I do wonder how much the censoring of such voices fuels their zealotry.

Personally, as a lifelong liberal who distrusts authority and who writes satirical fiction, I think a fair amount of the Culture War is being instigated by those who believe that "dangerous" speech must not be allowed to spread.

Speaking from my own personality, when I am told by any sort of authority that there is a topic I am NOT allowed to speak about, that only draws my curiosity toward it.

Last, I think the lab leak hypothesis story is very illustrative of why censors should err waaaay on the side of caution and not take down people like Kennedy.

The potential harms of allowing him speak are nowhere near as dangerous as the harms of censorship, especially when we live in such uncertain times. We need MORE open conversations, not less.