Democrats Defend Free Speech for Chinese Citizens but Support Censoring Fellow Americans.
A few recent polls show that the way Democrats feel about their fellow citizens’ free speech rights is horribly uncertain. The Left’s openness to heterodox ideas or challenges to their positions also appears very low. And making fun of them is beyond the pale. The Washington Post calling journalists Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss conservatives is a stunning example of their inability to handle any dissent from their orthodoxy. It is also apparent that the disclosures in the Twitter Files are not impacting how many Americans view social media censorship.
According to Rasmussen, 77% of likely U.S. voters believe it’s likely that social media companies like Facebook censor news and commentary because of political bias, including 52% who think it is very possible. Sixty-six percent of voters also approve of GOP plans to investigate social media censorship, including 43% who strongly support it. Those findings indicate a high degree of agreement on free speech principles, but the details do not bear that out.
Seventy-two percent of participants think censorship by social media companies is a serious problem, including 49% who say it’s a very serious one. Yet, 73% of voters also believe misinformation on social media is a serious problem, including 48% who say it’s a severe one.