Farmers Fight Data Purge

A mere ten days after President Trump took office in January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began purging climate-focused information from its web pages. Representing organic farmers and environmental activists, the Knight Institute and Earthjustice filed a lawsuit to restore the pages. Host Cristian Farias speaks with the Institute’s Stephanie Krent, an attorney on the case, and Wes Gillingham, organic farmer and board president of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, the lawsuit’s lead plaintiff. They discuss how the data purge has already harmed farmers, how they’re fighting this form of “thought control,” and what this has to do with the First Amendment. "The Bully's Pulpit: Trump v. The First Amendment" is brought to you by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. Please subscribe and leave a review. We’d love to know what you think. To learn more about the Knight Institute, visit our website, knightcolumbia.org, and follow us on social media.