Episode Details
Back to Episodes
Arrested For Memes & Jokes: Free Speech Campaigner Andrew Doyle’s UK Hate Speech Laws Warning
Description
British author, academic, and free speech advocate Andrew Doyle joins Duncan Garner in the studio while on tour with the Free Speech Union to deliver an urgent warning to New Zealand.
Looking at the United Kingdom as a cautionary tale, Andrew breaks down staggering stats from a recent Big Brother Watch report revealing 62,000 arrests for offensive speech between 2021 and 2025. That is roughly 30 people a day arrested for opinions, online posts, and even satirical jokes.
Duncan and Andrew dive into the chilling reality of non-crime hate incidents, police ideological training, and how police guidelines are shifting away from fundamental equality before the law. They examine real-world cases, including comedy writer Graham Linehan’s arrest at Heathrow Airport by armed officers over Twitter posts, and a former police officer fined for a satirical meme.
Andrew warns that expanding protected characteristics to include religious belief in New Zealand could severely compromise satire, parody, and free thought. Is New Zealand already setting up the framework to head down the exact same path?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices