The Cost of Free Speech

Sacha Craddock in conversation with David Birkin, Bernard G Mills and Vassiliki Tzanakou

The concept of free speech is a basic requirement for society. The premise of course is the truth, however complicated that concept might be academically, but in political and social terms there is even more ambiguity.  With the current rise of fake news, divisive propaganda and media bias, the freedom of speech allows also a freedom to lie. In Europe there are constraints on what can or cannot be said; In the US under the First Amendment, that freedom is enshrined in the constitution.

With the right to speak there is also the responsibility to listen. This discussion asks the question: What are the consequences of free speech?