The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) conducts the National Speech Index quarterly in conjunction with the Dartmouth Polarization Research Lab.
The most recent findings show an uptick in confidence in the future of free speech and belief in Donald Trump's commitment to the First Amendment, at least among conservatives.
Sean Stevens, chief research advisor at FIRE, thinks the election results had a lot to do with that.
"We did not necessarily ask about that, but I think it is pretty clear," he tells AFN.
Liberal or very liberal Americans had the opposite reaction. Before the election, they were far more confident that their rights were secure and that free speech was on the right track.
"Now, that is essentially reversed," notes Stevens. "For the people that identify as moderate, they have not really wavered that much. They have stayed more or less the same in the five runs of this poll that we have done so far."
Americans are still mostly pessimistic about the state of free expression in America, with only 41% saying the country is headed in the right direction. Still, those numbers represent an all-time high since FIRE began asking the question last year and a 10-point jump from the 31% who said the country was headed in the right direction in July.
39% of respondents say they have "quite a lot" or "full" confidence that Trump will protect rights under the First Amendment. 41% have "very little" or "no confidence" in him at all.
That is still a seven-point increase from when FIRE asked the same question in October, when 32% said they had "quite a lot" or "full confidence" in Trump's commitment to the First Amendment.
