When free speech is treated as the highest good, it gives rise to shock-jock politics.
Recent days have seen a disturbing influx of vitriolic, anti-Semitic messages directed at me on the X app. Phrases like, “Shut up, Jew,” and “Jews lie, steal, and murder – it’s their religious duty,” have become commonplace in my inbox. These hateful statements followed my column critiquing Tucker Carlson’s uncritical interview with Darryl Cooper, a fringe historian who, under the pseudonym “Martyr Made,” claims that Winston Churchill was “the chief villain of the Second World War.”
The interview with Cooper and the subsequent fallout are a glaring symptom of a deeper intellectual sickness that is currently infecting the American right, particularly its younger, more online-obsessed factions. This sickness thrives on the notion of unrestrained free speech, which, when left unchecked, gives rise to toxic ideologies. It fosters a culture where offensive, harmful rhetoric is given a platform under the guise of free expression, allowing bigotry and hate to flourish unchecked.
While many on the right may be quick to blame external forces for the rise of this phenomenon, the roots of this ideological rot are, in fact, internal. The embrace of shock-jock politics and the obsession with free speech as the highest virtue are central to the spread of hate and misinformation on the far-right. By prioritizing the unfettered expression of any and all ideas—no matter how dangerous or misleading—the American right has inadvertently cultivated an environment where extremism can thrive.
This is not simply about bad ideas being given airtime; it is about a structural failure within right-wing spaces that allows these ideas to gain legitimacy. When figures like Carlson amplify the voices of cranks and conspiracy theorists, it empowers those who peddle dangerous and divisive narratives. The result is an ideological ecosystem in which extremism is normalized and even valorized under the banner of “free speech.”
The political and intellectual climate on the American right has become dangerously permissive of harmful, fringe ideas. And yet, many conservatives are reluctant to address the issue head-on, preferring instead to point fingers at the left or the media for supposedly stifling speech. However, the true danger lies in the unchecked promotion of rhetoric that undermines the foundations of civil discourse and fosters division, hatred, and violence.
It is crucial for conservatives, and the broader political right, to confront this problem directly. A healthy political ecosystem must be one that fosters critical thought, intellectual rigor, and a commitment to truth—not one that allows shock-jock politics and unfiltered hate to dominate the conversation. This is the intellectual sickness that is plaguing the American right, and unless it is addressed, it will continue to fester and grow.
In the end, the question is not just about the freedom to speak; it is about the responsibility that comes with it. When free speech is treated as an unmitigated good, without regard for its potential harms, the result is a toxic environment where hate thrives, and the intellectual integrity of a political movement is compromised. This is the true crisis facing the American right today.
