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Jeff Kosseff: Why False Speech Deserves First Amendment Protections

The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

CHAPTER

The Origin and Misconceptions of 'You Can't Yell Fire in a Crowded Theater'

This chapter explores the origin and misconceptions surrounding the phrase 'you can't yell fire in a crowded theater.' It discusses the Supreme Court's use of a derivative of the phrase in a 1919 case involving a socialist distributing flyers and explains the context in which it was used. The speaker argues that this metaphor is often misunderstood and explores its implications in relation to free speech cases.

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