One of the weirder tendencies of our liberal political-media class is a certain schizophrenia as to the strength of their many enemies, opposing forces and general bugbears. The forces of extremism, populism, authoritarianism – or anything else the BBC might dislike on a given day – are in the bien-pensant mind always simultaneously weak, pathetic, fit only for scorn and derision, and terrifying, dangerous and close to total victory. Thus, as German media have it, the AfD is ever on the cusp of ushering in a fourth Reich – while also being a bunch of laughable cranks and buffoons. Likewise, ever since the start of the Ukraine war we’ve been assured repeatedly that Putin’s army is under-resourced, decrepit and on the verge of collapse – by the same people who in the next breath will insist the Russian tyrant is inches from conquering all of Europe. The US corporate media mock Donald Trump as venal and petty, with small hands and funny hair – while also insisting that he’s literally Hitler. Supposedly, climate sceptics are little more than a lunatic fringe… which is why it’s necessary to vigorously suppress them across all media so their outlandish views can’t sway the masses. You get the picture.

I was put in mind of this chattering-class doublethink when I got round this week to watching Adolescence, a new four-part Netflix drama about a teenage boy who kills his female classmate after being ‘radicalised online’ by the ‘Manosphere’. Hitting all the right notes about social media, misogyny and dangerous young boys, Adolescence has already met with glowing praise from the great and the good, with its writers now being invited to Parliament to lobby for even more censorship of social media. There’s something quite ghoulish about a show so transparently designed to flatter political class prejudices – its production company is part-funded by the British Government – being treated as if it reflects a social reality and isn’t touting a political agenda. The PM has even referred to it as a “documentary” and said it should be shown in schools.