When Twitter said it would no longer accept political ads on its platform this month, two voices loudly complained. Donald Trump's campaign manager said it was “yet another attempt by the left to silence Trump and conservatives”. Kremlin-funded RT said Twitter had "caved in" to "election-meddling fearmongers".

It was a telling duo of critics – but not a surprising one. Casting the issue of political disinformation as one of an assault on free speech is a common error. A figure no less than Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has conflated the issue of political lying with free expression. Yet the threat posed to democracy by an organised war on facts is clear to most critically minded journalists.

Mark Zuckerberg has conflated the issue of political lying with free expression. Credit:Bloomberg

The invocation of the language of liberalism to damage our precious democracies is not new. But four years after Trump began his run for office, the use of “freedom” as a wrecking ball for democracy is approaching critical mass.

Julian Assange claimed free speech as he pumped out Seth Rich conspiracy theory. The Chinese Communist Party routinely invokes “law and order” as they steamroll their own citizens’ rights in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and abroad. Order? Yes. Rule by law? Not so much. The Russian state invoked “freedom of speech” in arguing for its Syrian embassy’s Twitter account to be unblocked.