As a very staunch advocate for free speech, I understand where you are coming from, but I have some major issues with this kind of position.
For one, while the scale of information is at a new level than in the pre-internet era, I don't think the fundamental lessons from the Renaissance or the Enlightenment change because of that. This "I hate it but it's justified because of dire circumstances" position is not new, and has, as we learned from the above, been the primary tool of abuse by totalitarians and tyrants. Forgetting those lessons and falling for the same trap again is naive at best.
Second, any discussion on this topic inevitably brings out everyone shitting on the most obvious surface issues as brought to the mass conciousness by the mass media, but almost never do I see discussion about nation states, corporations, military, and other non-individual actors and their actions in this realm, which means to me either people are ignorant of this, or they are purposfully omitting them. Sockpuppetry and other fine tuned military psyop techniques are at play and if they get ignored what will happen if the pro-censorship people get their way is they will silence individual voices but end up doing almost nothing to stop the more sophisticated and much more dangerous things going on. I'll know I've shown up for a good conversation when it isn't me who is bringing up Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays, operation mockingbird, the church commitee, sockpuppetry, OCA (online covert action), media conglomerate ownership, etc.
Third, I think the claims that "this is a fight for democracy" are misguided, and likely to be abused in the search for justification of the censorship push. To me it's just another "we have to stop the terrorists!", a lie which I experienced the real consequences of in the form of war, one the country has never recovered from in the realm of freedoms and rights. Lies we now know were about control and not about protection.
I'm telling you now, so please listen, on this topic, this is a patriot act moment (decade). Please, please don't fall for it, and have the courage to allow people not just to speak their minds, but as RMS talks about, read what they wilt, as it's just as much about the freedom to read as the freedom to speak.
As for the particular topic dejour, if you want some credible reporting that slightly bucks the mainstream narrative, I suggest Whitney Webb[1][2] as a good journalist doing this work. I've been consistently impressed at not just her scoops and insights, but her willingness to say "I'm not going to speculate, lets stick to the facts." when being interviewed.
1. https://unlimitedhangout.com/author/whitney-webb/
2. https://twitter.com/_whitneywebb