A new poll for the Economist and YouGov reports two concerning statistics about conservative attitudes against the media.
First, that 48 percent of conservative respondents would allow courts to fine media outlets that publish stories “which are biased or inaccurate.” Only 16 percent would oppose doing so, and 37 percent are unsure.
For liberal respondents, 24 percent favor fines, 29 percent oppose them, and 46 percent are unsure.
The second statistic indicates that 37 percent of conservatives would allow courts to shut down biased media outlets, while 23 percent would oppose doing so, and 39 percent are unsure.
For liberals, the results are inverted: 22 percent support shutting down media outlets, 40 percent oppose, and 38 percent are unsure.
Hence why I say concerning.
It’s clear that conservatives are increasingly deferring to authoritarianism.
Still, the results have little to do with education. After all, 37 percent of those earning more than $100,000 anually favored fining media outlets, but only 32 percent of those earning less than $50,000 agreed. Similarly, 32 percent of those earning more than $100,000 favored closing media outlets, with 27 percent of those earning less than $50,000 agreeing.
Of course, this broad conservative anger against the media is in some ways unsurprising. Every day President Trump rails against the “fake news,” he encourages his supporters to believe he is a victim of conspiracy. And with much of the media already held in contempt by conservatives, sometimes for justifiable reasons, Trump’s words carry weight.
Nevertheless, it’s important that conservatives push back against anti-free speech movements. As the following email indicates, many speech-abolitionists are childish, stupid, and hypocritical.
Note: You should always take someone seriously when they intermittently write words in capitals.
There’s also a subjective idiocy to the anti-speech movement. Supporters of a media crackdown clearly believe it should focus only on outlets they disagree with.
There’s an immense shortsightedness to this belief. What happens when the next president enters office? If he or she is a Democrat, then surely he or she would be entitled to a crackdown on conservative news believed to be “based or inaccurate.”
Second, restraining media freedom of speech would offend our society. As I’ve explained, our tolerance for robust and controversial debates of ideas makes us great. In turn, without the media to report (and criticize) transparent government is non-existent. We know this, because we know the costs of media restrictions aren’t simply felt in Beijing, Moscow, and Istanbul, they are also felt in London and Berlin.
Global reality, then, is what conservatives neglect when they support attacking the press. But they are also hypocrites. I would bet that the vast majority of those who support media restrictions are gun owners who value the Second Amendment, and Trump supporters who value the president. But as they lament media bias, they also seem happy with Trump’s occasional lies.
Ultimately, society rests on the enduring principle that maximal speech is the best speech. By ignoring this, conservatives would drive power away from individuals and into the shadows. The powerful would benefit from their shield against scrutiny, and the quality of freedom would diminish.
