Issue 2 – Monday 31 July
Homophobic articles: free speech or hate speech?
Owen Polley
The PARTY courtroom looks to be full of contention and high drama today and tomorrow as a gay rights group brings The Oracle to court for the article it published a number of weeks ago.
The article in question caused a furore when it was published, with the author expressing some views that were deemed by many to be highly homophobic. The publishing of the article was even blamed for a spate of hate crimes that occurred on the weekend that followed.
Should the newspaper be prosecuted for publishing an article that seemed highly discriminatory and even possibly caused people to be attacked? Or should we not value free speech as a basic human right and allow people to express their opinions, even if we don't agree with them? The case will explore the issue of the media and free speech in a really fun and exciting way. So why not come and see what happens, or even better, take part in the case itself!
The case will take place today from 16:00-18:00 and will be repeated tomorrow at the same time, in the PARTY court in the democracy centre. If you would like to act as the jury, or if you would like to act as the defence or the prosecution, then make sure you sign up for tomorrow's session. Court adjourned!