Security forces in France are on the hunt for masked gunmen following a massacre at a French satirical magazine called Charlie Hebdo. At least twelve people were killed (including the weekly’s editor and several cartoonists who were gathered for a staff meeting) by gunmen yelling “Allahu Akbar.” The magazine is known for its extremely irreverent cartoons and has been the victim of threats and attacks in the past. Charlie Hebdo might not be everyone’s idea of the perfect example of the importance of freedom of speech. And that’s exactly why it is.

+ Following a 2011 bombing of its offices, Charlie Hebdo’s cover drawing featured a Muslim man kissing a cartoonist with the caption “Love: Stronger than hate.” From Amy Davidson in The New Yorker: “The cartoon was a properly irreverent combination — an affirmation of the most universal truth, a commitment to the magazine’s own very particular identity. To be brave, one needn’t ever be saccharine. The magazine and its artists, editors, and staff believed in all of that and lived those values, in a way that few of us are ever asked to.”

+ Bloomberg: Paris killers got wrong address before ‘decapitating’ magazine.

+ The Guardian is tracking the latest Charlie Hebdo attack news.