Technology is tampering with freedom of speech; how our society and others deal with the downside of social media — racial incitement, disinformation, deception, and opinions that are offensive to a minority, whether the disabled or an ethnic group — is a work in progress. The instinct is to shut them down, shut them up. The tool — that old monster solution — is censorship.

How do you define hate speech? When is it a fair comment? When is it satire? When is the truth taken as hate? When you start down this slope, there is no end. Euphemisms take over from plain speech, and we live in a society where using the wrong word can suggest that you are not fit for public office or to teach. Areas around ethnicity and sexual orientation are particularly fraught.