under formal criminal investigation there for publishing the legal and accurate Twitter Files Brazil and testified before both the House and Senate in Brazil and the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. CW researchers also documented the U.S. government’s role in promoting Brazil’s censorship policies.
U.S. victories are thrown into sharp relief by the West’s accelerating collapse on speech rights.
In just the last few months:
A French court barred front-runner Marine Le Pen from running in the next presidential election, while authorities push for mandatory digital ID for all social media users.
Romania’s top opposition candidate was removed from the ballot days after leading in the polls.
The UK is arresting 30 people per day for “speech crimes.”
The EU banned three journalists for publishing legal content.
German agencies falsely labeled the AfD party “extremist,” then quietly reversed the designation after public outcry.
As a CW supporter, you know we don’t defend free speech because we agree with every voice, but because true freedom means defending unpopular voices. It doesn’t matter whether you agree with the parties, candidates, or citizens involved—what matters is the principle. Democracy cannot survive without free expression.
The dire threat to global free speech should concern no one more than the American people, as stewards of the free speech gold standard set by the First Amendment. Should we stop here, history won’t mark this as a narrow escape, but as the moment we failed to act and allowed freedom’s final erosion.
That’s why CW is doubling down.
This June, CW will convene over 50 journalists, lawyers, academics, parliamentarians, philanthropists, and free speech advocates at the third-annual Westminster Free Speech Forum.
In September, we’ll launch a new fact-finding mission to Romania, France, and Germany.
CW remains committed to leading the charge in building a global free-speech movement. And we cannot do that without your help.
Gender
CW tirelessly exposed the disinformation behind “gender-affirming care.” In a highly anticipated report commissioned by President Trump through an early executive order, the Department of Health and Human Services concludes that the evidence supporting pediatric gender transition is “very low.”
Nevertheless, gender transition procedures for minors continue apace in about half of U.S. states. CW researchers are working to pressure policymakers and hospitals in blue states to help bring an end to the medical experimentation on minors once and for all.
Energy and Environment
We’re closer than ever to halting offshore wind projects off the East Coast! But there’s still critical work ahead.
Over 2 million acres of ocean have been leased for offshore wind, some just nine miles from shore, cutting directly across key whale migration routes and essential habitats. With this expansion, whale deaths have spiked, particularly in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia, the states most aggressively pushing offshore wind.
CW’s Save Right Whales Coalition (SRWC) has been at the forefront of exposing how this massive energy buildout threatens whale populations. Our investigations reveal a clearer picture: sonar surveys routinely exceed permitted noise limits; safety zones around construction are too small; and mitigation measures like human wildlife spotters are falling short. With fewer than 350 North Atlantic right whales left, every preventable death brings the species closer to extinction.
In early April, SRWC filed an amicus brief arguing that BOEM broke federal law to approve offshore wind development.
President Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order indefinitely paused new offshore wind leases, blocked federal agencies from issuing new permits or approvals, and mandated a full review of existing projects. SRWC will continue leading the charge for accountability, transparency, and real protection for these whales and other marine life.
Homelessness, Addiction and Crime
In December 2024, HUD reported an 18% rise in U.S. homelessness, the sharpest increase yet, up from 12% the year before. West Coast leaders like Governor Newsom took a premature victory lap regarding the report, but our analysis shows their policies are continuing to fuel the crisis, not fix it.
Rather than confront this, HUD blames immigration, racism, and housing costs, ignoring the role of addiction and untreated mental illness, which CW has long exposed as the real drivers.
Newsom still touts “Housing First,” even as an audit reveals L.A.’s $2.4 billion homelessness program, backed by state funding, is a taxpayer-funded grift with zero transparency. He recently blamed local governments for California’s record-high homelessness, yet as governor, he spent $37 billion to drive a 24% rise in homelessness and push violent crime 31% above the national average.
Thankfully, change is beginning to stir in California. San Francisco’s new mayor recently adopted a homelessness policy called “Recovery First,” which emphasizes treatment over harm reduction. CW allies say the policy still falls short, but the shift toward recovery marks a meaningful step in the right direction.
The timing couldn’t be more critical. Drug deaths have quintupled since 2000. CW’s investigations helped shift the national conversation—one the new administration is finally acting on.
President Trump’s crackdown on drug cartels is showing early results. It must be paired with action against open-air drug markets and expanded mandatory rehab.
Other CW Updates
Restoring the Pillar of Childhood
I had the opportunity in February to present at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Conference (ARC) in London, speaking on whether artificial intelligence can truly increase human civilization's flourishing.
The vulnerable pillar of childhood is being undermined as U.S. student performance continues its decade-long decline, with new challenges like AI only increasing the pressure. The administration's executive order to dismantle the Department of Education may give states more opportunities to pursue evidence-based instruction, such as the science of reading.
At CW, we are considering ways to expand our education research, building on our recent research on tech in education.
Civilization flourishes when new generations are empowered to learn. I've seen this in action firsthand as I wrapped up my first quarter teaching at the University of Austin (UATX)—a place that proves universities can once again be hubs of free thought, something I saw in a recent conversation with some of my students.
Western elites have eroded the pillars of civilization so sufficiently that we now require strong figures to lead us back. And with mounting pressures from Europe, we’re not out of the woods yet. All of us, including our leaders, must defend and uphold civil liberties and Enlightenment values as our most powerful tools in this fight. With your help, we can rebuild.
Michael
