Limits to protest, speech and views on Holocaust Denial, in the United States

January 28, 2025

In the United States free speech is considered to be constitutionally protected by the first amendment. Americans acknowledge that are lines not to be crossed and that, in effect, free speech is not absolute. There are ongoing debates about where the lines should be drawn when it comes to racist views and/or the speech, public protests and Holocaust denial. A November 22-24 2024 survey of Americans was conducted by the firm Leger USA for the Metropolis Institute that identifies those lines as it reveals that Americans believe that free speech should be protected even when it involves the expression of overtly racist views but nonetheless support limits to free speech when it comes to hate speech targeting specific groups and do not consider holocaust denial as free speech. A plurality of Americans (48%) do not believe that Holocaust denial should qualify as free speech. When it comes to public protests, most Americans (48%) do not believe that protesters should be allowed to wear masks to hide their faces and the majority (67%) do not think that vandalism of public / commercial property is acceptable even if aims to send a political message. There are however important generational differences when it comes to public protesting. While Americans over the age of 30 don’t agree that people should be allowed to wear masks to hide their faces when protesting in public, half the respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 support mask wearing for protesters. Younger Americans are also more likely to feel that there are circumstances under which vandalizing public / commercial property to send a political message is acceptable. When it comes to free speech and Holocaust denial there are important differences between men and women with men more likely to agree that Holocaust denial should qualify as free speech and that even overtly racist views merit protection. The survey was conducted by Leger USA for the Metropolis Institute with 1009 respondents over the period November 22-24, 2024 and has a probabilistic margin of error of ±3.9%, 19 times out of 20