Belief bias and censorship of religious extremism on digital media in 15 EU states: exploring individual and country-level moderators, a cross-country multilevel analysis

The debate over freedom of expression is critical because of the long-term social and political consequences of potentially harmful expressions, such as religiously or politically offensive speeches that invite violent deeds and seek justification. This research note attempted to theorize that individuals’ belief bias is associated with their support for the censorship of religious extremist views. It also explores the conditional roles of educational attainment on an individual level and the quality of democracy on the country level. Relying on cross-sectional survey data from 15 EU states, the cross-country multilevel analysis found a significant positive relationship between belief bias and support for censorship of religious extremist views on digital media–the Internet and social media. The association between belief bias and support for censorship of religious extremist views was greater among people with a low level of education and in healthier democracies. © 2023 Taylor & Francis.