Politics
Democratic megafirm SKDK drops Israel as client
Top Democratic public affairs firm SKDK has cut short its contract with the Israeli government, for which it promoted Israel’s perspective on the conflict in Gaza.
The firm’s work initially included media efforts to raise the profile of the tragedy of the Bibas family, three members of which were killed while in captivity in Gaza. SKDK then changed its focus to pitching guests for news shows to hear Israel’s side of the war in Gaza. The $600,000 contract with the Israeli government — first reported by PI in March — was supposed to run from April of this year through March.
SKDK has worked for several pro-Israel efforts over the years, but this was the first time it represented the Israeli government itself. It collaborated with Havas, a European advertising and PR firm, on behalf of Lapam, the Israeli government advertising agency, with the ultimate client being the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“SKDK stopped this work on Aug. 31 and has begun the process of de-registering,” a spokesperson for SKDK said in a statement. The spokesperson declined to comment on why it was ending its work, saying only that the work “had run its course.”
SKDK’s announcement came one day after the investigative news outlet Sludge reported that one aspect of its work was setting up a bot program “to amplify pro-Israel narratives on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other platforms.” The story linked to a Foreign Agents Registration Act filing that showed that Stagwell, the parent company of SKDK, agreed to perform such work.
But SKDK and Stagwell both said they did not work on a bot initiative. “Our work focused solely on media relations and nothing else,” the SKDK spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Washington didn’t respond to a request for comment. Havas and Lapam also didn’t respond.
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Politics
Cruz says First Amendment ‘absolutely protects hate speech’ in wake of Charlie Kirk killing
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) defended constitutional protections for hate speech in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of conservative organizer Charlie Kirk.
In an interview with Blue Light News’s Rachael Bade, Cruz said people who engage in hate speech are not “immune from the consequences of your speech,” expressing support for companies that have taken disciplinary action against employees for speaking negatively of Kirk.
“The First Amendment absolutely protects speech,” Cruz said Tuesday at Blue Light News’s AI & Tech Summit in Washington. “It absolutely protects hate speech. It protects vile speech. It protects horrible speech. What does that mean? It means you cannot be prosecuted for speech, even if it is evil and bigoted and wrong.”
At the same time, Cruz endorsed “naming and shaming” as “part of a functioning and vibrant democracy,” citing English philosopher John Stuart Mill’s famous axiom that free and plentiful expression is the best antidote to undesirable speech.
“We have seen, as you noted, across the country, people on the left — not everybody, but far too many people — celebrating Charlie Kirk’s murder,” Cruz said. “We’ve seen teachers in high schools and elementary schools posting online, celebrating. We’ve seen university professors posting. In my view, they should absolutely face the consequences for celebrating murder.”
The senator lauded Kirk, who he described as a friend, for being willing to engage in civil debate.
Numerous individuals have been targeted online for making disparaging posts about Kirk, leading to firings in higher education, media and other industries. The Pentagon has also vowed to discipline service members who “celebrate or mock” Kirk’s killing.
Cruz also defended Attorney General Pamela Bondi, who said law enforcement would “absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.” Cruz said those comments had been “misconstrued.”
In a Tuesday morning statement posted to social media, Bondi clarified that “hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment.”
Cruz said while he was glad to see social media companies attempt to block the video of Kirk’s killing but added that the companies should “allow free speech,” echoing earlier comments by Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr who told Blue Light News’s Alex Burns that the government should not crack down on social media posts about Kirk.
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