An intriguing new article by Profs. James L. Gibson (Wash. U.) and Joseph L. Sutherland (Emory). The key chart below includes 2023 data collected before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel (the 2023 data is credited to Peter Enns and Verasight):
2020 data breakdown by ideology shows a noticeable lack of freedom among the three most moderate segments. The excerpt from the introduction to the article reveals a large segment of Americans engage in self-censorship while expressing their views. The survey conducted in 2020 asked a question about self-censorship to analyze how the responses have evolved over time. The article seeks to explore hypotheses about the correlates of self-censorship at both the aggregate and individual levels. The analysis presented in the article does not claim to definitively establish causation, but aims to be a valuable first step in understanding self-censorship and its impact in society.