Silenced by the PC police: Majority of Americans think discussion has been destroyed by political correctness and 58 per cent are too afraid to share their political views, especially Republicans (19 Pics)

The findings were published in the Cato Institute's 2017 Free Speech and Tolerance Survey

71 per cent said political correctness has silenced important discussions society needs to have 

58 per cent said they have political views they are afraid to share 

 The Cato Institute recently published the 2017 Free Speech and Tolerance Survey. It found that liberals are more likely than conservatives to speak out about their beliefs (above) 

The survey also shows that liberals are more likely than conservatives to think certain types of speech is offensive

Most Americans were in agreement that the government has no place preventing hate speech, but most also found hate speech morally unacceptable 

Clinton supporters found it harder to be friends with Trump supporters than vice versa, the survey shows 

Most Americans agree that colleges need to teach students different viewpoints, even if they are offensive

Another topic that has become an issue lately is college students getting in trouble for offensive Halloween costumes. Most of the people surveyed thought such issues should be solved without the involvement of college administrators 

Both Democratic and Republican students on college campuses believe that most of their professors are liberal. But the percentage of Democratic students with that idea is much lower 

Lately college campuses have been the scene of violent protests over planned talks from controversial figures like alt right leader Richard Spencer. Most Democrats polled said that they did not think such figures should be allowed to speak on campuses 

Most Democrats thought that administrators should talk to students who try and shut down campus speakers 

Most African Americans found the comment 'You are a credit to your race' to be a microagression 

More than half of Americans believe that MSNBC and Fox News have a political bias. The show they found most balanced was their local TV news station or CBS  

A whopping 63 per cent of Republicans believe journalists are an enemy of the American people. That's compared to just 11 per cent of Democrats 

Fifty-eight per cent of Democrats believe a business executive should be fired if they are racist towards African Americans, compared to just 37 per cent of Republicans 

Most Americans think that bakers who refuse to make wedding cakes for same-sex couples should be punished 

While most Americans thought that bakers should not be forced to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, a small majority thought that they should at least be required to serve LGBT couples in other circumstances not involved in weddings 

People on social media have already started to react to the survey. This man found it 'depressing' that Republicans distrust the media 

A conservative man on social media said Republicans shouldn't feel ashamed to speak their mind because 'we're the majority' 

The survey caused many a social media fight between Democrats and Republicans online