Survey shows: Most Americans are concerned about the future of free speech

The second edition of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s National Speech Index, released today, finds that both liberals and conservatives are concerned about the future of freedom of speech in the country, regardless of which major party candidate wins the presidential election in November. 

The survey also finds that this is where the agreement ends. 

There are stark differences between liberals and conservatives on the state of freedom of speech in America today and on how often they think colleges and universities should take positions on political issues.

Most Americans are concerned about the future of free speech.

Similar to a recent AP-NORC poll of Americans which found that only 3 in 10 Americans think our democracy is functioning well, the second installment of the National Speech Index found that most Americans, roughly two-thirds of them, are concerned about the direction freedom of speech is heading in this country. Americans are also concerned about the future of their First Amendment rights regardless of which major candidate wins the 2024 presidential election. 

When asked about their confidence that Democratic President Joe Biden will protect their First Amendment rights, 45% said they have “very little” or “no” confidence. The results for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are virtually identical: 47% said they have little-to-no confidence.

Conservative Americans are particularly worried about the security of their First Amendment rights. 

All Americans are apprehensive about the security of their First Amendment rights, with only 1 in 4 saying that their rights are “very” or “completely” secure, and about half (48%) saying their rights are “somewhat” secure. 

However, very conservative and conservative Americans are more concerned than moderate, liberal, or very liberal Americans about the security of their rights. More than half of very conservative Americans (53%) think their First Amendment rights are “not at all” secure, while less than 1 in 5 very conservative Americans (16%) think their rights are “very” or “completely” secure. 

National Speech Index

Reports

The National Speech Index is a new quarterly component of America’s Political Pulse, an ongoing weekly survey conducted by the Polarization Research Lab, which will allow researchers to track shifting free speech sentiment in America over time.

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Conservative Americans feel similarly about the security of their First Amendment rights, although they are not as concerned as very conservative Americans. About 1 in 3 conservative Americans (35%) said their First Amendment rights are “not at all” secure, while 16% said their rights are “very” or “completely” secure. 

Very liberal and liberal Americans feel differently. More than 1 in 3 very liberal Americans (37%) and liberal Americans (34%) think that their First Amendment rights are “very” or “completely” secure. Only around 1 in 10 very liberal (14%) and liberal (12%) Americans said that their rights are “not at all” secure. 

Moderate Americans are more concerned than very liberal or liberal Americans about the security of their First Amendment rights, but are less concerned than very conservative or conservative Americans. Roughly 1 in 4 moderate Americans (27%) said that their First Amendment rights are “very” or “completely” secure, and about 1 in 5 moderate Americans said that their rights are “not at all” secure. 

Conservative Americans are also more likely to report that freedom of speech is heading in the wrong direction. 

Americans are also pessimistic about the direction freedom of speech is heading in the country. Only 37% of Americans said it is heading in the right direction. But, as with perceived security of First Amendment rights, very conservative and conservative Americans are the most pessimistic about the direction freedom of speech in America. 

Only roughly 1 in 5 very conservative Americans (19%) think that freedom of speech is heading in the right direction in America. The percentage of conservative Americans who feel this way (23%) is similar. In contrast, almost half of very liberal Americans (45%) and moderate Americans (43%) feel that freedom of speech is heading in the right direction in America. 

Liberal Americans are the most optimistic about where freedom of speech is heading in America, with more than half of them (55%) reporting that it is going in the right direction.

Very liberal Americans want colleges and universities to take political positions. 

When we asked Americans how often colleges and universities should take positions on political issues, more than a third of very liberal Americans said “often” or “always,” while only 12% said “never.” 

New FIRE poll: Americans equally skeptical Biden or Trump will protect First Amendment rights

News

Only 34% of Americans expressed high levels of confidence that either Biden or Trump will protect First Amendment rights in office.

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Conservative and very conservative Americans feel differently. Roughly 1 in 10 conservative Americans (9%) said that colleges and universities should frequently take political positions, and more than half of them (53%) said that colleges and universities should “never” do this. Very conservative Americans feel similarly: Only 13% of them said that colleges and universities should frequently take political positions, and more than 2 in 5 (43%) said that colleges and universities should “never” do this. 

Like conservative Americans, moderate and liberal Americans also tend to prefer that colleges not take political positions. Only about 1 in 10 (9%) said that colleges and universities should “often” or “always” take political positions. However, fewer moderate Americans (29%) than conservative Americans believe colleges and universities should “never” take political positions.

Liberal Americans are the most conflicted about whether or not colleges and universities should take political positions. Roughly 1 in 5 liberal Americans (17%) say that colleges and universities should frequently take political positions, while roughly the same amount (19%) say that colleges and universities should stay out of politics entirely.

What’s next?

FIRE is concerned about these findings, and we are doing everything in our power to bring about the circumstances that would make Americans feel confident in the future of freedom of speech. Conducting surveys like this is the first step, giving us a finger on the pulse of Americans’ attitudes, beliefs, and concerns. We look forward to reporting back next quarter with more survey results.

The National Speech Index is a quarterly component of America’s Political Pulse, which will allow researchers to track shifting free speech sentiment in America over time. All data and results presented are weighted to nationally representative demographic targets with a margin of error +/-3%. The next set of results will be released in August. The raw data file containing the survey results is available here.