I am writing in response to a letter from Mr. Max Wisotsky published in last week’s paper (“Obama’s Quest to Reshape the World,” November 30, 2023). Rather than attempting to rebut the half-baked conspiracy theories advanced by Mr. Wisotsky, I would instead like to focus on the role that the media and other institutions and forums should play vis-a-vis highly erratic missives of this kind.

In the United States, speech is generally protected from government regulation by the First Amendment to the Constitution. In addition, our country has a “free speech” ethos that is often adopted by universities, newspapers and other institutions in the public square. These entities, though not prohibited from regulating free speech by the Constitution, often voluntarily restrain themselves from such regulation in deference to the American tradition of freedom of speech. This tradition traces its roots to a “marketplace of ideas” theory; namely, that in a free and open exchange of ideas those ideas that are true and correct will survive and thrive while those ideas that are not will be relegated to the dustbin of history.

This uniquely American reverence for free speech is one of our greatest strengths and it has contributed greatly to the success and civic health of this country. It does, however, have an Achilles’ heel. The last few years, and particularly the days since Oct. 7, have shown that the marketplace of ideas theory is often vulnerable to the spread of fake or fraudulent news, conspiracy theories and virulent hate speech.

As a Jewish community, we rightfully condemn our universities for offering rabid Jew-haters a platform on their campuses under the guise of neutrality and freedom of speech. We blame the news media for elevating the voices of those who reject the validity of the Jewish state and its right to defend itself. Mr. Wisotsky’s letter, while certainly a far cry from these despicable voices, is of their ilk in that it contains far more fiction than fact and is driven by a barely hidden agenda of hostility and bias.

Accordingly, I urge this fine newspaper to recognize that not every harebrained conspiracy theory deserves an audience and to decline to publish letters of this nature in the future. What we demand of others, we must, by right, demand of ourselves.

Steven Starr

Hillside