The reality of the Free Speech Youth Advisory Board, they say, was rather different. And they say they were dismayed to realise that the supposedly grassroots project appeared to be an “astroturfed” front for Toby Young’s controversial pressure group, the Free Speech Union (FSU). “We have been used by Toby Young to legitimise this project,” said Harry Walker, president of the Bristol Free Speech Society, who emphasised that he spoke in a personal capacity. “Jan and Inaya dictated the ideological dogma of the group,” one of the students who left the group said. They claim that those who disagreed with the FSU’s worldview were portrayed as not committed to free speech.

Source: The Guardian January 09, 2021 06:56 UTC