Restricting Freedom of Speech: An Analysis of Censorship Cases in Relation to Misinformation during the COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract

With the global predominance of social media, many argue that there is a newfound need for censorship to prevent the spread of misinformation. However, political censorship restricts one of our most fundamental rights. Through the analysis of four Supreme Court cases regarding the right to free speech — Schenck v. US (1919), New York Times Co. v. US (1971), Missouri v. Biden (2022), and Moody v. NetChoice, LLC (2022) — this paper serves to analyze whether censorship is ever necessary to uphold trust in institutions, or if censorship is antithetical to trust in government, with a special focus on the spread of COVID-related misinformation.