system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Who, or what, is Citizens United, and why have they all of a sudden been in the news so much lately?

I've been seeing a lot of posts on Reddit pop up, and in the morning news programs on the drive into work about Citizens United, though nobody has ever really stopped and talked about why they exist, what they stand for, and why they're causing such controversy.
gpt
Citizens United refers to a court decision *Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission*.

Citizens United was making a movie that was critical of Hillary Clinton and wanted to advertise it before the 2008 democratic national convention. Before the ruling, it would have been illegal to do so within 80 days of an election and within 30 days of a primary.

The Supreme Court ruled that preventing a group of people (Citizens United) from expressing their opinions during an 80 day window or 30 day window was a violation of free speech.

The decision *does not* have anything to do with whether or not money is speech or corporations are people.

I know this isn't ELI5 friendly.