I tend to agree. We've witnessed firsthand the astounding amount of damage that lies can cause. Comforting lies about the severity of the Covid pandemic helped bring about 500,000+ American deaths. That is a mind-crushing number.
Lies about minorities lead to hate crimes. If those lies take over the people who control government, then the government starts implementing genocide.
However -
This is such a major paradigm shift for people to swallow. All of us had it beat into our heads when we were younger - "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." (Often attributed to Voltaire, but no, Voltaire didn't say it.)
What do we do when we grow up and we realize that what our fellow citizen is saying - about vaccines or Covid denialism or white nationalism - may literally get us killed? Or get our neighbor killed?
Do we defend to the death their right to kill us?
No. We cannot. Free speech cannot be a suicide pact. Under any philosophical system that makes any sense to follow, my right to life trumps my obligation to be silent and allow Neo-Nazis to call for re-implementing the Holocaust. It just does.
And that doesn't make me a tyrant. The tyrants are those who actually espouse tyrannical views such as genocide.
Caption this Meme 