Why free speech & censorship are the most important issue today

Recently, there has been a surge in calls for censorship by various politicians throughout the world, particularly the West. There are few to zero attempts by State's to refute much of this so-called misinformation, but instead calls for its removal. Effectively, this is an admission that they expect to lose if dialogue is permitted. Following are just a handful of many more examples of calls for censorship:

• August 24: Telegram head  Pavel Durov was arrested in France, who has not pursued other social sites who have same issues they claim Telegram has.
• August 31: Brazil orders X banned.
• September 6: NATO announces "Cognitive Warfare Concept" to fight "misinformation".
• September 12: Australia issues "misinformation" bill to give itself more censorship power.
• September 14: US, UK, and Canada demand worldwide censorship of RT news.
• September 15: European Commission tells WEF misinformation is "number one concern" and pushes "Digital Services Act".
• September 17: Meta bans RT and Sputnik news.
• September 17: California attempts to ban parody.
• September 20: Ukraine bans Telegram.
• September 21: TikTok bans RT and Sputnik.
• September 22: UN calls for digital censorship.
• September 23: Abortion lobby organization ACOG calls for censorship of the medically-accurate term "maternal-fetal separation".
• September 24: Democrat senators call on social media to censor on their behalf.
• September 27: John Kerry calls the first amendment a "major block" to the State's ambitions.
• October 2: Adam Schiff demands social media censor on the State's behalf.
• October 5: Hillary Clinton laments free speech on social media or "we lose total control". In September, she also called for arrest of citizens who contradict state narratives.
• October 9: Kamala Harris promises to sick law enforcement on social sites that do not censor as she demands.
• October 17: UK man convicted for thought crime for praying near an abortion business.
• October 22: UK Labour party plots to eliminate the social site X.
• EDIT to ADD November 8: EU ambassador and German vice chancellor calls for control of X and Tiktok.

This fever pitch for censorship comes after other relatively recent attacks on the First Amendment in the U.S. For example, 

• March 18: Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson expressed dismay about "the First Amendment hamstringing the government.”
• April 17: NPR's CEO Katherine Maher said, "The number one challenge that we see is the First Amendment in the United States."
• July 2: The New York Times flatly said: "The First Amendment is Out of Control"

The reason free speech is such a foundational issue, is because it gives rise to the truth on every other issue. The behavior of the world's oligarchs confirms this. They know if conversation is permitted, that any dishonest ambition they pursue is finished. Their propaganda can only survive if unchallenged. That's why they censor. Leading up to World War II, the notorious 20th century propagandist Joseph Goebbels said, "National Socialist propaganda is the most important aspect of our political activity."

So, for example, to advance the pro-life cause, free speech is an essential vehicle to a pro-life culture. All the facts about biology or moral philosophy are on the pro-life side. Yet nearly all mass "media" obstruct that message at every turn. Even the AP has guidelines to censor accurate pro-life terminology. 

Whether pro-life, pro-self defense, anti-war, etc. no sound argument will hold sway if it is suffocated by censorship. When voting, citizens should give great weight to the candidate's expected regard for free speech.