When this narrative is unsubstantiated on verifiable facts or woven with unfounded opinions rather than research and observation, then it can misinform
This is true. However, it should always still be allowed. Simply countered with evidence.
The thing is today people seem to think they can call something "misinformation" and send it to a blackhole of censored simply by uttering that label... "misinformation".
No evidence required. No chance for people to see the original content and decide for themselves. Nope. Just trust the other humans who get to tell us what the "misinformation" is.
As to research. In this era of the search engine you can find research to support almost any narrative. It can often be quite circular in references as well.
It is especially the case if you use search engines which have begun censoring information themselves.
EDIT:
I also think "Misinformation" is being used too much as a propaganda tool these days.
I'd prefer they simply say "wrong" or "incorrect" and tell us why, while still allowing us to see the original content.
Would it be misinformation possibly that when you search for a topic you are only given a chance to know about results that the algorithm programmer and maintainer thinks you should be able to see?
I agree, information should just be allowed for people to make up their minds. However, we all have our own filters, we choose what to believe and that belief shapes our worldview. Whether there's an agenda behind that worldview or not, it's impossible to say. After all, freedom of information scares the hell out of most people, not only those in power.
Thanks for the reflection, it's quite relevant and profoundly connected to opacity and emotional intelligence, among other things.
A damn good thing too. If we all believed the same thing and it turned out that things was false we would ALL fail.
Fortunately each of us is a walking experiment. Some will succeed, others will fail, but hopefully we collectively can learn from the successes and failures.
It's too bad they so often try to hide failures. That makes it really hard to learn from them.