In a recent podcast, Jon Stewart showed that he is still an independent thinker that values free speech. The former host of the Daily Show sided with podcast star Joe Rogan, who is facing a massive censorship campaign. Stewart told media outlets and musicians calling for Rogan’s de-platforming that “This overreaction is a mistake.”

While Jon Stewart may be on the left, he is an old-school liberal that still holds dear to his heart the values of freedom of speech and the right to expression. When asked what he would say to musicians who are considering leaving Spotify to protest Rogan’s “Dangerous misinformation,” Stewart said: 

Don’t leave. Don’t abandon. Don’t Censor. Engage.

Jon Stewart, in simple terms, is describing the Counterspeech Doctrine of the First Amendment. This doctrine argues that when dealing with hateful speech or “misinformation,” the best approach is not to censor it but to counter it with better speech. 

The foundation of the Counterspeech doctrine is the understanding that when open debate is allowed, truth always rises to the surface. To use Stewart’s words, when there is speech you disagree with, don’t censor it; engage with it. 

Steward continued along that point, saying, 

I’m not saying it’s always going to work out fruitfully, but I’m always of the mindset that engagement, and especially with someone like a Joe Rogan, who is not, in my mind an ideologue in any way.