People that speak out in favour of virtue and signalling thereof get praise and admiration, other people that speak their opinion, which may be unconventional,

People that speak out in favour of virtue and signalling thereof get praise and admiration, other people that speak their opinion, which may be unconventional, get fired from their jobs or lose scholarships to universities. How did it come to this? Seems like this situation is a grotesque twisting of freedom of expression, something that the internet was supposed to endorse, not condemn.