Many Americans share the misperception that America is divided on freedom of speech issues. People on different sides disagree about what constitutes hate speech, what types of speech should be protected, and whether suppression of speech can be productive.
However, some recent surveys have found that many Republicans and Democrats share significant overlaps when it comes to speech.
Check out these surveys conducted in the past few years:
- There is significant multi-partisan support for free speech advocacy according to a 2025 YouGov survey:
- 88% of Americans (89% of Democrats & 88% of Republicans) believe that an inherent aspect of free speech is the necessity of engaging with differing viewpoints.
- A vast majority of Americans (over 80%), regardless of political affiliation, believe that while free speech entails engaging with disagreements, it should never escalate to calls for violence.
- About 78% of Americans believe freedom of speech does not equate to freedom from consequences. This includes 76% of Republicans and 86% of Democrats.
- 81% of Americans agree that we should discourage or condemn acts of speech that incite violence against others.
- 70% of Americans believe that “It isn’t always a bad thing when people avoid publicly expressing views that may offend others”.
- 59% of Americans believe freedom of speech as more more limited during their lifetime.
- Pew Research found in a 2024 poll that 73% of Americans believe freedom of speech is extremely important, while a 2024 poll from NORC found that 63% of Americans believe freedom of speech is very important, while 90% believe it is at least “somewhat important”.
- Pew also found in the same poll that a slim majority of Americans agree that the prevention of publishing false information must be limited, even if this demands restrictions on the freedom of press.
- According to a 2023 Pew Research poll on social media speech:
- 65% of Americans believe tech companies should take steps to reduce misinformation on their social media platforms while 55% believe it should be the federal government’s job to regulate.
- 71% of Americans believe tech companies should censor or remove violent content from their platforms, while 60% believe the federal government should be taking action as well.
- Notre Dame News reported a 2023 poll that suggested Americans agree on censoring hate speech:
- Over 60% of respondents favored removing posts targeting Black individuals, and more than 58% advocated for the removal of posts targeting Jewish people.
Jackson Lanzer is a high school senior and a young professional member of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. He has contributed to contestedpolitics.com and is now writing depolarizing articles. His writing has been referenced in USA Today, and he has won several regional Scholastic Writing Awards. Jackson has a Center bias.
This piece was edited by AllSides.com Managing Editor Henry A. Brechter (Center bias), and was reviewed by James Coan (Center) of Braver Angels.
