Is it democratic or fascist to try and silence and ostracise scientists for expressing their findings?

It's surprising to hear the french doing this... Louis Pasteur was subjected to a heavy smear campaign that almost ruined his career because he didn't believe in Phrenology, the 'science' of reading the bumps on people's heads to determine predisposition towards antisocial behaviors. As it was, Pasteur wasn't able to perform a lot of the work he wanted to do. Now here they are again, repeating history.