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So this story from the @dailycal may turn out to be crucial context for a coming "free speech on campus" brouhaha. dailycal.org/2017/09/14/ful…
If you write or tweet about "PC on campus," you need to read this piece, because there's a good chance it's going to blow up in two weeks.
Here's what's up: Milo has released a list of two dozen speakers for his Berkeley "Free Speech Week," scheduled to start in nine days.
The list itself is interesting. There are a bunch of obvious names—out-and-proud bigots and troglodytes like Bannon, Coulter, and Cernovich.
But alongside them are some folks who have up until now tried to present themselves as more scholarly or more temperate.
Not sure what Charles Murray gains by hitching his wagon to Milo's star at this point, but there you go.
But the list itself isn't the important part of the story. Here's the important part: 
We're nine days away from a huge four-day conference, and "no venue contracts have been signed."
No security arrangements are in place. No rental payments have been made. Only three speakers have been confirmed directly with UCB admins.
Remember: Last night a single speaker—a speaker less controversial than most of the names on this list—shut down half the campus.
Oh, and look at this! Late last night UCB announced that one of the speakers on the list never agreed to appear!
(Thanks to @ifthedevilisix for that catch.)
To summarize: Planning for this supposed "Free Speech Week" doesn't seem to be in line with the claims that are being made about it. At all.
So, what does this all mean? Well, there's a few possibilities. First, remember that Milo has pulled a Berkeley bait-and-switch before.
He claimed he was planning an appearance at Berkeley in May—put up posters and everything—then "cancelled" at the last minute.
So one possibility is that Milo is just pulling a PR prank, and that he'll "cancel" the event at a press conference next week.
As likely, though, to my mind, is the chance that the hoax is a more sinister one—that the plan is to blame UCB for the "cancellation."
As with the Milo okeydoke in May, there's precedent for that kind of hoax too. At Berkeley. This year. With one of Milo's planned speakers.
Remember back in April, when Ann Coulter announced that Berkeley had disinvited her? cnn.com/2017/04/26/us/…
Well, it turns out that her "hosts," the Berkeley College Republicans, never bothered to book her a room. 
(A third possibility is that Milo is planning an off-campus event, or an unsanctioned one, but I think that's the least likely.)
It's now September 15. Journalists, you're on notice: If you report in nine days that Berkeley banned Milo you're a meat puppet for a bigot.
Sometime, probably soon, the media is going to stop letting mooks like Milo play them. Let's make it this time.
Oh, and let's all note who broke this: The @dailycal. You want to know the truth about a campus story? Start with the student newspaper.
More later. Lemon out.
Okay, so I'm poking around, trying to find out which of these supposed speakers have confirmed their participation. Here's what I've got:
First, none of the press coverage I've seen about the speaker list includes quotes from ANY of the supposed participants, other than Milo.
Wintrich and Cernovich have tweeted they'll be there. Wintrich RT'ed Cassandra Fairbanks saying Erik Prince won't be.
Okay, now my face is red. Remember how I said I thought it was weird Charles Murray would do this? Well...
Coulter hasn't tweeted about it. Neither have Heather Mac Donald, Monica Crowley, Jordan Peterson, James Damore, Michael Malice.
Chadwick Moore says he's in, though. So Milo's got that going for him.
Nothing from Raheem Kassam or Katie Hopkins. Pamela Geller says she's going, as does David Horowitz.
In summary, then: One big "speaker" says he was listed without his knowledge and against his wishes. At least one other said to be a no.
The most famous and most mainstream of the names on the list haven't confirmed their participation, at least on Twitter.
Total number of confirmed "attendees" so far, other than Milo? Five. And they're all from the weirdo creepo side of the list.
More: Here's Milo on Facebook two days ago saying Berkeley is trying to use logistical concerns to shut him down. facebook.com/myiannopoulos/…
Website for the "event" lists Charles Murray, who emphatically denies having anything to do with it, as "confirmed." freespeechweek.com
Check out the full list of official sponsors of the "Free Speech Week," by the way. 
Another confirmed "attendee": No-hoper congressional candidate Stelian Onufrei.
More: Berkeley says Bannon has confirmed, but that they don't have verification on most of the rest. politico.com/story/2017/09/…
In the above article Milo refused to comment on UCB's claims that he and his student hosts have been dragging their feet on logistics.
Coulter, two days ago: "I'm dubious that this … is going to come off." (Via @tweet_scene, starts at 7:45.)
In that clip, Coulter confirms that she told Milo she'd speak, but says she thinks the event probably isn't happening.
A couple more tidbits. First, the student group sponsoring this is a campus conservative newspaper that appears to barely exist.
Their website hasn't been updated since 2014, they seem to be gearing up for their first issue, and they're said to have 5-10 members.
That's not unusual for right-wing campus speakers whose primary purpose is to provoke reaction, it turns out.
The speakers have their own money, so no need for student funding. They do the legwork themselves. All they need is someone to invite them.
So while some reports have blamed students for dropping the ball on logistics, that's silly. This was never gonna be a student-run event.
The other thing is that Milo claims to have a campus venue squared away for himself, Coulter and Bannon. (Berkeley says that's not true.)
But Bannon and Coulter are "scheduled" for the last night of four, and Milo's silent on logistics for the other three nights. So who knows?
Again, Shapiro was one speaker, one room, one night. Milo is claiming his event is all day for four days, two dozen speakers total.
Could it happen? In some form, maybe, I suppose. But if you're reporting that it's going to happen, you're misreporting the story.
Here we go. Michael Malice isn't speaking at Milo's Berkeley event.
Heather Mac Donald, like Charles Murray, says Milo added her to the speaker's list without even talking to her.
That's three, probably four, "confirmed" speakers who have no intention of speaking. Two who say they had no contact with organizers.
I've reached out to @MonicaCrowley, @JamesADamore, and @jordanbpeterson as well. Will update if and when I hear back.
Mac Donald and Murray were, to me, the most surprising speakers on Milo's list. Turns out he just flat-out lied about their participation.
And really, wouldn't it make more sense to lie about who's speaking at an event if you don't actually intend to hold the event at all?
Just checking in: Monica, James, Jordan, are you planning on speaking at Berkeley with Milo Yiannopolous the week after next?
Milo says you're going to be there, but Berkeley says they haven't heard from you, is why I ask.
Another one bites the dust: Jordan Peterson has been removed from the list of "confirmed speakers" on the Free Speech Week website.
Big developments this evening. New thread here:
