The survey also found low levels of support for several types of constitutionally protected speech. Only 37% said Americans definitely or probably should have the right to use profanity when speaking with elected officials, and only 55% said Americans should have a right to mock candidates for public office in parody videos. The latter question was inspired by a California law, which was recently blocked in court, banning political “deepfakes”.

These results track with prior polls’ findings that, while Americans strongly support free speech in the abstract, they’re sceptical about the specifics, particularly when it comes to controversial speech. For example, Kamala Harris’s running mate Tim Walz said in a vice-presidential debate at the start of this month that the First Amendment does not protect hate speech or disinformation — a statement US legal precedent does not support.

The idea that speech can constitute violence has flourished at universities in the past decade, and has been received positively in some corners of the media. Since 7 October last year, this has played out in the form of pushback against anti-Israel protesters in the name of combatting antisemitism. For instance, in March, Texas Governor Greg Abbot ordered universities to “update free speech policies to address the sharp rise in antisemitic speech”.

Meanwhile, the survey did find several areas where free-speech beliefs remained strong. An overwhelming majority, 87%, said one should be allowed to speak freely during a public comment session, and 73% said one should be allowed to criticise a public official during a council meeting. “Equating words with violence trivialises actual physical harm, shuts down conversations, and even encourages real violence by justifying the use of force against offensive speech,” FIRE President Greg Lukianoff said in a statement accompanying the new report. “Free speech isn’t violence, it’s the best alternative to violence ever invented.”

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is UnHerd’s US correspondent.

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