The evidence is now as overwhelming as it is shocking: many Americans are turning sharply away from what was once the nations’ most basic principle, the sanctity of free speech.
Both the Obama and the Biden Administrations have attempted to federalize attempts to limit the First Amendment through the establishing of “Disinformation” agencies. It has become clear that both presidents defined “disinformation” as views and facts they disagree with.
The problem has been growing. In 2019, a report by the Campaign for Free Speech found that “Americans are increasingly hostile toward free speech, a free press, and the First Amendment. According to the survey, 61 percent of Americans agree that free speech should be restricted, and 51 percent believe that the First Amendment, ratified in 1791, should be rewritten to reflect the new cultural norms of today. Millennials feel a greater sense of negativity from free speech, with 57 percent agreeing that the First Amendment should be rewritten, and 54 percent believing that possible jail time would be an appropriate consequence for “hate speech.” Americans also support government being able to punish the media: 57% believe the government should be able to take action against newspapers or TV stations. Of those who support this, 46% support possible jail time. Additionally, 36% of Americans support a government agency reviewing alternative media such as podcasts; less than half of Americans oppose this.”
A recent report from Pew Research notes that “Support for both technology companies and the government taking steps to restrict false information online has grown in recent years. For example, the share of U.S. adults who say the federal government should restrict false information has risen from 39% in 2018 to 55% in 2023.
- Just over half of Americans (55%) support the U.S. government taking steps to restrict false information online, even if it limits people from freely publishing or accessing information.”
- ““The partisan gap in support for restricting false information has grown substantially since 2018.”
- “Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are much more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to support the U.S. government taking steps to restrict false information online (70% vs. 39%). There was virtually no difference between the parties in 2018, but the share of Democrats who support government intervention has grown from 40% in 2018 to 70% in 2023.”
- “A large majority of Democrats and Democratic leaners (81%) support technology companies taking such steps, while about half of Republicans (48%) say the same.”
- Support for government intervention has steadily risen since the first time we asked this question in 2018. In fact, the balance of opinion has tilted: Five years ago, Americans were more inclined to prioritize freedom of information over restricting false information (58% vs. 39%).”
A Daily Signal study notes that “Democrats value free speech far less than Republicans do…Free speech is seriously threatened for the first time in American history… The threat to free speech comes entirely from the Left… There is no example in history of the Left attaining power and allowing free speech. From the French Revolution to the Russian Revolution to the Maoist takeover of China to almost any university in America today, wherever the Left comes to power, it suppresses speech…The Left must suppress speech in order to retain power. If it were to allow dissent, it would lose its hold on power…That is why conservative speakers are rarely allowed to speak on college campuses. Left-wing professors, deans, and administrators know—consciously or subconsciously—that an effective conservative speaker can undo years of left-wing indoctrination in just 90 minutes… All tyrannies label dissent ‘misinformation.’ That is what Vladimir Putin’s government labels all dissent in Russia today.”
Frank Vernuccio serves as editor in chief of the New York Analysis of Policy and Government
The report concludes tomorrow