FIRE rents electronic roadside billboard near Indiana University, asks 'What Are They Hiding?'

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has launched a billboard that is meant to criticize Indiana University (IU) in Bloomington as the group recently revealed the university’s placement in an annual free speech ranking. 

FIRE promoted its billboard on its X page, stating how they are “turning up the heat” in response to Indiana University ignoring them. 

Indiana University’s free speech failures aren’t a secret anymore. They’re plastered on billboards across IU’s home turf for all to see.

FIRE warned @IndianaUniv to fix its policies or face more public pressure and shocker—they ignored us. So we’re turning up the heat. pic.twitter.com/TDspc3zeFz

— FIRE (@TheFIREorg) November 15, 2025

As the billboard was announced, FIRE launched a page on its website called: “Snipers, censorship, and unaccountability: Indiana University’s free speech crisis.”  

Within the page, FIRE details its rationale for the need for the billboard to be established, including how a faculty at the university have voted as having no confidence in Indiana University’s leadership, and how a university student media employee was fired for refusing to enforce content restrictions. 

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FIRE added on the web page that the group “doesn’t launch campaigns like this to score points. We’re launching this campaign because IU, a taxpayer‑funded institution, has betrayed its public duty, believing it doesn’t need to answer to the Constitution or the consequences of ignoring the First Amendment.”

The billboard, which states: “Indiana University Covered Up The Truth. What Are They Hiding?” is only one part of FIRE’s attempt to get the school to “issue a public statement acknowledging its violations of students’ and faculty members’ free speech rights and to meet with FIRE’s experts to begin improving its ranking.”

In FIRE’s 2026 College Free Speech Rankings, Indiana University ranked at 255 of 257 academic institutions. FIRE states on its website that this ranking places Indiana as “the worst‑ranked public university in America, with bottom‑tier scores in openness, administrative support, and comfort expressing ideas.”

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A spokesperson for FIRE told Campus Reform that the group “hopes to raise awareness of IU’s egregious censorship of its students, faculty, and press.”

“Our campaign calls on Hoosiers of all stripes to send a message to IU: Censorship is unacceptable, and we demand reform. FIRE hopes to see the university come to the table, meeting with us to begin fixing the free speech crisis that currently befalls its campus,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that FIRE has become aware of multiple cases of censorship since the billboard went up. 

Campus Reform has contacted Indian University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.