The Good Fight The Good Fight Club: Who’s a Hypocrite About Free Speech?
Oct 7, 2025
In a lively discussion, Jacob Mchangama, an advocate for free expression, Renée DiResta, a misinformation specialist, and Jonathan Rauch, a governance expert, tackle the complexities of free speech today. They address the impact of hypocrisy on discourse and emphasize the importance of institutions in safeguarding rights. The panel dissects the pressures of the Biden and Trump administrations on social media platforms and debates the nuances of cancel culture. They also analyze the implications of Section 230 and the EU Digital Services Act on online moderation.
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Speech Needs Facts And Diversity
- Free speech requires facts and viewpoint diversity to generate reliable new knowledge.
- Jonathan Rauch argues speech alone is insufficient for a functioning 'constitution of knowledge.'
Hypocrisy Is Historical And Predictable
- Hypocrisy about free speech is long-standing and expected in humans.
- Jacob Mchangama invokes 'Milton's curse' to show historical limits in defenders' consistency.
Institutions Compensate For Personal Bias
- People naturally defend speech of those they like less vigorously than speech they detest.
- Jonathan Rauch says institutions provide guardrails to correct individual inconsistencies.
