just a thought experiment with obvious allegory

Let's say you are a Doomsayer. (Shout out to Errant Doomsayer, probably my 2nd favorite tapper in MtG). Not everyone agrees with you that the world is about to end, so you decide you want to get the word out. You pick your street corner, and you hold up your sign - "The End Is Nigh".

Then let's say someone joins you on this corner. They have similar beliefs that the world will end quite soon. But their sign is different. Their sign says "The End Is Nigh Because of Jews and Blacks". They see you as an ally in their cause to bring awareness about the pending doom.

At this point, you have several options.

Option 1: Hey you know what, maybe they are right. You never thought about it that way before, but Jews and Blacks are definitely the reason the end of the world is coming. Better update your sign.

Option 2: Well, they have 1st amendment rights, they are free to say whatever they want. But you don't like them hijacking your corner to spread their message, you disagree strongly with their premise. If you let them stay, your message looks to outsiders to be the same thing as you are standing side by side on the street corner. You decide to move street corners. Now you are on a less busy intersection, but your message is no longer tainted. Except, everyone that drove by the old corner expecting you there only saw your sign, never the face behind the sign, so they assume that is you there standing on the same corner as always, just with a more extreme message. You try to correct them, but no one can hear you from your distant intersection.

Option 3: You decide it doesn't matter why they think the world is ending, its more important to you to have people on your side that to have shared values and underlying beliefs. You continue to stand side by side with your signs. When asked by passers-by if you think Jews and Blacks are the problem, you say "No I'm not a racist, though I know some racists support what I support."You would have to be very blind or very dumb to not see them standing right there next to you.

Hopefully I don't have to explain in detail how, to an outside observer, you appear the same in all three situations whether you want to or not. If it is important for your voice to be heard, it should be important for you to communicate clearly. Your original message has been corrupted, lost, or distorted. But you aren't blameless in this, there is always option 4.

Option 4: You ask the racist doomsayer to leave. You point them in the direction of the distant, less busy street corners to spread their message. They might leave, but they might not. You know from the other options that you must do everything in your power to ensure your message is true and clear for all to hear. So you have to physically remove them from your corner. It might get violent, they don't want to leave. You have a corner with great visibility and lots of people that support your message, corrupted or not. They have their own supporters that think they should stay on the corner. Some eggs get broken, some blood is spilled, but you drive them away. Now you are free to speak your message to the street corner and know that it's getting through unmolested to your audience, exactly what you've always wanted.

And what other option did you really have?