Stephen Bates (Journalism and Media Studies) wrote an article for the Atlantic series on the U.S. Constitution, "The Man Who Wanted to Save the First Amendment by Inverting It," which published this month. It analyzes the positive theory of the First Amendment, which holds that the government must expand freedom of speech, not merely refrain from abridging it. The positive theory underpins many proposals for state funding of journalism and regulation of social media.