Those who championed free speech in the UK and US now wage war on it. And here’s why: Palestine | Mehdi Hasan

What happened

According to The Guardian’s source item, Those who championed free speech in the UK and US now wage war on it. And here’s why: Palestine | Mehdi Hasan, It was once an article of faith that even those who speak words we disagree with deserve protection. As regards Palestine, that’s now not true Remember the Satanic Verses controversy? Remember “ Je suis Charlie ”? Remember the constant invocations of Voltaire and Orwell ? The great irony of our age is that many of the cadre of politicians who spent years anointing themselves as champions of free speech have become its most enthusiastic enemies when the subject turns to one issue: Palestine. For decades, western governments lectured the world about liberal values. They declared freedom of expression the hallmark of a liberal democratic society. Protest was deemed patriotic while the right to offend was considered sacred. Then came Gaza. Suddenly, the principles that we were once told were non-negotiable became highly negotiable indeed. Mehdi Hasan is the editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo T

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Global file for readers following international affairs, institutions, conflict, diplomacy, economics, and cross-border consequences. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-06-08T08:00:02+00:00.

What to watch

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Source

Primary source: Those who championed free speech in the UK and US now wage war on it. And here’s why: Palestine | Mehdi Hasan via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.