19 September 2025
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09/18/police-tell-cancer-patient-apologise-social-media-post/
How did we get to this point where our police are policing Facebook posts?
How We Got Here
It did not happen overnight. The policing of online posts is the result of long shifts in our politics, our economies, and technologies.
First came the rise of mass communication. From the printing press to television, each new medium expanded the reach of public opinion. With social media, the effect became exponential: billions of voices, instant reach, and no filter. Governments suddenly faced the problem of unrest moving at the speed of a click.
Second came the erosion of trust in institutions. Post-war prosperity gave way to oil shocks, de-industrialisation, and stagnanting wages (measured in purchasing power). Scandals - from Watergate to the banking crisis - chipped away at confidence. Citizens no longer trusted governments to be honest; governments no longer trusted citizens to be loyal.
Third came globalisation. Borders opened, industries relocated out, migration surged. Elites prospered while working families lost their well paid jobs in manufacturing, more and more struggled. People saw governments more responsive to "donors" and supranational bodies, than to voters. The gap between rulers and ruled widened.
Finally, came the security reflex. Since 9/11, states have framed speech itself as a threat: extremism, radicalisation, disinformation. Laws designed for safety crept into everyday life. What began as counter-terrorism has morphed into the policing of online words.
The answer, then, is clear. We got here because governments lost legitimacy and chose control instead of trust. Citizens, in turn, lost faith and took their protests to the streets - and now, even their posts are seen as dangerous.
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The Fourth Turning Context
History teaches that every few generations, societies face a crisis point. Old institutions lose legitimacy, citizens lose patience, and the social contract frays. Strauss and Howe called this the Fourth Turning: a period when the future cannot be built on the institutions of the past.
That is where we are today. The guarantees of republicanism, democracy, and checks and balances have thinned to shadows. Governments that once claimed to defend freedom now police speech. Citizens who once trusted in gradual reform now turn to the streets.
The danger is obvious: when rulers cling to control and people lose faith, societies tip toward rupture. Reform becomes unlikely, leaving only two doors open: revolution or war.
The choice, then, is stark. Either rebuild legitimacy by restoring trust, or face the consequences of its collapse. That is the lesson of history - and the meaning of our present Fourth Turning.
