She is a famous literary figure, a writer guaranteed to be remembered by history, and an outspoken feminist and anti-racist. What could she have to be afraid of?

Twitter users, apparently. In a BBC lecture this week, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie spoke at length on social media backlash against public figures for expressing their controversial views, stating that it is making young people "afraid to ask questions for fear of asking the wrong questions".

Adichie has become a fierce critic of "cancel cultureA movement to withdraw support from public figures or celebrities who have done things that aren't socially accepted today. The idea of cancelling someone stems from a 1981 song by the disco band Chic, Your Love Is Cancelled." and other restrictions of freedom of speech in recent years. For her, the desire to avoid attracting criticism online will lead to "the death of curiosity, the death of learning and the death of creativity", as people feel less able to converse and learn from each other.

Twitter is at the centre of the debate, as the main platform where abuse is described as "out of hand". But Elon MuskA South African-born entrepreneur whose companies have included the online payment service PayPal. He now controls Twitter, renamed 'X'., its new owner, defines freedom of speech differently.

Since becoming owner of the social media site around a month ago, Musk has promised to give users more freedom online - even when it comes to expressing conspiracy theories, discrimination and abuse.

A few days ago, Twitter announced that it has stopped taking action against tweets which spread misinformation about Covid-19The official scientific name for the type of coronavirus that swept the world from March 2020..

So for some, freedom of speech should mean the freedom to express views freely, however potentially offensive. For others, it means having the freedom to bully anonymously.

And others point out that cancel culture is nothing new. In the 5th Century, Ancient Greek citizens used to "vote out" wrongdoers - often rich, elite Athenians - into exile for ten years at a time for crimes like dishonesty, political radicalism or plain unpopularity.

Yes: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is right. If people do not feel able to express their views, they will never learn to think differently. We need freedom of speech, above all else, to create constructive dialogues.

No: There is no evidence that cancel culture even exists. But if public figures can speak out against marginalised people without criticism, there will definitely be more prejudice in society.

Or... There are plenty of reasons not to believe in cancel culture. But nobody should be justifying harmful and toxic online abuse, even against people who express discriminatory views.