A new poll shows that a majority of leftist college students oppose censorship in theory – but also support censorship in practice when it boosts their “politically correct” progressive ideology.

First, the platitudes. Ninety-seven percent of leftist students claimed free speech was important and 74 percent claimed that preserving free speech is more important than assuring no-one gets offended, according to the poll, which was commissioned by Young America’s Foundation (YAF).

But next the reality: Fifty-four percent of student leftists believe that the Confederate flag should be banned.

Among all students surveyed, 77 percent favored their schools flying the gay pride flag, but only 41 percent say schools could fly the Confederate flag.

Four out of five students, or 82 percent, say that “diversity of opinion, including hearing an alternative political or cultural perspective, enhances undergraduate education.” But if the students are asked whether diverse conservative opinions are useful in education, supports drops down to 74 percent.

The poll found 64% of students agree that progressives’ PC ideology makes open discussion about issues difficult, and 60 percent agree that their college curricula omit certain issues out of fear of progressives’ backlash and stigma.

Ron Robinson, president of Young America’s Foundation, commented, “Professors and administrators at universities across the country actively work to shut down conservative speech. It’s no wonder liberal students are confused as to how the concept of free speech is actually applied.”

In September, leftist icon President Barack Obama hypocritically stated:

I’ve heard of some college campuses where they don’t want to have a guest speaker who is too conservative. Or they don’t want to read a book if it has language that is offensive to African-Americans, or somehow sends a demeaning signal towards women. I’ve got to tell you, I don’t agree with that either. I don’t agree that you, when you become students at colleges, have to be coddled and protected from different points of views.

Obama has protested he does not want to control thinking among the populace, yet in 2013, the FCC, which showed its loyalty to Obama with regard to his desire to regulate the Internet in 2015, launched a study requiring news agencies to inform the government on what stories they cover, a step toward reinstituting a “fairness doctrine” that could stifle conservative media.