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{{Short description|Suppression of speech or other information}}
{{Otheruses3|Censor}}
{{Self-reference|For Misplaced Pages's policy concerning censorship, see ]}}{{Weasel|date=December 2021}}
{{Refimprove|date=July 2008}}
{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes}}
] of '']'' at the ] has a detachable plaster ] which is displayed nearby. Legend claims that the fig leaf was created in response to ]'s shock upon first viewing the statue's nudity and was hung on the figure prior to royal visits, using two strategically placed hooks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/sculpture/stories/david/index.html|title=David's Fig Leaf|publisher=]|access-date=29 May 2007|archive-date=3 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070603175714/http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/sculpture/stories/david/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]
{{Information science}}
{{Censorship by country}}


'''Censorship''' is the suppression of ], public communication, or other ]. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient".<ref>{{cite web |title=censorship noun |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/censorship |website=] |access-date=30 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=cen·sor·ship |url=https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=censorship |website=] |access-date=30 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131040315/https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=censorship |archive-date=31 January 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of censorship in English |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/censorship |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926022731/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/censorship |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 26, 2016 |website=] |publisher=] |access-date=30 January 2019}}</ref> Censorship can be conducted by ]s<ref>{{cite dictionary | title = censorship, n.| url = http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/29607| dictionary = OED Online| publisher = Oxford University Press| date = June 2018| access-date = 8 August 2018}}</ref> and private institutions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/other/what-censorship|title=What Is Censorship|publisher=ACLU}}</ref> When an individual such as an author or other creator engages in censorship of their own works or speech, it is referred to as '']''. General censorship occurs in a variety of different media, including speech, books, music, films, and other arts, ], radio, television, and the Internet for a variety of claimed reasons including ], to control ], ], and ], to protect children or other vulnerable groups, to promote or restrict political or religious views, and to prevent ] and ]. Specific rules and regulations regarding censorship vary between ] and/or private organizations.
{{Censorship}}
'''Censorship''' is the suppression of ] or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or media organizations as determined by a censor.


==Rationale== ==History==
]'' in ], and continue to censor information about those events.<ref>{{cite news|title=China blocks Tiananmen talk on crackdown anniversary|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-tiananmen-idUSBRE85305320120604|access-date=2013-05-08|newspaper=Reuters|date=June 4, 2012|author=Sui-Lee Wee|author2=Ben Blanchard|archive-date=2015-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924164324/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/04/us-china-tiananmen-idUSBRE85305320120604|url-status=live}}</ref> This statue, now known as the '']'', was recreated by Thomas Marsh in ].]]
The rationale for censorship is different for various types of information censored:
] following the ] that installed the ]]]
*'''Moral censorship''' is the removal of materials that are ] or otherwise morally questionable. ], for example, is often censored under this rationale, especially ], which is censored in most jurisdictions in the world.
In 399 BC, Greek philosopher, ], while defying attempts by the Athenian state to censor his philosophical teachings, was accused of collateral charges related to the corruption of Athenian youth and sentenced to death by drinking a poison, ].
*'''Military censorship''' is the process of keeping ] and ] confidential and away from the enemy. This is used to counter ], which is the process of gleaning military information. Very often, militaries will also attempt to suppress politically inconvenient information even if that information has no actual intelligence value.
*''']''' occurs when governments hold back information from their citizens. The logic is to exert control over the populace and prevent free expression that might foment ].
*''']''' is the means by which any material objectionable to a certain faith is removed. This often involves a dominant religion forcing limitations on less prevalent ones. Alternatively, one religion may shun the works of another when they believe the content is not appropriate for their faith.
*''']''' is the process by which editors in corporate media outlets intervene to halt the publishing of information that portrays their business or business partners in a negative light.{{Fact|date=April 2009}}


The details of Socrates's conviction are recorded by Plato as follows. In 399 BC, Socrates went on ]<ref>] (1997), Mathesis publications; Ancient Philosophy 17 Accessed November 23, 2017</ref> and was subsequently found guilty of both corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens and of ] ('']'',<ref>Debra Nails, John Wiley & Sons, 2012 {{ISBN|1118556682}} Accessed November 23, 2017</ref> "not believing in the gods of the state"),<ref>Plato. ''Apology'', 24–27.</ref> and as a punishment sentenced to death, caused by the drinking of a mixture containing hemlock.<ref>{{cite journal | pmid = 19681231 | volume=121 | title=Socratic suicide | year=2001 | journal=J Hell Stud | pages=91–106 | last1 = Warren | first1 = J | doi=10.2307/631830| jstor=631830 | s2cid=24221544 | issn = 0075-4269 }}</ref><ref>Linder, Doug (2002). . ]. Retrieved September 12, 2013.</ref><ref>. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September 12, 2013.</ref><!-- <ref>R. G. Frey (January 1978).</ref> WHAT SOURCE IS THIS?-->
==Political censorship==
{{Double image stack|left/right/center|Voroshilov, Molotov, Stalin, with Nikolai Yezhov.jpg|The Commissar Vanishes 2.jpg|180|], the young man strolling with ] was shot in 1940. He was edited out from a photo by Soviet censors.<ref> (The Newseum)</ref> Such retouching was a common occurrence during Stalin's reign.}}


Socrates' student, ], is said to have advocated censorship in his essay on '']'', which opposed the existence of democracy. In contrast to Plato, Greek playwright ] (480–406&nbsp;BC) defended the true liberty of freeborn men, including the right to speak freely. In 1766, ].<ref>{{usurped|1=}}, Mette Newth, Beacon for Freedom of Expression (Norway), 2010</ref>
{{main|Political censorship}}
{{see also|Eastern Bloc information dissemination|Censorship in Cuba|Censorship in the People's Republic of China|Censorship in North Korea}}


==Rationale and criticism==
Strict censorship existed in the Eastern Bloc.<ref name="major6">{{Harvnb|Major|Mitter|2004|p=6}}</ref> Throughout the bloc, the various ministries of culture held a tight reign on their writers.<ref name="major15">{{Harvnb|Major|Mitter|2004|p=15}}</ref> Cultural products there reflected the propaganda needs of the state.<ref name="major15"/> Party-approved censors exercised strict control in the early years.<ref name="crampton247">{{Harvnb|Crampton|1997|p=247}}</ref> In the Stalinist period, even the weather forecasts were changed if they had the temerity to suggest that the sun might not shine on ].<ref name="crampton247"/> Under ] in ], weather reports were doctored so that the temperatures were not seen to rise above or fall below the levels which dictated that work must stop.<ref name="crampton247"/>
Censorship has been criticized throughout history for being unfair and hindering progress.{{cn|date=November 2024}} In a 1997 essay on Internet censorship, social commentator Michael Landier explains that censorship is counterproductive as it prevents the censored topic from being discussed. Landier expands his argument by claiming that those who impose censorship must consider what they censor to be true, as individuals believing themselves to be correct would welcome the opportunity to disprove those with opposing views.<ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.landier.com/michael/essays/censorship/fulltext.htm |title=Internet Censorship is Absurd and Unconstitutional |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629181900/http://www.landier.com/michael/essays/censorship/fulltext.htm |archive-date=2019-06-29 |first1=Michael |last1=Landier |date=4 June 1997}}</ref>


Censorship is often used to impose moral values on society, as in the censorship of material considered obscene. English novelist ] was a staunch opponent of censoring material on the grounds that it was obscene or immoral, raising the issue of moral subjectivity and the constant changing of moral values. When the 1928 novel '']'' was ], Forster wrote:<ref>, Paul Gallagher, Dangerous Minds, 10 November 2010.</ref>
Independent journalism did not exist in the ] until ] became its leader; all reporting was directed by the ] or related organizations. ], the predominant newspaper in the Soviet Union, had a monopoly. Foreign newspapers were available only if they were published by ] sympathetic to the Soviet Union.


{{blockquote|''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' is a literary work of importance...I do not think that it could be held obscene, but am in a difficulty here, for the reason that I have never been able to follow the legal definition of obscenity. The law tells me that obscenity may deprave and corrupt, but as far as I know, it offers no definition of depravity or corruption.}}
Possession and use of ] was tightly controlled in order to hinder production and distribution of ], illegal ] books and magazines. <!-- Page 308 ISBN 0886876540 --> Possession of even a single samizdat manuscript such as a book by ] was a serious crime which might involve a visit from the ]. <!--Page 309 ISBN 0886876540 -->Another outlet for works which did not find favor with the authorities was publishing abroad.


Proponents have sought to justify it using different rationales for various types of information censored:
The ], which continues Communist rule in politics, if not in the controlled economy, employs some 30,000 'Internet police' to monitor the internet and popular search engines such as ] and ].
* Moral censorship is the removal of materials that are ] or otherwise considered morally questionable. Pornography, for example, is often censored under this rationale, especially ], which is illegal and censored in most jurisdictions in the world.<ref>{{cite web|title=Child Pornography: Model Legislation & Global Review|url=http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/documents/CP_Legislation_Report.pdf|publisher=International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children|year=2008|edition=5|access-date=2012-08-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120173350/http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/documents/CP_Legislation_Report.pdf|archive-date=2012-11-20|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csecworldcongress.org/en/index.htm |title=World Congress against CSEC |publisher=Csecworldcongress.org |date=2002-07-27 |access-date=2011-10-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316121435/http://www.csecworldcongress.org/en/index.htm |archive-date=March 16, 2012 }}</ref>
* ] is the process of keeping ] and ] confidential and away from the enemy. This is used to counter espionage.
* ] occurs when governments hold back information from their citizens. This is often done to exert control over the populace and prevent free expression that might foment ].
* ] is the means by which any material considered objectionable by a certain religion is removed. This often involves a dominant religion forcing limitations on less prevalent ones. Alternatively, one religion may shun the works of another when they believe the content is not appropriate for their religion.
* ] is the process by which editors in corporate media outlets intervene to disrupt the publishing of information that portrays their business or business partners in a negative light,<ref>{{cite book|title=Why We Curse: A Neuro-psycho-social Theory of Speech|url=https://archive.org/details/whywecurseneurop00jayt|url-access=limited|author=Timothy Jay|year=2000|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|isbn=978-1556197581|pages=–209}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Regulating the Changing Media: A Comparative Study|author1=David Goldberg |author2=Stefaan G. Verhulst |author3=Tony Prosser |year=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0198267812|page=207}}</ref> or intervene to prevent alternate offers from reaching public exposure.<ref>{{cite web|last=McCullagh|first=Declan|url=http://news.cnet.com/2010-1071_3-1021938.html|title=Microsoft's new push in Washington|website=]|date=2003-06-30|access-date=2011-10-21}}</ref>


==Types==
] under ] ] had much the same techniques of press censorship as did Romania under ] but with greater potential violence.


===Political===
Cuban media is operated under the supervision of the ] ''Department of Revolutionary Orientation'', which "develops and coordinates propaganda strategies".<ref name="CPJ-2006">{{cite web|url=http://www.cpj.org/censored/censored_06.html|title=10 most censored countries|publisher=The Committee to Protect Journalists}}</ref> Connecting to Internet is illegal.<ref name="cubaonline">{{cite web|url=http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/rapport_gb_md_1.pdf|title=Going online in Cuba: Internet under surveillance|publisher=Reporters Without Borders|date=2006}}</ref>
{{Main|Political censorship}}{{See also|Eastern Bloc information dissemination|Censorship in Cuba|Censorship in the People's Republic of China|Censorship in North Korea}}


==Censorship of state secrets and prevention of attention== ===State secrets and prevention of attention===
], ], March 20–21, 1981, with censor intervention on first and last pages – under the headlines "Co się zdarzyło w Bydgoszczy?" (]) and "Pogotowie strajkowe w całym kraju" (Country-wide strike alert). The censor had removed a section regarding the strike alert; hence the workers in the printing house blanked out an official propaganda section. The right-hand page also includes a hand-written confirmation of that decision by the local ].]]
], ].]]
], ], March 20-21-21, 1981, with censor intervention on
first and last pages --- under the headlines "Co zdarzyło się w Bydgoszczy?" (]) and "Pogotowie strajkowe w całym kraju" (Country-wide strike alert). The censor had removed a section regarding the strike alert; hence the workers in the printing house blanked out an official propaganda section. The right-hand page also includes a hand-written confirmation of that decision by the local ].]]
In wartime, explicit censorship is carried out with the intent of preventing the release of information that might be useful to an ]. Typically it involves keeping times or locations secret, or delaying the release of information (e.g., an operational objective) until it is of no possible use to enemy forces. The moral issues here are often seen as somewhat different, as release of tactical information usually presents a greater risk of casualties among one's own forces and could possibly lead to loss of the overall conflict.
During ] letters written by British soldiers would have to go through censorship. This consisted of officers going through letters with a black marker and crossing out anything which might compromise operational secrecy before the letter was sent. The ] catchphrase "]" was used as a common justification to exercise official wartime censorship and encourage individual restraint when sharing potentially sensitive information.


In wartime, explicit censorship is carried out with the intent of preventing the release of information that might be useful to an enemy. Typically it involves keeping times or locations secret, or delaying the release of information (e.g., an operational objective) until it is of no possible use to enemy forces. The moral issues here are often seen as somewhat different, as the proponents of this form of censorship argue that the release of tactical information usually presents a greater risk of casualties among one's own forces and could possibly lead to loss of the overall conflict.{{cn|date=November 2024}}
An example of "]" policies comes from the ] under ], where publicly used photographs were often altered to remove people whom Stalin had condemned to execution. Though past photographs may have been remembered or kept, this deliberate and systematic alteration to all of history in the public mind is seen as one of the central themes of ] and ].


During ] letters written by British soldiers would have to go through censorship. This consisted of officers going through letters with a black marker and crossing out anything which might compromise operational secrecy before the letter was sent.<ref>Eberhard Demm: , in: .</ref> The ] catchphrase "]" was used as a common justification to exercise official wartime censorship and encourage individual restraint when sharing potentially sensitive information.<ref>Eberhard Demm, ''Censorship and Propaganda in World War I: A Comprehensive History'' (Bloomsbury Academic, 2019) </ref>
Censorship is occasionally carried out to aid authorities or to protect an individual, as with some kidnappings when attention and media coverage of the victim can sometimes be seen as unhelpful.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/technology/internet/29wiki.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper</ref><ref>http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Cat_and_mouse_at_Wikipedia_over_NYT_06292009.html</ref>


An example of "]" policies comes from the ] under ], where publicly used photographs were often altered to remove people whom Stalin had condemned to execution. Though past photographs may have been remembered or kept, this deliberate and systematic alteration to all of history in the public mind is seen as one of the central themes of ] and ].{{cn|date=November 2024}}
==Censorship of educational sources==
] censored by Iranian authorities. The offending cover was about the subject of ], and the picture hidden beneath the white sticker is of an embracing couple.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lundqvist |first=J. |title=More pictures of Iranian Censorship |url=http://jturn.qem.se/2006/more-pictures-of-iranian-censorship/ |accessdate=August 2007-01-21}}</ref> February 2006.]]


Censorship is occasionally carried out to aid authorities or to protect an individual, as with some kidnappings when attention and media coverage of the victim can sometimes be seen as unhelpful.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/technology/internet/29wiki.html_r=1&ref=todayspaper|title=Keeping News of Kidnapping Off Misplaced Pages |work=The New York Times |date=June 29, 2009}}</ref>
The content of school textbooks is often the issue of debate, since their target audience is young people, and the term "whitewashing" is the one commonly used to refer to selective removal of critical or damaging evidence or comment. The ] is extremely controversial, as in the case of the ], the ], the ], ] (or ]), and the ] of the ].


===Religion===
In the context of secondary-school education, the way facts and history are presented greatly influences the interpretation of contemporary thought, opinion and socialization. One argument for censoring the type of information disseminated is based on the inappropriate quality of such material for the young. The use of the "inappropriate" distinction is in itself controversial, as it changed heavily. A Ballantine Books version of the book ] which is the version used by most school classes<ref>Bradbury, Ray. ''Fahrenheit 451''. Del Rey Books. April 1991.</ref> contained approximately 75 separate edits, omissions, and changes from the original Bradbury manuscript.
{{Main|Censorship by religion}}
]'s 1650 critique on Puritanical Calvinism in Boston by the ]-controlled Massachusetts Bay Colony]]
Censorship by religion is a form of censorship where ] is controlled or limited using religious authority or on the basis of the teachings of the ].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Steele, Philip|title=Censorship|date=1992|publisher=New Discovery Books|isbn=0027354040|oclc=24871121}}</ref> This form of censorship has a long history and is practiced in many societies and by many religions. Examples include the ], ], the ] (list of prohibited books) and the condemnation of ]'s novel '']'' by ]ian leader ]. Images of the Islamic figure Muhammad are also regularly censored. In some secular countries, this is sometimes done to prevent hurting religious sentiments.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ncert.nic.in/textbook/textbook.htm?iess4=6-6|title=National Council Of Educational Research And Training :: Home (Page 105, Democratic Politics – Class 9)|website=]|access-date=2017-12-12}}</ref>


===Educational sources===
==Censorship in music and popular culture==
]n censorship. Book ''Notes of my life by ]'', published in St. Petersburg 1886 by A.S. Suvorin. The censored text was replaced by dots.]]
{{see also|Censorship of music}}


The content of school textbooks is often an issue of debate, since their target audiences are young people. The term ] is commonly used to refer to revisionism aimed at glossing over difficult or questionable historical events, or a biased presentation thereof. The ] is extremely controversial, as in the case of ] (or ]), ], the ] as found with ], the ], the ], and the ] of the ].
After Fidel Castro established his communist dictatorship, Che Guevara suggested a ban on jazz and rock & roll, which he saw as "imperialist music".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reason.tv/video/show/622.html|title=Hollywood's Sick Love Affair with Che Guevara}}</ref>


In the context of secondary school education, the way facts and history are presented greatly influences the interpretation of contemporary thought, opinion and socialization. One argument for censoring the type of information disseminated is based on the inappropriate quality of such material for the younger public. The use of the "inappropriate" distinction is in itself controversial, as it changed heavily. A Ballantine Books version of the book '']'' which is the version used by most school classes<ref>Bradbury, Ray. ''Fahrenheit 451''. Del Rey Books. April 1991.</ref> contained approximately 75 separate edits, omissions, and changes from the original Bradbury manuscript.
<!-- Image with inadequate rationale removed: ] CD]] -->
The original cover of nude ] and ]'s ] provoked an outrage, prompting distributors to sell the album in a plain brown wrapper.<ref> ]</ref>


In February 2006, a '']'' cover was censored by the ]. The offending cover was about the subject of ] and a picture of an embracing couple was hidden beneath a white sticker.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lundqvist|first=J.|title=More pictures of Iranian Censorship|url=http://viewsdesk.com/2006/more-pictures-of-iranian-censorship/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429200541/http://viewsdesk.com/2006/more-pictures-of-iranian-censorship/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-04-29|access-date=2007-08-01}}</ref>
Music censorship has been implemented by states, religions, educational systems, families, retailers and lobbying groups – and in most cases they violate international conventions of human rights.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freemuse.org/sw2338.asp |title=WHAT IS MUSIC CENSORSHIP? |publisher=Freemuse.org |date=1 January 2001 |accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>


=== Economic induced censorship ===
Aside from the usual justifications of pornography, language and violence, some movies are censored due to changing racial attitudes or ] in order to avoid ] and/or ethnic offense despite its historical or artistic value. One example is the still withdrawn "]" series of animated cartoons, which may be innocent then but "incorrect" now.
Economic induced censorship is a type of censorship enacted by economic markets to favor, and disregard, types of information. Economic induced censorship is also caused by market forces which privatize and establish commodification of certain information that is not accessible by the general public, primarily because of the cost associated with commodified information such as academic journals, industry reports and pay to use repositories.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cypherpunks : freedom and the future of the internet|url=https://archive.org/details/cypherpunksfreed00assa_936|url-access=limited|last=Assange|first=Julian|publisher=OR Books|others=Appelbaum, Jacob; Müller-Maguhn, Andy; Zimmermann, Jérémie|year=2012|isbn=978-1939293008|location=New York|pages=–124|oclc=812780303}}</ref>


The concept was illustrated as a censorship pyramid<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.counterfire.org/index.php/articles/book-reviews/16631-cypherpunks-freedom-and-the-future-of-the-internet|title=Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet|last=Pope-Weidemann|first=Marienna|date=13 September 2013 <!-- 06:39 -->|website=]|language=en-gb|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140507210748/http://www.counterfire.org/index.php/articles/book-reviews/16631-cypherpunks-freedom-and-the-future-of-the-internet|archive-date=7 May 2014|url-status=live|access-date=2019-04-23|df=dmy-all}}</ref> that was conceptualized by primarily ], along with ], ] and ], in the ].
==Copy, picture, and writer approval==
Copy approval is the right to read and amend an article, usually an interview, before publication. Many publications refuse to give copy approval but it is increasingly becoming common practice when dealing with publicity anxious celebrities.<ref>{{cite news |title=The readers' editor on requests that are always refused |author=Ian Mayes |date=2005-04-23 |publisher=The Guardian |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1468351,00.html |accessdate=August 2007-01-21}}</ref> Picture approval is the right given to an individual to choose which photos will be published and which will not. ] is well known for insisting upon picture approval.<ref name="Observer-approval">{{cite news |title=Caution: big name ahead |date=2002-01-27 |publisher=The Observer |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/life/story/0,6903,639829,00.html |accessdate=August 2007-01-21}}</ref> Writer approval is when writers are chosen based on whether they will write flattering articles or not. Hollywood publicist Pat Kingsley is known for banning certain writers who wrote undesirably about one of her clients from interviewing any of her other clients.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}


===Self-censorship===
==Censorship of maps==
] ] the American edition of his environmental book, ''Green Illusions'',<ref>, Ozzie Zehner, University of Nebraska Press, 2012, 464 pp, {{ISBN|978-0803237759}}. Retrieved 23 October 2013.</ref> fearing ].]]
] has had their face and reflection obscured presumably to prevent retaliation for distributing such photos.]]
{{Main|Self-censorship}}
], tumescence obscured ]]
Self-censorship is the act of censoring or ] one's own discourse. This is done out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities or preferences (actual or perceived) of others and without overt pressure from any specific party or institution of authority. Self-censorship is often practiced by ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s, and other kinds of ]s including individuals who use ].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://rm.coe.int/168070ad5d|title=Journalism under pressure. Unwarranted interference, fear and self-censorship in Europe|last1=Clark|first1=Marilyn|last2=Grech|first2=Anna|publisher=Council of Europe publishing|year=2017|location=Strasbourg|access-date=12 May 2017}}</ref>

According to a ] and the '']'' survey, "About one-quarter of the local and national journalists say they have purposely avoided newsworthy stories, while nearly as many acknowledge they have softened the tone of stories to benefit the interests of their news organizations. Fully four-in-ten (41%) admit they have engaged in either or both of these practices."<ref>"". Pew Research Center.</ref>

Threats to media freedom have shown a significant increase in Europe in recent years, according to a study published in April 2017 by the ].
This results in a fear of physical or psychological violence, and the ultimate result is self-censorship by journalists.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/en-europe-les-journalistes-sont-exposes-a-la-violence-aux-intimidations-et-a-l-autocensure-selon-une-etude-du-conseil-de-l-europe|title=Journalists suffer violence, intimidation and self-censorship in Europe, says a Council of Europe study|date=20 April 2017|work=Council of Europe. Newsroom|access-date=12 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511220332/http://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/en-europe-les-journalistes-sont-exposes-a-la-violence-aux-intimidations-et-a-l-autocensure-selon-une-etude-du-conseil-de-l-europe|archive-date=2017-05-11|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Copy, picture, and writer approval===
Copy approval is the right to read and amend an article, usually an interview, before publication. Many publications refuse to give copy approval but it is increasingly becoming common practice when dealing with publicity anxious celebrities.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1468351,00.html|title=The readers' editor on requests that are always refused|author=Ian Mayes|date=2005-04-23|access-date=2007-08-01|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London}}</ref> Picture approval is the right given to an individual to choose which photos will be published and which will not. ] is well known for insisting upon picture approval.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/life/story/0,6903,639829,00.html|title=Caution: big name ahead|last=Barber|first=Lynn|date=2002-01-27|access-date=2007-08-01|newspaper=The Observer|location=London}}</ref> Writer approval is when writers are chosen based on whether they will write flattering articles or not. Hollywood publicist Pat Kingsley is known for banning certain writers who wrote undesirably about one of her clients from interviewing any of her other clients.{{citation needed|date=August 2008}}

===Reverse censorship===
Flooding the public, often through online ]s, with false or misleading information is sometimes called "reverse censorship". American legal scholar ] has explained that this type of information control, sometimes by ]s, can "distort or drown out disfavored speech through the creation and dissemination of ], the payment of fake commentators, and the deployment of propaganda ]."<ref>Wu, Tim, (November 1, 2017). Columbia Public Law Research Paper No. 14-573. Also available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3096337 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3096337</ref>

===Soft censorship===
{{See also|Media manipulation|Independent media#Influences in media systems}}
Soft, or indirect, censorship is the practice of influencing news coverage by applying financial pressure on media companies that are deemed critical of a government or its policies and rewarding media outlets and individual journalists who are seen as friendly to the government.<ref>Center for International Media Assistance, ''Soft Censorship: How Governments Around the Globe Use Money to Manipulate the Media'', http://cima.ned.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/cima-soft_censorship-report.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707065242/http://cima.ned.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/cima-soft_censorship-report.pdf |date=2010-07-07 }}.</ref>

==By media==
{{Expand section|with=Television and News Media censorship|date=May 2020}}

===Books===
{{Main|Book censorship}}
] in Berlin, May 1933]]
Book censorship can be enacted at the national or sub-national level, and can carry legal penalties for their infraction. Books may also be challenged at a local, community level. As a result, books can be removed from schools or libraries, although these bans do not typically extend outside of that area.

===Films===
{{Main|Film censorship}}
Aside from the usual justifications of pornography and ], some films are censored due to changing racial attitudes or ] in order to avoid ] and/or ethnic offense despite its historical or artistic value. One example is the still withdrawn "]" series of animated cartoons, which may have been innocent then, but are "incorrect" now.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Laura |date=2010-04-27 |title=Top 10 Controversial Cartoons - TIME |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984966_1984961_1984611,00.html |access-date=2023-10-20 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref>

Film censorship is carried out by various countries. Film censorship is achieved by censoring the producer or restricting a state citizen. For example, in China the film industry censors ]. Filmmakers must resort to finding funds from international investors such as the "Ford Foundations" and or produce through an independent film company.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Shaw|first1=Gareth|last2=Zhang|first2=Xiaoling|date=July 2018|title=Cyberspace and gay rights in a digital China: Queer documentary filmmaking under state censorship|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0920203X17734134|journal=China Information|language=en|volume=32|issue=2|pages=270–292|doi=10.1177/0920203X17734134|s2cid=148751332|issn=0920-203X}}</ref>

===Music===
{{Main|Censorship of music}}
Music censorship has been implemented by states, religions, educational systems, families, retailers and lobbying groups – and in most cases they violate international conventions of human rights.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freemuse.org/sw2338.asp|title=What is Music Censorship?|publisher=Freemuse.org|date=1 January 2001|access-date=2008-10-25|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081106184751/http://www.freemuse.org/sw2338.asp|archive-date=6 November 2008}}</ref>

===Maps===
<!-- http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/28/0033216 --> <!-- http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/28/0033216 -->
{{main|Censorship of maps}} {{Main|Censorship of maps|Cartographic censorship}}


Censorship of maps was also used in former ], especially for the areas near the border to ] in order to make attempts of ] more difficult. Censorship of maps is also applied by ], where certain areas are greyed out or areas are purposely left out-dated with old imagery.<ref name="WashingtonPost">{{Cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/21/AR2007072101296.html|title=Google's View of D.C. Melds New and Sharp, Old and Fuzzy|accessdate=2007-07-22|publisher=Washington Post|year=Jul. 22, 2007|author=Jenna Johnson|work=News|format=HTML}}</ref> Censorship of maps is often employed for military purposes. For example, the technique was used in former ], especially for the areas near the border to ] in order to make attempts of defection more difficult. Censorship of maps is also applied by ], where certain areas are grayed out or blacked or areas are purposely left outdated with old imagery.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/21/AR2007072101296.html|title=Google's View of D.C. Melds New and Sharp, Old and Fuzzy|access-date=2007-07-22|publisher=Washington Post|author=Jenna Johnson|work=News | date=2007-07-22}}</ref>


==Meta censorship== ===Art===
Art is loved and feared because of its evocative power. Destroying or oppressing art can potentially justify its meaning even more.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Freedberg|first=David|title=The Fear of Art: How Censorship Becomes Iconoclasm|url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/sor.2016.0019|journal=Social Research|year=2016 |volume=83|pages=67–99|doi=10.1353/sor.2016.0019 |s2cid=147789598 |via=eHOST}}</ref>
In this form of censorship, any information about existence of censorship and the legal basis of the censorship is censored. Rules of censoring were classified. Removed texts or phrases were not marked.


British photographer and visual artist ]'s photos and paintings were ordered to be destroyed by a London's magistrate court in 2015 for being "indecent"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Paedophile artist's photographs and paintings 'must be destroyed' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/paedophile-artist-s-photographs-and-paintings-must-be-destroyed-judge-rules-a6692921.html |last=Lusher |first=Adam |website=] |access-date=7 February 2021 |date=13 October 2015}}</ref> and their copies had been removed from the online ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Graham Ovenden {{!}} Tate |url=http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/graham-ovenden-1730 |date=2015-10-16 |access-date=2015-10-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016182827/http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/graham-ovenden-1730 |archive-date=October 16, 2015}}</ref>
==Creative censorship==
In this form of censorship, censors rewrite texts, giving these texts secret co-authors.
This form of censorship is used in the novel ].


]
==Censorship implementation==
A 1980 Israeli law forbade banned ] composed of the four colours of the ],<ref>{{cite report|chapter-url=https://www.netanya.ac.il/englishSite/Centers/DialogueCenter/Academic-publications/Documents/Discourse.pdf |title=Discourse, Culture, and Education in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict |publisher=Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Israel Office |website=] |date=December 2013 |page=55 |quote=In 1980, Israel banned art exhibitions and paintings of "political significance", with the grouping of the four colours of the Palestinian flag in any one painting also forbidden. |chapter=The Connection between Palestinian Culture and the Conflict |last1=Ashley |first1=John |last2=Jayousi |first2=Nedal |access-date=21 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190210044601/https://www.netanya.ac.il/englishSite/Centers/DialogueCenter/Academic-publications/Documents/Discourse.pdf |archive-date=10 February 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and Palestinians were arrested for displaying such artwork or even for carrying sliced melons with the same pattern.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6DD1230F935A25753C1A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2|title=Ramallah Journal; A Palestinian Version of the Judgment of Solomon|last=Kifner|first=John|date=October 16, 1993|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 21, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,11710,802769,00.html|title=A culture under fire|last=Dalrymple|first=William|date=October 2, 2002|work=The Guardian|location=London|access-date=May 21, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/11/1094789742807.html?from=storylhs|title=The watermelon makes a colourful interlude|date=September 12, 2004|work=The Age|location=Melbourne}}</ref>
The former ] maintained a particularly extensive program of state-imposed censorship. The main organ for official censorship in the ] was the ''Chief Agency for Protection of Military and State Secrets'' generally known as the '']'', its Russian acronym. The ''Glavlit'' handled censorship matters arising from domestic writings of just about any kind — even beer and vodka labels. ''Glavlit'' censorship personnel were present in every large Soviet publishing house or newspaper; the agency employed some 70,000 censors to review information before it was disseminated by publishing houses, editorial offices, and broadcasting studios. No mass medium escaped ''Glavlit'''s control. press agencies and radio and television stations had ''Glavlit'' representatives on their editorial staffs.
]


]
==Internet censorship==
] is a Guantanamo Bay prisoner who creates ]s as an expression of art. Alwi does so with the few tools he has at his disposal such as dental floss and shampoo bottles, and he is also allowed to use a small pair of scissors with rounded edges.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/27/opinion/guantanamo-art-prisoners.html |last=Thompson |first=Erin |title=Opinion: Art Censorship at Guantánamo Bay |work=The New York Times |date=27 November 2017 |access-date=7 February 2021}}</ref> A few of Alwi's pieces are on display at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. There are also other artworks on display at the College that were created by other inmates. The artwork that is being displayed might be the only way for some of the inmates to communicate with the outside. Recently things have changed though. The military has come up with a new policy that will not allow the artwork at Guantanamo Bay Military Prison to leave the prison. The artwork created by Alwi and other prisoners is now government property and can be destroyed or disposed of in whatever way the government choose, making it no longer the artist's property.<ref>{{Citation|last=Chatterjee |first=Deen K. |chapter=Guantanamo Bay Prisoners |date=2011 |page=467 |publisher=Springer Netherlands |isbn=978-1402091599 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4020-9160-5_1038 |title=Encyclopedia of Global Justice}}</ref>
{{main|Internet censorship}}
Internet censorship is control or suppression of the publishing or accessing of information on the ]. The legal issues are similar to offline censorship. One difference is that national borders are more permeable online: residents of a country that bans certain information can find it on ]s hosted outside the country. A government can try to prevent its citizens from viewing these even if it has no control over the websites themselves.


Around 300 artists in Cuba are fighting for their artistic freedom due to new censorship rules Cuba's government has in place for artists. In December 2018, following the introduction of new rules that would ban music performances and artwork not authorized by the state, ]ist ] was detained upon arriving to Havana and released after four days.<ref>{{Cite journal|title= Censorship Reports |journal=Nigeria: Abacha's Media Crackdown |doi=10.1163/2210-7975_hrd-2210-0161}}</ref>
Barring total control on Internet-connected computers, such as in ] and ], total censorship of information on the Internet is very difficult (or impossible) to achieve due to the underlying distributed technology of the Internet. ] and ]s (such as ]) allow unconditional ], as the technology guarantees that material cannot be removed and the author of any information is impossible to link to a physical ] or ].
]
An example of extreme state censorship was the Nazis' requirements of using art as propaganda. Art was only allowed to be used as a political instrument to control people and failure to act in accordance with the censors was punishable by law, even fatal. The ] was a historical instance of this, the goal of which was to advertise Nazi values and slander others.<ref>{{Citation|chapter=Introduction: The Site of the Social |date=2016-01-31 |pages=1–24 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400873807 |doi=10.1515/9781400873807-002 |title=Site Reading}}</ref>


===Internet===
In November 2007, "Father of the Internet" ] stated that he sees due to private ownership.
{{Main|Internet censorship}}
] (2018)'''<ref name=FOTN-2018>{{cite web |title=Freedom on the Net 2018 |url=https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTN_2018_Final%20Booklet_11_1_2018.pdf |website=Freedom House |date=November 2018 |access-date=1 November 2018 |archive-date=1 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101192951/https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTN_2018_Final%20Booklet_11_1_2018.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>OpenNet Initiative , 8 November 2011 and , the OpenNet Initiative is a collaborative partnership of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto; the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; and the SecDev Group, Ottawa</ref><ref>, ''Enemies of the Internet 2014: Entities at the heart of censorship and surveillance'', Reporters Without Borders (Paris), 11&nbsp;March 2014. Retrieved 24&nbsp;June 2014.</ref><ref>, Reporters Without Borders (Paris), 12&nbsp;March 2012 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323215225/http://march12.rsf.org/i/Report_EnemiesoftheInternet_2012.pdf |date=March 23, 2012 }}</ref><ref>Due to legal concerns the ] does not check for filtering of ] and because their classifications focus on technical filtering, they do not include other types of censorship.</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
{{legend|#F9D|Pervasive}}
{{legend|#FDD|Substantial}}
{{legend|#FFD|Selective}}
{{legend|#98FB98|Little or none}}
{{legend|#e0e0e0|Not classified / No data}}
{{div col end}}
]]


Internet censorship is control or suppression of the publishing or accessing of information on ]. It may be carried out by governments or by private organizations either at the behest of the government or on their own initiative. Individuals and organizations may engage in ] on their own or due to intimidation and fear.
==Censorship by country==

{{main|Censorship by country}}
The issues associated with Internet censorship are similar to those for offline censorship of more traditional media. One difference is that national borders are more permeable online: residents of a country that bans certain information can find it on websites hosted outside the country. Thus censors must work to prevent access to information even though they lack physical or legal control over the websites themselves. This in turn requires the use of technical censorship methods that are unique to the Internet, such as site blocking and content filtering.<ref name=UNESCO-2011>, Dutton, William H.; Dopatka, Anna; Law, Ginette; Nash, Victoria, ''Division for Freedom of Expression, Democracy and Peace'', United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris, 2011, 103 pp., {{ISBN|978-9231041884}}</ref>

Furthermore, the ] (DNS) a critical component of the Internet is dominated by centralized and few entities. The most widely used DNS root is administered by the ] (ICANN).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en|title=Bylaws for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers {{!}} A California Nonprofit Public-Benefit Corporation|website=www.icann.org|access-date=2020-04-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icann.org/resources/unthemed-pages/icann-mou-1998-11-25-en|title=ICANN|website=www.icann.org|access-date=2020-04-28}}</ref> As an administrator they have rights to shut down and seize ]s when they deem necessary to do so and at most times the direction is from governments. This has been the case with ] shutdowns<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wakefield|first=Jane|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-11928899|title=Wikileaks' struggle to stay online|date=2010-12-07|work=BBC News|access-date=2020-04-28|language=en-GB}}</ref> and name seizure events such as the ones executed by the ] (IPR Center) managed by the ] (HSI).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ice.gov/factsheets/ipr-in-our-sites|title=Operation In Our Sites|website=www.ice.gov|date=22 May 2014 |language=en|access-date=2020-04-28}}</ref> This makes it easy for internet censorship by authorities as they have control over what should or should not be on the Internet. Some activists and researchers have started opting for ]s, though the Internet Architecture Board{{ref RFC|2826}} (IAB) does not support these DNS root providers.

Unless the censor has total control over all Internet-connected computers, such as in ] or ], total censorship of information is very difficult or impossible to achieve due to the underlying distributed technology of the Internet. ] and ]s (such as ]) protect ] using technologies that guarantee material cannot be removed and prevents the identification of authors. Technologically savvy users can often find ways to ]. Nevertheless, blocking remains an effective means of limiting access to sensitive information for most users when censors, such as those in ], are able to devote significant resources to building and maintaining a comprehensive censorship system.<ref name=UNESCO-2011/>

Views about the feasibility and effectiveness of Internet censorship have evolved in parallel with the development of the Internet and censorship technologies:
* A 1993 '']'' magazine article quotes computer scientist ], one of the founders of the ], as saying "The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it."<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113134312/http://www.chemie.fu-berlin.de/outerspace/internet-article.html |date=2017-01-13 }}, Philip Elmer-Dewitt, '']'', 6 December 1993, No. 49</ref>
* In November 2007, "Father of the Internet" ] stated that he sees government control of the Internet failing because the Web is almost entirely privately owned.<ref>, Pedro Fonseca, Reuters, 14 November 2007</ref>
* A report of research conducted in 2007 and published in 2009 by the Beckman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University stated that: "We are confident that the tool developers will for the most part keep ahead of the governments' blocking efforts", but also that "...we believe that less than two percent of all filtered Internet users use circumvention tools".<ref>, Hal Roberts, Ethan Zuckerman, and John Palfrey, Beckman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, March 2009</ref>
* In contrast, a 2011 report by researchers at the ] published by ] concludes "... the control of information on the Internet and Web is certainly feasible, and technological advances do not therefore guarantee greater freedom of speech."<ref name=UNESCO-2011/>

A ] of 27,973 adults in 26 countries, including 14,306 Internet users,<ref>For the BBC poll Internet users are those who used the Internet within the previous six months.</ref> was conducted between 30 November 2009 and 7 February 2010. The head of the polling organization felt, overall, that the poll showed that:
:Despite worries about privacy and fraud, people around the world see access to the internet as their fundamental right. They think the web is a force for good, and most don't want governments to regulate it.<ref>, BBC World Service, 8 March 2010</ref>

The poll found that nearly four in five (78%) Internet users felt that the Internet had brought them greater freedom, that most Internet users (53%) felt that "the internet should never be regulated by any level of government anywhere", and almost four in five Internet users and non-users around the world felt that access to the Internet was a fundamental right (50% strongly agreed, 29% somewhat agreed, 9% somewhat disagreed, 6% strongly disagreed, and 6% gave no opinion).<ref>, BBC News, 8 March 2010</ref>

====Social media====
The rising use of social media in many nations has led to the emergence of citizens organizing protests through social media, sometimes called "]s". The most notable of these social media-led protests were the ], starting in 2010. In response to the use of social media in these protests, the Tunisian government began a hack of Tunisian citizens' Facebook accounts, and reports arose of accounts being deleted.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/01/the-inside-story-of-how-facebook-responded-to-tunisian-hacks/70044/|title=The Inside Story of How Facebook Responded to Tunisian Hacks|last=Madrigal|first=Alexis C.|website=The Atlantic|date=24 January 2011|language=en-US|access-date=2016-04-15}}</ref>

Automated systems can be used to censor ] posts, and therefore limit what citizens can say online. This most notably occurs in ], where social media posts are automatically censored depending on content. In 2013, Harvard political science professor ] led a study to determine what caused social media posts to be censored and found that posts mentioning the government were not more or less likely to be deleted if they were supportive or critical of the government. Posts mentioning collective action were more likely to be deleted than those that had not mentioned collective action.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=King|first1=Gary|last2=Pan|first2=Jennifer|s2cid=5398090|date=2014|title=Reverse-engineering censorship in China: Randomized experimentation and participant observation|journal=Science|doi=10.1126/science.1251722|pmid=25146296|volume=345|issue=6199|pages=1251722|url=http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:37091695}}</ref> Currently, social media censorship appears primarily as a way to restrict Internet users' ability to organize protests. For the Chinese government, seeing citizens unhappy with local governance is beneficial as state and national leaders can replace unpopular officials. King and his researchers were able to predict when certain officials would be removed based on the number of unfavorable social media posts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/151768150|title=Professor Gary King, Inaugural Government Regius Lecture 2015|website=Vimeo|access-date=2016-04-12|date=2016-01-14}}</ref>

Research has proved that criticism is tolerable on social media sites, therefore it is not censored unless it has a higher chance of collective action. It is not important whether the criticism is supportive or unsupportive of the states' leaders, the main priority of censoring certain social media posts is to make sure that no big actions are being made due to something that was said on the internet. Posts that challenge the Party's political leading role in the Chinese government are more likely to be censored due to the challenges it poses to the Chinese Communist Party.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shao |first1=Li |title=The Dilemma of Criticism: Disentangling the Determinants of Media Censorship in China |journal=Journal of East Asian Studies |date=1 November 2018 |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=279–297 |doi=10.1017/jea.2018.19|s2cid=158396167 }}</ref>

In December 2022 ], owner and CEO of ] released internal documents from the social media microblogging site to journalists ], ] and ]. The analysis of these files on Twitter, collectively called, the ], explored the content moderation and visibility filtering carried out in collaboration with the ] on the ].

On the platform TikTok, certain hashtags have been categorized by the platform's code and determines how viewers can or cannot interact with the content or hashtag specifically. Some shadowbanned tags include: #acab, #GayArab, #gej due to their referencing of certain social movements and LGBTQ identity. As TikTok guidelines are becoming more localized around the world, some experts believe that this could result in more censorship than before.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ryan |first1=Fergus |last2=Fritz |first2=Audrey |last3=Impiombato |first3=Daria |author-link3=Daria Impiombato |date=2020 |title=TikTok censorship |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep26120.5 |journal=Tiktok and Wechat |pages=04–24}}</ref>

===Video games===
{{Main |Video game censorship |List of regionally censored video games}}

Since the early 1980s, advocates of video games have emphasized their use as an ], arguing for their protection under the laws governing ] and also as an educational tool. Detractors argue that video games are ] and therefore should be ]. Many video games have certain elements removed or edited due to ].<ref>Byrd P. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924031423/http://www.houstonlawreview.org/archive/downloads/44-2_pdf/5_Byrd.pdf |date=2015-09-24 }} Houston Law Review 2007. Accessed 19 March 2007.</ref><ref>, James D. Ivory and Malte Elson, ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' (Washington), 16 October 2013.</ref>
For example, in the Japanese and PAL Versions of '']'', blood splatter and gore is removed from the gameplay. Decapitation scenes are implied, but not shown. Scenes of missing body parts after having been cut off, are replaced with the same scene, but showing the body parts fully intact.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGlGgSjD2Zs|title=No More Heroes – Censored gameplay 12-07-07|last=gamesradararchive|date=19 October 2012|website=YouTube}}</ref>

==Impact of surveillance==
{{See also |Surveillance|Mass surveillance|Computer and network surveillance}}

Surveillance and censorship are different. Surveillance can be performed without censorship, but it is harder to engage in censorship without some form of surveillance.<ref>, Cory Doctorow, ''The Guardian'', 2 March 2012</ref> Even when surveillance does not lead directly to censorship, the widespread knowledge or belief that a person, their computer, or their use of the Internet is under surveillance can have a "]" and lead to self-censorship.<ref>{{dead link|date=March 2015}}, WeFightCensorship.org, Reporters Without Borders, retrieved 12 March 2013</ref>

==Implementation==
] newspaper, 1970]]
The former Soviet Union maintained a particularly extensive program of state-imposed censorship. The main organ for official censorship in the Soviet Union was the ''Chief Agency for Protection of Military and State Secrets'' generally known as the '']'', its Russian acronym. The ''Glavlit'' handled censorship matters arising from domestic writings of just about any kind{{snd}}even beer and vodka labels. ''Glavlit'' censorship personnel were present in every large Soviet publishing house or newspaper; the agency employed some 70,000 censors to review information before it was disseminated by publishing houses, editorial offices, and broadcasting studios. No mass medium escaped ''Glavlit''{{'}}s control. All press agencies and radio and television stations had ''Glavlit'' representatives on their editorial staffs.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Koltsova|first=Olessia|date=2006-09-27|title=News Media and Power in Russia|doi=10.4324/9780203536971|isbn=978-0203536971}}</ref>

Sometimes, public knowledge of the existence of a specific document is subtly suppressed, a situation resembling censorship. The authorities taking such action will justify it by declaring the work to be "]" or "inconvenient". An example is ]'s 1978 text ''Sexual Morality and the Law'' (later republished as ''The Danger of Child Sexuality''), originally published as ''La loi de la pudeur'' &#91;literally, "the law of decency"&#93;. This work defends the decriminalization of ] and the ].{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}

When a publisher comes under pressure to suppress a book, but has already entered into a contract with the author, they will sometimes effectively censor the book by deliberately ordering a small print run and making minimal, if any, attempts to publicize it. This practice became known in the early 2000s as ''privishing'' ('''priv'''ate publ'''ishing''').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0711-05.htm |title=Journalists Thrown 'Into the Buzzsaw' |last=Winkler |first=David |date=11 July 2002 |publisher=CommonDreams.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070804080018/http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0711-05.htm |archive-date=August 4, 2007 }}</ref> an ] (ONI) classifications:<ref name=ONICountryProfiles>OpenNet Initiative , 29 October 2012 and , the OpenNet Initiative is a collaborative partnership of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto; the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; and the SecDev Group, Ottawa</ref>

==By country==
{{Main|Censorship by country}}
Censorship for individual countries is measured by ],<ref>, Freedom House, 1 May 2012</ref> ]<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215183842/http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2013%2C1054.html |date=2013-02-15 }}, Reporters Without Borders, 30 January 2013</ref> and ] government censorship effort index. Censorship aspects are measured by Freedom on the Net<ref name=FOTN-2018>{{cite web |title=Freedom on the Net 2018 |url=https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTN_2018_Final%20Booklet_11_1_2018.pdf |website=Freedom House |date=November 2018 |access-date=1 November 2018 |archive-date=1 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101192951/https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTN_2018_Final%20Booklet_11_1_2018.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and ] (ONI) classifications.<ref name=ONICountryProfiles/> ] collects information on censorship, ], ], ], and ] by country and presents it in a sortable table, together with links to articles with more information. In addition to countries, the table includes information on former countries, disputed countries, political sub-units within countries, and regional organizations.

===Australia===
{{main|Censorship in Australia|Internet censorship in Australia}}

===Belgium===
In ], politicians considered ] are ] from live media appearances such as interviews or debates.<ref>{{cite web | last=Joyner | first=Ella | title=Belgian election tests limits of media's far-right boycott | website=dw.com | date=2024-06-04 | url=https://amp.dw.com/en/belgian-election-tests-limits-of-medias-far-right-boycott/a-69161435 | access-date=2024-10-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=DEMEESTERE | first=Matthieu | title=Belgium's Far Right Struggles To Break Through Media Ban | website=Barron's | date=2024-05-06 | url=https://www.barrons.com/amp/news/belgium-s-far-right-struggles-to-break-through-media-ban-9ad06ef4 | access-date=2024-10-25}}</ref>

===Canada===
{{main|Censorship in Canada|Book censorship in Canada}}
Very little is formally censored in Canada, aside from "]" (as defined in the landmark criminal case of '']'') which is generally limited to ] and ] depicting and/or advocating non-consensual sex, sexual violence, degradation, or dehumanization, in particular that which causes harm (as in '']''). Most films are simply subject to classification by the ] under the non-profit ] by the name of ], whose classifications are officially used by the provinces of ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Our authority & governance |url=https://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/about-us/our-authority-governance/#Our%20administrative%C2%A0agreements%20&%20contracts |website=consumerprotectionbc.ca |access-date=29 August 2021}}</ref>

=== Cuba ===
{{main|Censorship in Cuba|Internet censorship in Cuba}}
Cuban media used to be operated under the supervision of the ] ''Department of Revolutionary Orientation'', which "develops and coordinates propaganda strategies".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cpj.org/censored/censored_06.html|title=10 most censored countries|publisher=The Committee to Protect Journalists}}</ref> Connection to the Internet is restricted and censored.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/rapport_gb_md_1.pdf|title=Going online in Cuba: Internet under surveillance|year=2006|publisher=Reporters Without Borders|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303221407/http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/rapport_gb_md_1.pdf|archive-date=2009-03-03|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== China ===
{{main|Censorship in China|Internet censorship in China|Film censorship in China|Book censorship in China|Blood censorship in China|Radio jamming in China}}

The ] employs sophisticated censorship mechanisms, referred to as the ], to monitor the internet. Popular search engines such as ] also remove politically sensitive search results.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2009/04/baidus-internal-monitoring-and-censorship-document-leaked/|title=Baidu's Internal Monitoring and Censorship Document Leaked (1)|website=China Digital Times (CDT)|date=May 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2009/04/baidus-internal-monitoring-and-censorship-document-leaked-2/|title=Baidu's Internal Monitoring and Censorship Document Leaked (2) |website=China Digital Times (CDT)|date=30 April 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2009/04/baidus-internal-monitoring-and-censorship-document-leaked-3/|title=Baidu's Internal Monitoring and Censorship Document Leaked (3) |website=China Digital Times (CDT)|date=29 April 2009 }}</ref>

=== Eastern Bloc ===
{{See also|Eastern Bloc media and propaganda}}
] from 1945. Buršík was strongly ], so it was allowed to publish only the left half of the picture, Buršík was removed.]]
Strict censorship existed in the Eastern Bloc.<ref>{{Harvnb|Major|Mitter|2004|p=6}}</ref> Throughout the bloc, the various ministries of culture held a tight rein on their writers.<ref name="major15">{{Harvnb|Major|Mitter|2004|p=15}}</ref> Cultural products there reflected the propaganda needs of the state.<ref name="major15" /> Party-approved censors exercised strict control in the early years.<ref name="crampton247">{{Harvnb|Crampton|1997|p=247}}</ref> In the Stalinist period, even the weather forecasts were changed if they suggested that the sun might not shine on ].<ref name="crampton247" /> Under ] in ], weather reports were doctored so that the temperatures were not seen to rise above or fall below the levels which dictated that work must stop.<ref name="crampton247" />

Possession and use of ] was tightly controlled in order to hinder the production and distribution of ], illegal ] books and magazines. <!-- Page 308 {{ISBN|0886876540}} --> Possession of even a single samizdat manuscript such as a book by ] was a serious crime which might involve a visit from the ]. <!--Page 309 {{ISBN|0886876540}} -->Another outlet for works which did not find favor with the authorities was publishing abroad.

===France===
{{main|Censorship in France|Internet censorship in France}}
Amid declining car sales in 2020, France banned a television ad by a Dutch bike company, saying the ad "unfairly discredited the automobile industry".<ref>{{cite web|last=Boffey|first=Daniel|date=1 July 2020|title=France bans Dutch bike TV ad for creating 'climate of fear' about cars|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/jul/01/france-bans-dutch-bike-tv-ad-for-creating-climate-of-fear|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216084257/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/jul/01/france-bans-dutch-bike-tv-ad-for-creating-climate-of-fear|archive-date=16 December 2020|website=The Guardian}}</ref>

===India===
{{main|Censorship in India|Internet censorship in India|Book censorship in India}}
The ] guarantees ], but places ] on content, with a view towards maintaining communal and religious harmony, given the history of communal tension in the nation.<ref>" {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124001157/http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/fullact1.asp?tfnm=00%2023 |date=24 November 2010 }}" 658.79&nbsp;], India Code. Retrieved 3 June 2006.</ref> According to the Information Technology Rules 2011, objectionable content includes anything that "threatens the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign states or public order".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://telegraphindia.com/1111207/jsp/nation/story_14848886.jsp | location=Calcutta, India | work=The Telegraph | title=Uncle dictates, cyber boys dispose – Sibal to work on norms for social sites | date=7 December 2011 | access-date=2 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322061556/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1111207/jsp/nation/story_14848886.jsp | archive-date=22 March 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Notably many pornographic websites are blocked in India.

===Iran===
{{main|Censorship in Iran|Internet censorship in Iran|Book censorship in Iran}}

=== Iraq ===
{{main|Censorship in Iraq|Internet censorship in Iraq}}
Iraq under ] ] had much the same techniques of press censorship as did Romania under Nicolae Ceauşescu but with greater potential violence.<ref>{{Citation|last=Svolik|first=Milan W.|title=The World of Authoritarian Politics|work=The Politics of Authoritarian Rule|year=2012|pages=19–50|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/cbo9781139176040.002|isbn=978-1139176040}}</ref>

===Japan===
{{main|Censorship in Japan|Internet censorship in Japan}}

During the ] occupation of Japan after WW2, any criticism of the Allies' pre-war policies, the SCAP, the Far East Military Tribunal, the inquiries against the United States and every direct and indirect references to the role played by the Allied High Command in drafting Japan's new constitution or to censorship of publications, movies, newspapers and magazines was subject to massive censorship, ]s, ].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.jice.or.jp/tech/columns/detail/37 | title=Ghqによる検閲の時代 | access-date=2022-07-23 | archive-date=2022-05-26 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526082442/https://www.jice.or.jp/tech/columns/detail/37 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the four years (September 1945–November 1949) since the ] was active, 200 million pieces of mail and 136 million telegrams were opened, and telephones were tapped 800,000 times. Since no criticism of the occupying forces for crimes such as the dropping of the atomic bomb, rape and robbery by US soldiers was allowed, a strict check was carried out. Those who got caught were put on a blacklist called the watchlist, and the persons and the organizations to which they belonged were investigated in detail, which made it easier to dismiss or arrest the "disturbing molecule".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.chosyu-journal.jp/review/20785 | title=「検閲官 発見されたGhq名簿」 著・山本武利 | date=15 April 2021 }}</ref>

===Malaysia===
{{main|Censorship in Malaysia|Film censorship in Malaysia}}
Under subsection 48(3) and (4) of the ] Islamic Religious Administration Enactment 2004, non-Muslims in ] are penalized for using the following words, or to write or publish them, in any form, version or translation in any language or for use in any publicity material in any medium:
''"Allah", "Firman Allah", "Ulama", "Hadith", "Ibadah", "Kaabah", "Qadhi{{'"}}, "Illahi", "Wahyu", "Mubaligh", "Syariah", "Qiblat", "Haji", "Mufti", "Rasul", "Iman", "Dakwah", "Wali", "Fatwa", "Imam", "Nabi", "Sheikh", "Khutbah", "Tabligh", "Akhirat", "Azan", "Al Quran", "As Sunnah", "Auliya{{'"}}, "Karamah", "False Moon God", "Syahadah", "Baitullah", "Musolla", "Zakat Fitrah", "Hajjah", "Taqwa" and "Soleh".''<ref>{{cite news|title=Check law first, Karpal asks Penang government over decree banning 'Islamic words'|url=http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/check-law-first-karpal-asks-penang-government-over-decree-banning-muslim-wo|newspaper=Malaysia Insider|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140115063512/http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/check-law-first-karpal-asks-penang-government-over-decree-banning-muslim-wo|archive-date=2014-01-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Penang mufti outlaws 40 words to non-Muslims|url=http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/penang-mufti-outlaws-40-words-to-non-muslims-1.459685|newspaper=New Straits Times|year=2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111074402/http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/penang-mufti-outlaws-40-words-to-non-muslims-1.459685|archive-date=2014-01-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mufti.penang.gov.my/index.php/en/fatwa/islamic-religious-administration-enactment-2004 |title=Enactment |publisher=Jabatan Mufti Negeri|date=2012|access-date=2014-09-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421082325/http://mufti.penang.gov.my/index.php/en/fatwa/islamic-religious-administration-enactment-2004 |archive-date=April 21, 2014 }}</ref>

===North Korea===
{{main|Censorship in North Korea|Radio jamming in Korea}}

=== Russia ===
{{main|Censorship in the Russian Federation|Internet censorship in Russia|Russian fake news laws|Russian 2022 war censorship laws}}
] was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison for discussing the ] in Ukraine on a ] stream.]]
On 4 March 2022, Russian President ] signed into law a bill introducing ] for those who publish "knowingly false information" about the Russian military and its operations, leading to some media outlets in Russia to stop reporting on Ukraine or shutting their media outlet.<ref>{{Cite news |work=Moscow Times |title=Over 150 Journalists Flee Russia Amid Wartime Crackdown On Free Press – Reports |date=3 April 2022 |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/07/over-150-journalists-flee-russia-amid-wartime-crackdown-on-free-press-reports-a76809 |quote=Dozhd, Ekho Moskvy and Znak have closed down after being blocked by the authorities |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308225548/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/07/over-150-journalists-flee-russia-amid-wartime-crackdown-on-free-press-reports-a76809 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/04/putin-signs-law-introducing-jail-terms-for-fake-news-on-army-a76768 |title=Putin Signs Law Introducing Jail Terms for 'Fake News' on Army |website=Moscow Times |date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314132340/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/04/putin-signs-law-introducing-jail-terms-for-fake-news-on-army-a76768 |url-status=live }}</ref> Although the ] has an article expressly prohibiting ],<ref>{{cite news |title=Explained: What Russia's war on Ukraine has meant for its news media |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-russia-war-ukraine-news-media-7825151/ |work=The Indian Express |date=18 March 2022 |archive-date=29 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329004411/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-russia-war-ukraine-news-media-7825151/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the Russian censorship apparatus '']'' ordered the country's media to only use information from Russian state sources or face fines and blocks.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 February 2022 |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/02/24/use-only-official-sources-about-ukraine-war-russian-media-watchdog-tells-journalists-a76567 |title=Use Only Official Sources About Ukraine War, Russian Media Watchdog Tells Journalists |website=] |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224123216/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/02/24/use-only-official-sources-about-ukraine-war-russian-media-watchdog-tells-journalists-a76567 |url-status=live }}</ref> As of December 2022, more than 4,000 people were prosecuted under "fake news" laws in connection with the ].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Weir |first1=Fred |title=In Russia, critiquing the Ukraine war could land you in prison |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2022/1205/In-Russia-critiquing-the-Ukraine-war-could-land-you-in-prison |work=CSMonitor.com |date=5 December 2022}}</ref>

'']''{{'s}} editor-in-chief ] was awarded the ] for his "efforts to safeguard freedom of expression". In March 2022, ''Novaya Gazeta'' suspended its print activities after receiving a second warning from ''Roskomnadzor''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-novaya-gazeta-newspaper-pauses-activities-after-official-warning-2022-03-28/|title=Russia's Novaya Gazeta newspaper pauses activities after official warning|website=Reuters|date=28 March 2022}}</ref>

=== Serbia ===
{{See also|Censorship in Serbia|Internet censorship in Serbia}}
According to Christian Mihr, executive director of ], "censorship in Serbia is neither direct nor transparent, but is easy to prove."<ref name="b92.net"/> According to Mihr there are numerous examples of censorship and self-censorship in Serbia <ref name="b92.net">{{cite news |url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2015&mm=02&dd=19&nav_id=93238|title="Censorship in Serbia is easy to prove" - RWB |date= February 19, 2015 |website=b92.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004031830/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2015&mm=02&dd=19&nav_id=93238 |archive-date=2015-10-04 }}</ref> According to Mihr, Serbian prime minister ] has proved "very sensitive to criticism, even on critical questions," as was the case with Natalija Miletic, a correspondent for ], who questioned him in Berlin about the media situation in Serbia and about allegations that some ministers in the Serbian government had plagiarized their diplomas, and who later received threats and offensive articles on the Serbian press.<ref name="b92.net" />

Multiple news outlets have accused Vučić of anti-democratic strongman tendencies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-27/how-a-premier-may-become-a-strongman-in-serbia-quicktake-q-a|title=How a Premier May Become a Strongman in Serbia: QuickTake Q&A|last=Filipovic|first=Gordana|date=March 27, 2017|website=Bloomberg|access-date=2018-09-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nougayrède |first=Natalie |date=2018-04-11 |title=Beware the chameleon strongmen of Europe |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/11/viktor-orban-aleksandar-vucic-europe-eu |url-access=registration |access-date=2018-09-18 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/aleksandar-vucic-serbias-latest-savior-is-a-modernizer-or-strongman-or-both/|title=Serbia's latest would-be savior is a modernizer, a strongman – or both|last=Karnitschnig|first=Matthew|date=2016-04-14|work=Politico Europe|access-date=2018-09-18|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/eu-and-the-balkans-brussels-favorite-strongmen/a-39294081|title=EU and the Balkans: Brussels' favorite strongmen|last=Janjevic|first=Darko|date=June 18, 2017|website=DW|language=en-US|access-date=2018-09-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://euobserver.com/beyond-brussels/137490|title=Serbia's Vucic stronger than ever|last=Anastasijevic|first=Dejan|date=April 4, 2017|work=EU Observer|access-date=2018-09-18|language=en}}</ref> In July 2014, journalists associations were concerned about the freedom of the media in Serbia, in which Vučić came under criticism.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=] |url=http://www.taz.de/!142741/ |title=Die Pampigkeit des Herrn Vučić – In Serbien werden Internetseiten attackiert, Blogs gesperrt und Blogger festgenommen. Die Betroffenen berichteten wohl zu kritisch über die Regierung |language=German |trans-title=The stroppiness of Mr. Vučić – In Serbia being attacked websites, blocked blogs and arrested bloggers. The victims reported probably too critical about the government}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Die Tageszeitung |url=http://www.taz.de/!139279 |title=Serbische Regierung zensiert Medien – Ein Virus namens Zensur |accessdate=9 December 2015 |language=de}}</ref>

In September 2015 five members of United States Congress (Edie Bernice Johnson, Carlos Curbelo, Scott Perry, Adam Kinzinger, and ]) have informed Vice President of the United States ] that Aleksandar's brother, Andrej Vučić, is leading a group responsible for deteriorating media freedom in ].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.danas.rs/drustvo/cime-se-bavi-andrej-vucic/|title=What is Andrej Vučić occupation?|last=Čogradin|first=Snežana|date=4 November 2016|work=Danas}}</ref>

===Singapore===

{{further|Censorship in Singapore|Internet censorship in Singapore|Media censorship in Singapore}}
In the ], Section 33 of the Films Act originally banned the making, distribution and exhibition of "party political films", at the pain of a fine not exceeding $100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Films Act – Singapore Statutes Online|url=https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/FA1981|access-date=2020-11-24|website=sso.agc.gov.sg|language=en}}</ref> The Act further defines a "party political film" as any film or video

:(a) which is an advertisement made by or on behalf of any political party in Singapore or any body whose objects relate wholly or mainly to politics in Singapore, or any branch of such party or body; or
:(b) which is made by any person and directed towards any political end in Singapore

In 2001, the short documentary called ''A Vision of Persistence'' on opposition politician ] was also banned for being a "party political film". The makers of the documentary, all lecturers at the Ngee Ann Polytechnic, later submitted written apologies and withdrew the documentary from being screened at the 2001 ] in April, having been told they could be charged in court.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-09-16|title=Heard about the film Singapore has banned its people from seeing?|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/have-you-heard-about-film-singapore-has-banned-its-people-watching-well-you-have-now-9736530.html|access-date=2020-11-24|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref> Another short documentary called ''Singapore Rebel'' by ], which documented ] leader Dr ]'s acts of civil disobedience, was banned from the 2005 ] on the same grounds and See is being investigated for possible violations of the Films Act.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2005-09-26|title=Police investigation of filmmaker intensifies; SEAPA urges authorities to end probe and repeal Films Act|url=https://ifex.org/police-investigation-of-filmmaker-intensifies-seapa-urges-authorities-to-end-probe-and-repeal-films-act/|access-date=2020-11-24|website=IFEX|language=en-US}}</ref>

This law, however, is often disregarded when such political films are made supporting the ruling ] (PAP). ]'s five-part documentary series on Singapore's PAP ministers in 2005, for example, was not considered a party political film.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tan|first=Kenneth Paul|date=2016-04-02|title=Choosing What to Remember in Neoliberal Singapore: The Singapore Story, State Censorship and State-Sponsored Nostalgia|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2016.1158779|journal=Asian Studies Review|volume=40|issue=2|pages=231–249|doi=10.1080/10357823.2016.1158779|s2cid=147095200|issn=1035-7823}}</ref>

Exceptions are also made when political films are made concerning political parties of other nations. Films such as ]'s 2004 documentary '']'' are thus allowed to screen regardless of the law.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Competing narratives is a boon, not a bane|url=http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/competing-narratives-is-a-boon-not-a-bane-080122683.html|access-date=2020-11-24|website=sg.news.yahoo.com|date=4 October 2014 |language=en-SG}}</ref>

Since March 2009, the Films Act has been amended to allow party political films as long as they were deemed factual and objective by a consultative committee. Some months later, this committee lifted the ban on Singapore Rebel.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2009-03-23|title=Singapore eases law on political films|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-films-idUSTRE52M29320090323|access-date=2020-11-24}}</ref>

=== Soviet Union ===
{{main|Censorship in the Soviet Union|Censorship of images in the Soviet Union}}
Independent journalism did not exist in the ] until ] became its leader. Gorbachev adopted ] (openness), political reform aimed at reducing censorship; before glasnost all reporting was directed by the ] or related organizations. ], the predominant newspaper in the Soviet Union, had a monopoly. Foreign newspapers were available only if they were published by ] sympathetic to the Soviet Union.

=== Spain ===
{{main|Censorship in Spain|Internet censorship in Spain}}

===Turkey===
{{See also|Censorship in Turkey|2017 block of Misplaced Pages in Turkey|2016–present purges in Turkey}}
] on ], 10 December 2016]]
Online access to all language versions of ] was blocked in ] on 29 April 2017 by ]'s government.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39754909|title=Turkish authorities block Misplaced Pages without giving reason|date=29 April 2017|newspaper=BBC News|language=en-GB}}</ref>

] of the Turkish Penal Code deems it illegal to "Insult the ]"''.'' A person who is sentenced for a violation of this article can be sentenced to a prison term between one and four years and if the violation was made in public the verdict can be elevated by a sixth.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2018-07-20|title=The Curious Case of Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code: Insulting the Turkish President|url=https://verfassungsblog.de/the-curious-case-of-article-299-of-the-turkish-penal-code-insulting-the-turkish-president/|journal=Verfassungsblog: On Matters Constitutional|doi=10.17176/20180720-091632-0 |language=en-US|archive-date=2020-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117001209/https://verfassungsblog.de/the-curious-case-of-article-299-of-the-turkish-penal-code-insulting-the-turkish-president/|url-status=live |last1=Tecimer |first1=Cem }}</ref> Prosecutions often target critics of the government, independent journalists, and political cartoonists.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eko |first1=Lyombe |title=The Charlie Hebdo Affair and Comparative Journalistic Cultures: Human Rights Versus Religious Rites |date=2019 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-18079-9 |page=208 |language=en |chapter=The Charlie Hebdo Affair in Turkey: Balancing Human Rights and Religious Rites}}</ref> Between 2014 and 2019, 128,872 investigations were launched for this offense and prosecutors opened 27,717 criminal cases.<ref>{{cite news |title=Investigation Highlights Spike in Cases of Insulting Turkish President |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2021/01/15/investigation-highlights-spike-in-cases-of-insulting-turkish-president/ |work=Balkan Insight |date=15 January 2021 |archive-date=2 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202135654/https://balkaninsight.com/2021/01/15/investigation-highlights-spike-in-cases-of-insulting-turkish-president/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===United Kingdom===
{{main|Censorship in the United Kingdom|Internet censorship in the United Kingdom|Film censorship in the United Kingdom}}
From December 1956 until 1974 the ] political party ] was banned from participating in elections by the Northern Ireland Government.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bourne |first=Angela |author-link= |date=2018 |title=Democratic Dilemmas: Why democracies ban political parties. |url= |location= |publisher=Taylor & Francis Group |page=176 |isbn=9781138898011}}</ref> From 1988 until 1994 the British government prevented the UK media from broadcasting the voices (but not words) of Sinn Féin and ten Irish republican and ] groups.<ref>{{cite news |title=The 'broadcast ban' on Sinn Féin |work=BBC News |first=Francis |last=Welch |date=5 April 2005 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4409447.stm |access-date=21 June 2013 |archive-date=26 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726210043/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4409447.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

===United States===
{{main|Censorship in the United States|Internet censorship in the United States|Film censorship in the United States|Book censorship in the United States|Censorship of school curricula in the United States}}
{{See also|Censorship of student media in the United States}}
In the United States, most forms of censorship are self-imposed rather than enforced by the government. The government does not routinely censor material, although state and local governments often restrict what is provided in libraries and public schools.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ncac.org/issue/books|title=Books|website=National Coalition Against Censorship|language=en-US|access-date=2016-04-11}}</ref> In addition, distribution, receipt, and transmission (but not ]) of ] may be prohibited by law. Furthermore, under ], the FCC has the power to prohibit the transmission of indecent material over broadcast. Additionally, critics of ] say this reform imposes widespread restrictions on political speech.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.giantleap.org/envision/campaign.htm|title=The Trick of Campaign Finance Reform|newspaper=Christian Science Monitor}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reason.com/news/show/132594.html|title=Felonious Advocacy|date=April 2009|publisher=reason}}</ref>

=== Uruguay ===
{{main|Censorship in Uruguay|Internet censorship in Uruguay}}
In 1973, a military coup took power in Uruguay, and the State practiced censorship. For example, writer ] was imprisoned and later was forced to flee. His book ] was banned by the right-wing military government, not only in Uruguay, but also in Chile and Argentina.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/28/eduardo|title=Fresh Off Worldwide Attention for Joining Obama's Book Collection, Uruguayan Author Eduardo Galeano Returns with "Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone"|date=28 May 2009|publisher=Democracynow.org|access-date=2011-10-21}}</ref>

{{Clear}}


==See also== ==See also==
{{portal|Freedom of speech|Journalism}}
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* {{annotated link|Motion Picture Production Code|aka=Hays Code}}
*]
* {{annotated link|Nineteen Eighty-Four|''Nineteen Eighty-Four''}}
*]
* {{annotated link|Orwellian}}
*]
* {{annotated link|Taboo}}
*]
* {{annotated link|Streisand effect}}
{{multicol-end}}


==References==
==Citations and notes==
{{Reflist}}
{{reflist|colspan=2}}


==General information== ===Works cited===
* {{Citation|last=Crampton|first=R.J.|title = Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century and After|publisher=Routledge|year=1997|isbn=978-0415164221}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{Citation|last1=Major|first1=Patrick|last2=Mitter|first2=Rana|chapter=East is East and West is West?|title=Across the Blocs: Exploring Comparative Cold War Cultural and Social History|editor-last=Major|editor-first=Patrick|publisher=Taylor & Francis, Inc.|year=2004|isbn=978-0714684642}}
*Abbott, Randy. "A Critical Analysis of the Library-Related Literature Concerning Censorship in Public Libraries and Public School Libraries in the United States During the 1980s." Project for degree of Education Specialist, University of South Florida, December 1987. ]
*Burress, Lee. ''Battle of the Books''. Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, 1989. ]
*], "Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative" (1997)
*], edited by Lawrence D. Kritzman. ''Philosophy, Culture: interviews and other writings 1977–1984'' (New York/London: 1988, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-90082-4) (The text ''Sexual Morality and the Law'' is Chapter 16 of the book).
*O'Reilly, Robert C. and Larry Parker. "Censorship or Curriculum Modification?" Paper presented at a School Boards Association, 1982, 14 p. ]
*Hansen, Terry. ''The Missing Times: News media complicity in the UFO cover-up,'' 2000. ISBN 0-7388-3612-5
*Hendrikson, Leslie. "Library Censorship: ERIC Digest No. 23." ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education, Boulder, Colorado, November 1985. ]
*Hoffman, Frank. "Intellectual Freedom and Censorship." Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, 1989. ]
*Marek, Kate. "Schoolbook Censorship USA." June 1987. ]
*National Coalition against Censorship (NCAC). "Books on Trial: A Survey of Recent Cases." January 1985. ]
*Ringmar, Erik (London: Anthem Press, 2007)
*Small, Robert C., Jr. "Preparing the New English Teacher to Deal with Censorship, or Will I Have to Face it Alone?" Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English, 1987, 16 p.
:(Arguing that an English teacher should get advice from school librarians in preparing to encounter three levels of censorship:
#Rejection of adolescent fiction and popular teen magazines as having low value,
#Experienced colleagues discouraging "difficult" lesson plans,
#Outside interest groups limiting students' exposure. ])
*Terry, John David II. "Censorship: Post Pico." In "School Law Update, 1986," edited by Thomas N. Jones and Darel P. Semler. ]
*
*], volume 3 (C-Ch), pages 345, 346
{{refend}}


==External links== ==Further reading==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikia | censorship}}
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=no |others=yes lcheading=Censorship}}
{{wikibooks|Legal and Regulatory Issues in the Information Economy}}
* Abbott, Randy. "." Project for degree of Education Specialist, ], December 1987.
{{Wiktionary}}
* Biltereyst, Daniel, ed. . Palgrave/Macmillan, 2013.* Birmingham, Kevin, ''The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses'', London (Head of Zeus Ltd), 2014, {{ISBN|978-1594203367}}
* Burress, Lee. ''''. Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, 1989.
* ], "Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative"(1997).
* ], {{Cite book |title=Censors at Work: How States Shaped Literature |year=2014 |publisher=W. W. Norton |location=New York |isbn=978-0393242294 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/censorsatworkhow0000darn }}
* Demm, Eberhard. ''Censorship and Propaganda in World War I: A Comprehensive History'' (Bloomsbury Academic, 2019)
* ], edited by Lawrence D. Kritzman. ''Philosophy, Culture: Interviews and Other Writings 1977–1984'' (New York/London: 1988, Routledge, {{ISBN|0415900824}}) (The text ''Sexual Morality and the Law'' is Chapter 16 of the book).
* Gilbert, Nora. . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2013.
* Hoffman, Frank. . Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, 1989.
* Mathiesen, Kay '' Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics'', Kenneth E. Himma, Herman T. Tavani, eds., John Wiley and Sons, New York, 2008
* National Coalition against Censorship (NCAC). "Books on Trial: A Survey of Recent Cases." January 1985.
* Parker, Alison M. (1997). , University of Illinois Press.
* Ringmar, Erik (London: Anthem Press, 2007)
* Terry, John David II. "Censorship: Post Pico." In ''School Law Update, 1986'', edited by Thomas N. Jones and Darel P. Semler.
* {{cite encyclopedia |last= Sandefur|first= Timothy |author-link= |editor-first=Ronald |editor-last=Hamowy |editor-link=Ronald Hamowy |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism |chapter= Censorship |chapter-url= https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/libertarianism/n37.xml|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yxNgXs3TkJYC |year=2008 |publisher= ]; ] |location= Thousand Oaks, CA <!-- |doi= 10.4135/9781412965811.n37 -->|isbn= 978-1412965804 <!-- |oclc=750831024| lccn = 2008009151 --> |pages=56–57 }}
* Silber, Radomír. ''Partisan Media and Modern Censorship: Media Influence On Czech Political Partisanship and the Media's Creation of Limits to Public Opposition and Control of Exercising Power in the Czech Republic in the 1990s''. First edition. Brno: Tribun EU, 2017. 86 stran. Librix.eu. {{ISBN|978-8026311744}}.
* Silber, Radomír. (2018) On Modern Censorship in Public Service Broadcasting. ''Cultural and Religious Studies, Volume 3'', 2018, {{ISSN|2328-2177}}.
* Wittern-Keller, Laura. . University Press of Kentucky 2008
* Gosztonyi, Gergely. (2023) Springer, Cham. <nowiki>ISBN 978-3-031-46528-4</nowiki>


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Latest revision as of 00:48, 22 December 2024

Suppression of speech or other information For Misplaced Pages's policy concerning censorship, see Misplaced Pages:Misplaced Pages is not censored
This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (December 2021)

The plaster cast of David at the Victoria and Albert Museum has a detachable plaster fig leaf which is displayed nearby. Legend claims that the fig leaf was created in response to Queen Victoria's shock upon first viewing the statue's nudity and was hung on the figure prior to royal visits, using two strategically placed hooks.
Information science
General aspects
Related fields and subfields
Part of a series on
Censorship by country
A censorship symbol
Countries
List
See also

Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments and private institutions. When an individual such as an author or other creator engages in censorship of their own works or speech, it is referred to as self-censorship. General censorship occurs in a variety of different media, including speech, books, music, films, and other arts, the press, radio, television, and the Internet for a variety of claimed reasons including national security, to control obscenity, pornography, and hate speech, to protect children or other vulnerable groups, to promote or restrict political or religious views, and to prevent slander and libel. Specific rules and regulations regarding censorship vary between legal jurisdictions and/or private organizations.

History

Chinese troops destroyed the statue Goddess of Democracy in Tiananmen Square in 1989, and continue to censor information about those events. This statue, now known as the Victims of Communism Memorial, was recreated by Thomas Marsh in Washington, DC.
Book burning in Chile following the 1973 coup that installed the Pinochet regime

In 399 BC, Greek philosopher, Socrates, while defying attempts by the Athenian state to censor his philosophical teachings, was accused of collateral charges related to the corruption of Athenian youth and sentenced to death by drinking a poison, hemlock.

The details of Socrates's conviction are recorded by Plato as follows. In 399 BC, Socrates went on trial and was subsequently found guilty of both corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens and of impiety (asebeia, "not believing in the gods of the state"), and as a punishment sentenced to death, caused by the drinking of a mixture containing hemlock.

Socrates' student, Plato, is said to have advocated censorship in his essay on The Republic, which opposed the existence of democracy. In contrast to Plato, Greek playwright Euripides (480–406 BC) defended the true liberty of freeborn men, including the right to speak freely. In 1766, Sweden became the first country to abolish censorship by law.

Rationale and criticism

Censorship has been criticized throughout history for being unfair and hindering progress. In a 1997 essay on Internet censorship, social commentator Michael Landier explains that censorship is counterproductive as it prevents the censored topic from being discussed. Landier expands his argument by claiming that those who impose censorship must consider what they censor to be true, as individuals believing themselves to be correct would welcome the opportunity to disprove those with opposing views.

Censorship is often used to impose moral values on society, as in the censorship of material considered obscene. English novelist E. M. Forster was a staunch opponent of censoring material on the grounds that it was obscene or immoral, raising the issue of moral subjectivity and the constant changing of moral values. When the 1928 novel Lady Chatterley's Lover was put on trial in 1960, Forster wrote:

Lady Chatterley's Lover is a literary work of importance...I do not think that it could be held obscene, but am in a difficulty here, for the reason that I have never been able to follow the legal definition of obscenity. The law tells me that obscenity may deprave and corrupt, but as far as I know, it offers no definition of depravity or corruption.

Proponents have sought to justify it using different rationales for various types of information censored:

  • Moral censorship is the removal of materials that are obscene or otherwise considered morally questionable. Pornography, for example, is often censored under this rationale, especially child pornography, which is illegal and censored in most jurisdictions in the world.
  • Military censorship is the process of keeping military intelligence and tactics confidential and away from the enemy. This is used to counter espionage.
  • Political censorship occurs when governments hold back information from their citizens. This is often done to exert control over the populace and prevent free expression that might foment rebellion.
  • Religious censorship is the means by which any material considered objectionable by a certain religion is removed. This often involves a dominant religion forcing limitations on less prevalent ones. Alternatively, one religion may shun the works of another when they believe the content is not appropriate for their religion.
  • Corporate censorship is the process by which editors in corporate media outlets intervene to disrupt the publishing of information that portrays their business or business partners in a negative light, or intervene to prevent alternate offers from reaching public exposure.

Types

Political

Main article: Political censorshipSee also: Eastern Bloc information dissemination, Censorship in Cuba, Censorship in the People's Republic of China, and Censorship in North Korea

State secrets and prevention of attention

The daily newspaper of Wrocław, Polish People's Republic, March 20–21, 1981, with censor intervention on first and last pages – under the headlines "Co się zdarzyło w Bydgoszczy?" (What happened in Bydgoszcz?) and "Pogotowie strajkowe w całym kraju" (Country-wide strike alert). The censor had removed a section regarding the strike alert; hence the workers in the printing house blanked out an official propaganda section. The right-hand page also includes a hand-written confirmation of that decision by the local Solidarity trade union.

In wartime, explicit censorship is carried out with the intent of preventing the release of information that might be useful to an enemy. Typically it involves keeping times or locations secret, or delaying the release of information (e.g., an operational objective) until it is of no possible use to enemy forces. The moral issues here are often seen as somewhat different, as the proponents of this form of censorship argue that the release of tactical information usually presents a greater risk of casualties among one's own forces and could possibly lead to loss of the overall conflict.

During World War I letters written by British soldiers would have to go through censorship. This consisted of officers going through letters with a black marker and crossing out anything which might compromise operational secrecy before the letter was sent. The World War II catchphrase "Loose lips sink ships" was used as a common justification to exercise official wartime censorship and encourage individual restraint when sharing potentially sensitive information.

An example of "sanitization" policies comes from the USSR under Joseph Stalin, where publicly used photographs were often altered to remove people whom Stalin had condemned to execution. Though past photographs may have been remembered or kept, this deliberate and systematic alteration to all of history in the public mind is seen as one of the central themes of Stalinism and totalitarianism.

Censorship is occasionally carried out to aid authorities or to protect an individual, as with some kidnappings when attention and media coverage of the victim can sometimes be seen as unhelpful.

Religion

Main article: Censorship by religion
Portrayal of the burning of William Pynchon's 1650 critique on Puritanical Calvinism in Boston by the Puritan-controlled Massachusetts Bay Colony

Censorship by religion is a form of censorship where freedom of expression is controlled or limited using religious authority or on the basis of the teachings of the religion. This form of censorship has a long history and is practiced in many societies and by many religions. Examples include the Galileo affair, Edict of Compiègne, the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (list of prohibited books) and the condemnation of Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Images of the Islamic figure Muhammad are also regularly censored. In some secular countries, this is sometimes done to prevent hurting religious sentiments.

Educational sources

Historic Russian censorship. Book Notes of my life by N.I. Grech, published in St. Petersburg 1886 by A.S. Suvorin. The censored text was replaced by dots.

The content of school textbooks is often an issue of debate, since their target audiences are young people. The term whitewashing is commonly used to refer to revisionism aimed at glossing over difficult or questionable historical events, or a biased presentation thereof. The reporting of military atrocities in history is extremely controversial, as in the case of the Holocaust (or Holocaust denial), Bombing of Dresden, the Nanking Massacre as found with Japanese history textbook controversies, the Armenian genocide, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and the Winter Soldier Investigation of the Vietnam War.

In the context of secondary school education, the way facts and history are presented greatly influences the interpretation of contemporary thought, opinion and socialization. One argument for censoring the type of information disseminated is based on the inappropriate quality of such material for the younger public. The use of the "inappropriate" distinction is in itself controversial, as it changed heavily. A Ballantine Books version of the book Fahrenheit 451 which is the version used by most school classes contained approximately 75 separate edits, omissions, and changes from the original Bradbury manuscript.

In February 2006, a National Geographic cover was censored by the Nashravaran Journalistic Institute. The offending cover was about the subject of love and a picture of an embracing couple was hidden beneath a white sticker.

Economic induced censorship

Economic induced censorship is a type of censorship enacted by economic markets to favor, and disregard, types of information. Economic induced censorship is also caused by market forces which privatize and establish commodification of certain information that is not accessible by the general public, primarily because of the cost associated with commodified information such as academic journals, industry reports and pay to use repositories.

The concept was illustrated as a censorship pyramid that was conceptualized by primarily Julian Assange, along with Andy Müller-Maguhn, Jacob Appelbaum and Jérémie Zimmermann, in the Cypherpunks (book).

Self-censorship

Author Ozzie Zehner self-censored the American edition of his environmental book, Green Illusions, fearing food libel laws.
A person in Putin's Palace has had their face and reflection obscured presumably to prevent retaliation for distributing such photos.
Main article: Self-censorship
Ithyphallic god Min, tumescence obscured

Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse. This is done out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities or preferences (actual or perceived) of others and without overt pressure from any specific party or institution of authority. Self-censorship is often practiced by film producers, film directors, publishers, news anchors, journalists, musicians, and other kinds of authors including individuals who use social media.

According to a Pew Research Center and the Columbia Journalism Review survey, "About one-quarter of the local and national journalists say they have purposely avoided newsworthy stories, while nearly as many acknowledge they have softened the tone of stories to benefit the interests of their news organizations. Fully four-in-ten (41%) admit they have engaged in either or both of these practices."

Threats to media freedom have shown a significant increase in Europe in recent years, according to a study published in April 2017 by the Council of Europe. This results in a fear of physical or psychological violence, and the ultimate result is self-censorship by journalists.

Copy, picture, and writer approval

Copy approval is the right to read and amend an article, usually an interview, before publication. Many publications refuse to give copy approval but it is increasingly becoming common practice when dealing with publicity anxious celebrities. Picture approval is the right given to an individual to choose which photos will be published and which will not. Robert Redford is well known for insisting upon picture approval. Writer approval is when writers are chosen based on whether they will write flattering articles or not. Hollywood publicist Pat Kingsley is known for banning certain writers who wrote undesirably about one of her clients from interviewing any of her other clients.

Reverse censorship

Flooding the public, often through online social networks, with false or misleading information is sometimes called "reverse censorship". American legal scholar Tim Wu has explained that this type of information control, sometimes by state actors, can "distort or drown out disfavored speech through the creation and dissemination of fake news, the payment of fake commentators, and the deployment of propaganda robots."

Soft censorship

See also: Media manipulation and Independent media § Influences in media systems

Soft, or indirect, censorship is the practice of influencing news coverage by applying financial pressure on media companies that are deemed critical of a government or its policies and rewarding media outlets and individual journalists who are seen as friendly to the government.

By media

This section needs expansion with: Television and News Media censorship. You can help by making an edit requestadding to it . (May 2020)

Books

Main article: Book censorship
Nazi book burning in Berlin, May 1933

Book censorship can be enacted at the national or sub-national level, and can carry legal penalties for their infraction. Books may also be challenged at a local, community level. As a result, books can be removed from schools or libraries, although these bans do not typically extend outside of that area.

Films

Main article: Film censorship

Aside from the usual justifications of pornography and obscenity, some films are censored due to changing racial attitudes or political correctness in order to avoid ethnic stereotyping and/or ethnic offense despite its historical or artistic value. One example is the still withdrawn "Censored Eleven" series of animated cartoons, which may have been innocent then, but are "incorrect" now.

Film censorship is carried out by various countries. Film censorship is achieved by censoring the producer or restricting a state citizen. For example, in China the film industry censors LGBT-related films. Filmmakers must resort to finding funds from international investors such as the "Ford Foundations" and or produce through an independent film company.

Music

Main article: Censorship of music

Music censorship has been implemented by states, religions, educational systems, families, retailers and lobbying groups – and in most cases they violate international conventions of human rights.

Maps

Main articles: Censorship of maps and Cartographic censorship

Censorship of maps is often employed for military purposes. For example, the technique was used in former East Germany, especially for the areas near the border to West Germany in order to make attempts of defection more difficult. Censorship of maps is also applied by Google Maps, where certain areas are grayed out or blacked or areas are purposely left outdated with old imagery.

Art

Art is loved and feared because of its evocative power. Destroying or oppressing art can potentially justify its meaning even more.

British photographer and visual artist Graham Ovenden's photos and paintings were ordered to be destroyed by a London's magistrate court in 2015 for being "indecent" and their copies had been removed from the online Tate gallery.

Artworks using these four colors were banned by Israeli law in the 1980s. This ban ended in 1993.

A 1980 Israeli law forbade banned artwork composed of the four colours of the Palestinian flag, and Palestinians were arrested for displaying such artwork or even for carrying sliced melons with the same pattern.

Cuban artist Tania Bruguera

Moath al-Alwi is a Guantanamo Bay prisoner who creates model ships as an expression of art. Alwi does so with the few tools he has at his disposal such as dental floss and shampoo bottles, and he is also allowed to use a small pair of scissors with rounded edges. A few of Alwi's pieces are on display at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. There are also other artworks on display at the College that were created by other inmates. The artwork that is being displayed might be the only way for some of the inmates to communicate with the outside. Recently things have changed though. The military has come up with a new policy that will not allow the artwork at Guantanamo Bay Military Prison to leave the prison. The artwork created by Alwi and other prisoners is now government property and can be destroyed or disposed of in whatever way the government choose, making it no longer the artist's property.

Around 300 artists in Cuba are fighting for their artistic freedom due to new censorship rules Cuba's government has in place for artists. In December 2018, following the introduction of new rules that would ban music performances and artwork not authorized by the state, performance artist Tania Bruguera was detained upon arriving to Havana and released after four days.

Nazi art show
The Degenerate Art Exhibition

An example of extreme state censorship was the Nazis' requirements of using art as propaganda. Art was only allowed to be used as a political instrument to control people and failure to act in accordance with the censors was punishable by law, even fatal. The Degenerate Art Exhibition was a historical instance of this, the goal of which was to advertise Nazi values and slander others.

Internet

Main article: Internet censorship
Internet censorship and surveillance by country (2018)   Pervasive   Substantial   Selective   Little or none   Not classified / No data

Internet censorship is control or suppression of the publishing or accessing of information on the Internet. It may be carried out by governments or by private organizations either at the behest of the government or on their own initiative. Individuals and organizations may engage in self-censorship on their own or due to intimidation and fear.

The issues associated with Internet censorship are similar to those for offline censorship of more traditional media. One difference is that national borders are more permeable online: residents of a country that bans certain information can find it on websites hosted outside the country. Thus censors must work to prevent access to information even though they lack physical or legal control over the websites themselves. This in turn requires the use of technical censorship methods that are unique to the Internet, such as site blocking and content filtering.

Furthermore, the Domain Name System (DNS) a critical component of the Internet is dominated by centralized and few entities. The most widely used DNS root is administered by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). As an administrator they have rights to shut down and seize domain names when they deem necessary to do so and at most times the direction is from governments. This has been the case with Wikileaks shutdowns and name seizure events such as the ones executed by the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) managed by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). This makes it easy for internet censorship by authorities as they have control over what should or should not be on the Internet. Some activists and researchers have started opting for alternative DNS roots, though the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) does not support these DNS root providers.

Unless the censor has total control over all Internet-connected computers, such as in North Korea or Cuba, total censorship of information is very difficult or impossible to achieve due to the underlying distributed technology of the Internet. Pseudonymity and data havens (such as Freenet) protect free speech using technologies that guarantee material cannot be removed and prevents the identification of authors. Technologically savvy users can often find ways to access blocked content. Nevertheless, blocking remains an effective means of limiting access to sensitive information for most users when censors, such as those in China, are able to devote significant resources to building and maintaining a comprehensive censorship system.

Views about the feasibility and effectiveness of Internet censorship have evolved in parallel with the development of the Internet and censorship technologies:

  • A 1993 Time magazine article quotes computer scientist John Gillmore, one of the founders of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, as saying "The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it."
  • In November 2007, "Father of the Internet" Vint Cerf stated that he sees government control of the Internet failing because the Web is almost entirely privately owned.
  • A report of research conducted in 2007 and published in 2009 by the Beckman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University stated that: "We are confident that the tool developers will for the most part keep ahead of the governments' blocking efforts", but also that "...we believe that less than two percent of all filtered Internet users use circumvention tools".
  • In contrast, a 2011 report by researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute published by UNESCO concludes "... the control of information on the Internet and Web is certainly feasible, and technological advances do not therefore guarantee greater freedom of speech."

A BBC World Service poll of 27,973 adults in 26 countries, including 14,306 Internet users, was conducted between 30 November 2009 and 7 February 2010. The head of the polling organization felt, overall, that the poll showed that:

Despite worries about privacy and fraud, people around the world see access to the internet as their fundamental right. They think the web is a force for good, and most don't want governments to regulate it.

The poll found that nearly four in five (78%) Internet users felt that the Internet had brought them greater freedom, that most Internet users (53%) felt that "the internet should never be regulated by any level of government anywhere", and almost four in five Internet users and non-users around the world felt that access to the Internet was a fundamental right (50% strongly agreed, 29% somewhat agreed, 9% somewhat disagreed, 6% strongly disagreed, and 6% gave no opinion).

Social media

The rising use of social media in many nations has led to the emergence of citizens organizing protests through social media, sometimes called "Twitter Revolutions". The most notable of these social media-led protests were the Arab Spring uprisings, starting in 2010. In response to the use of social media in these protests, the Tunisian government began a hack of Tunisian citizens' Facebook accounts, and reports arose of accounts being deleted.

Automated systems can be used to censor social media posts, and therefore limit what citizens can say online. This most notably occurs in China, where social media posts are automatically censored depending on content. In 2013, Harvard political science professor Gary King led a study to determine what caused social media posts to be censored and found that posts mentioning the government were not more or less likely to be deleted if they were supportive or critical of the government. Posts mentioning collective action were more likely to be deleted than those that had not mentioned collective action. Currently, social media censorship appears primarily as a way to restrict Internet users' ability to organize protests. For the Chinese government, seeing citizens unhappy with local governance is beneficial as state and national leaders can replace unpopular officials. King and his researchers were able to predict when certain officials would be removed based on the number of unfavorable social media posts.

Research has proved that criticism is tolerable on social media sites, therefore it is not censored unless it has a higher chance of collective action. It is not important whether the criticism is supportive or unsupportive of the states' leaders, the main priority of censoring certain social media posts is to make sure that no big actions are being made due to something that was said on the internet. Posts that challenge the Party's political leading role in the Chinese government are more likely to be censored due to the challenges it poses to the Chinese Communist Party.

In December 2022 Elon Musk, owner and CEO of Twitter released internal documents from the social media microblogging site to journalists Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger and Bari Weiss. The analysis of these files on Twitter, collectively called, the Twitter Files, explored the content moderation and visibility filtering carried out in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the Hunter Biden laptop controversy.

On the platform TikTok, certain hashtags have been categorized by the platform's code and determines how viewers can or cannot interact with the content or hashtag specifically. Some shadowbanned tags include: #acab, #GayArab, #gej due to their referencing of certain social movements and LGBTQ identity. As TikTok guidelines are becoming more localized around the world, some experts believe that this could result in more censorship than before.

Video games

Main articles: Video game censorship and List of regionally censored video games

Since the early 1980s, advocates of video games have emphasized their use as an expressive medium, arguing for their protection under the laws governing freedom of speech and also as an educational tool. Detractors argue that video games are harmful and therefore should be subject to legislative oversight and restrictions. Many video games have certain elements removed or edited due to regional rating standards. For example, in the Japanese and PAL Versions of No More Heroes, blood splatter and gore is removed from the gameplay. Decapitation scenes are implied, but not shown. Scenes of missing body parts after having been cut off, are replaced with the same scene, but showing the body parts fully intact.

Impact of surveillance

See also: Surveillance, Mass surveillance, and Computer and network surveillance

Surveillance and censorship are different. Surveillance can be performed without censorship, but it is harder to engage in censorship without some form of surveillance. Even when surveillance does not lead directly to censorship, the widespread knowledge or belief that a person, their computer, or their use of the Internet is under surveillance can have a "chilling effect" and lead to self-censorship.

Implementation

Censored pre-press proof of two articles from Notícias da Amadora, a Portuguese newspaper, 1970

The former Soviet Union maintained a particularly extensive program of state-imposed censorship. The main organ for official censorship in the Soviet Union was the Chief Agency for Protection of Military and State Secrets generally known as the Glavlit, its Russian acronym. The Glavlit handled censorship matters arising from domestic writings of just about any kind – even beer and vodka labels. Glavlit censorship personnel were present in every large Soviet publishing house or newspaper; the agency employed some 70,000 censors to review information before it was disseminated by publishing houses, editorial offices, and broadcasting studios. No mass medium escaped Glavlit's control. All press agencies and radio and television stations had Glavlit representatives on their editorial staffs.

Sometimes, public knowledge of the existence of a specific document is subtly suppressed, a situation resembling censorship. The authorities taking such action will justify it by declaring the work to be "subversive" or "inconvenient". An example is Michel Foucault's 1978 text Sexual Morality and the Law (later republished as The Danger of Child Sexuality), originally published as La loi de la pudeur [literally, "the law of decency"]. This work defends the decriminalization of statutory rape and the abolition of age of consent laws.

When a publisher comes under pressure to suppress a book, but has already entered into a contract with the author, they will sometimes effectively censor the book by deliberately ordering a small print run and making minimal, if any, attempts to publicize it. This practice became known in the early 2000s as privishing (private publishing). an OpenNet Initiative (ONI) classifications:

By country

Main article: Censorship by country

Censorship for individual countries is measured by Freedom House (FH) Freedom of the Press report, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) Press freedom index and V-Dem government censorship effort index. Censorship aspects are measured by Freedom on the Net and OpenNet Initiative (ONI) classifications. Censorship by country collects information on censorship, internet censorship, press freedom, freedom of speech, and human rights by country and presents it in a sortable table, together with links to articles with more information. In addition to countries, the table includes information on former countries, disputed countries, political sub-units within countries, and regional organizations.

Australia

Main articles: Censorship in Australia and Internet censorship in Australia

Belgium

In French-speaking Belgium, politicians considered far-right are banned from live media appearances such as interviews or debates.

Canada

Main articles: Censorship in Canada and Book censorship in Canada

Very little is formally censored in Canada, aside from "obscenity" (as defined in the landmark criminal case of R v Butler) which is generally limited to pornography and child pornography depicting and/or advocating non-consensual sex, sexual violence, degradation, or dehumanization, in particular that which causes harm (as in R v Labaye). Most films are simply subject to classification by the British Columbia Film Classification Office under the non-profit Crown corporation by the name of Consumer Protection BC, whose classifications are officially used by the provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Manitoba.

Cuba

Main articles: Censorship in Cuba and Internet censorship in Cuba

Cuban media used to be operated under the supervision of the Communist Party's Department of Revolutionary Orientation, which "develops and coordinates propaganda strategies". Connection to the Internet is restricted and censored.

China

Main articles: Censorship in China, Internet censorship in China, Film censorship in China, Book censorship in China, Blood censorship in China, and Radio jamming in China

The People's Republic of China employs sophisticated censorship mechanisms, referred to as the Golden Shield Project, to monitor the internet. Popular search engines such as Baidu also remove politically sensitive search results.

Eastern Bloc

See also: Eastern Bloc media and propaganda
Photo of Capt. Sergej Petras and Capt. Josef Buršík from 1945. Buršík was strongly against the invasion in 1968 to Czechoslovakia, so it was allowed to publish only the left half of the picture, Buršík was removed.

Strict censorship existed in the Eastern Bloc. Throughout the bloc, the various ministries of culture held a tight rein on their writers. Cultural products there reflected the propaganda needs of the state. Party-approved censors exercised strict control in the early years. In the Stalinist period, even the weather forecasts were changed if they suggested that the sun might not shine on May Day. Under Nicolae Ceauşescu in Romania, weather reports were doctored so that the temperatures were not seen to rise above or fall below the levels which dictated that work must stop.

Possession and use of copying machines was tightly controlled in order to hinder the production and distribution of samizdat, illegal self-published books and magazines. Possession of even a single samizdat manuscript such as a book by Andrei Sinyavsky was a serious crime which might involve a visit from the KGB. Another outlet for works which did not find favor with the authorities was publishing abroad.

France

Main articles: Censorship in France and Internet censorship in France

Amid declining car sales in 2020, France banned a television ad by a Dutch bike company, saying the ad "unfairly discredited the automobile industry".

India

Main articles: Censorship in India, Internet censorship in India, and Book censorship in India

The Constitution of India guarantees freedom of expression, but places certain restrictions on content, with a view towards maintaining communal and religious harmony, given the history of communal tension in the nation. According to the Information Technology Rules 2011, objectionable content includes anything that "threatens the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign states or public order". Notably many pornographic websites are blocked in India.

Iran

Main articles: Censorship in Iran, Internet censorship in Iran, and Book censorship in Iran

Iraq

Main articles: Censorship in Iraq and Internet censorship in Iraq

Iraq under Baathist Saddam Hussein had much the same techniques of press censorship as did Romania under Nicolae Ceauşescu but with greater potential violence.

Japan

Main articles: Censorship in Japan and Internet censorship in Japan

During the GHQ occupation of Japan after WW2, any criticism of the Allies' pre-war policies, the SCAP, the Far East Military Tribunal, the inquiries against the United States and every direct and indirect references to the role played by the Allied High Command in drafting Japan's new constitution or to censorship of publications, movies, newspapers and magazines was subject to massive censorship, purges, media blackout.

In the four years (September 1945–November 1949) since the CCD was active, 200 million pieces of mail and 136 million telegrams were opened, and telephones were tapped 800,000 times. Since no criticism of the occupying forces for crimes such as the dropping of the atomic bomb, rape and robbery by US soldiers was allowed, a strict check was carried out. Those who got caught were put on a blacklist called the watchlist, and the persons and the organizations to which they belonged were investigated in detail, which made it easier to dismiss or arrest the "disturbing molecule".

Malaysia

Main articles: Censorship in Malaysia and Film censorship in Malaysia

Under subsection 48(3) and (4) of the Penang Islamic Religious Administration Enactment 2004, non-Muslims in Malaysia are penalized for using the following words, or to write or publish them, in any form, version or translation in any language or for use in any publicity material in any medium: "Allah", "Firman Allah", "Ulama", "Hadith", "Ibadah", "Kaabah", "Qadhi'", "Illahi", "Wahyu", "Mubaligh", "Syariah", "Qiblat", "Haji", "Mufti", "Rasul", "Iman", "Dakwah", "Wali", "Fatwa", "Imam", "Nabi", "Sheikh", "Khutbah", "Tabligh", "Akhirat", "Azan", "Al Quran", "As Sunnah", "Auliya'", "Karamah", "False Moon God", "Syahadah", "Baitullah", "Musolla", "Zakat Fitrah", "Hajjah", "Taqwa" and "Soleh".

North Korea

Main articles: Censorship in North Korea and Radio jamming in Korea

Russia

Main articles: Censorship in the Russian Federation, Internet censorship in Russia, Russian fake news laws, and Russian 2022 war censorship laws
Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison for discussing the Bucha massacre in Ukraine on a YouTube stream.

On 4 March 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill introducing prison sentences of up to 15 years for those who publish "knowingly false information" about the Russian military and its operations, leading to some media outlets in Russia to stop reporting on Ukraine or shutting their media outlet. Although the 1993 Russian Constitution has an article expressly prohibiting censorship, the Russian censorship apparatus Roskomnadzor ordered the country's media to only use information from Russian state sources or face fines and blocks. As of December 2022, more than 4,000 people were prosecuted under "fake news" laws in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Novaya Gazeta's editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov was awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his "efforts to safeguard freedom of expression". In March 2022, Novaya Gazeta suspended its print activities after receiving a second warning from Roskomnadzor.

Serbia

See also: Censorship in Serbia and Internet censorship in Serbia

According to Christian Mihr, executive director of Reporters Without Borders, "censorship in Serbia is neither direct nor transparent, but is easy to prove." According to Mihr there are numerous examples of censorship and self-censorship in Serbia According to Mihr, Serbian prime minister Aleksandar Vučić has proved "very sensitive to criticism, even on critical questions," as was the case with Natalija Miletic, a correspondent for Deutsche Welle Radio, who questioned him in Berlin about the media situation in Serbia and about allegations that some ministers in the Serbian government had plagiarized their diplomas, and who later received threats and offensive articles on the Serbian press.

Multiple news outlets have accused Vučić of anti-democratic strongman tendencies. In July 2014, journalists associations were concerned about the freedom of the media in Serbia, in which Vučić came under criticism.

In September 2015 five members of United States Congress (Edie Bernice Johnson, Carlos Curbelo, Scott Perry, Adam Kinzinger, and Zoe Lofgren) have informed Vice President of the United States Joseph Biden that Aleksandar's brother, Andrej Vučić, is leading a group responsible for deteriorating media freedom in Serbia.

Singapore

Further information: Censorship in Singapore, Internet censorship in Singapore, and Media censorship in Singapore

In the Republic of Singapore, Section 33 of the Films Act originally banned the making, distribution and exhibition of "party political films", at the pain of a fine not exceeding $100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years. The Act further defines a "party political film" as any film or video

(a) which is an advertisement made by or on behalf of any political party in Singapore or any body whose objects relate wholly or mainly to politics in Singapore, or any branch of such party or body; or
(b) which is made by any person and directed towards any political end in Singapore

In 2001, the short documentary called A Vision of Persistence on opposition politician J. B. Jeyaretnam was also banned for being a "party political film". The makers of the documentary, all lecturers at the Ngee Ann Polytechnic, later submitted written apologies and withdrew the documentary from being screened at the 2001 Singapore International Film Festival in April, having been told they could be charged in court. Another short documentary called Singapore Rebel by Martyn See, which documented Singapore Democratic Party leader Dr Chee Soon Juan's acts of civil disobedience, was banned from the 2005 Singapore International Film Festival on the same grounds and See is being investigated for possible violations of the Films Act.

This law, however, is often disregarded when such political films are made supporting the ruling People's Action Party (PAP). Channel NewsAsia's five-part documentary series on Singapore's PAP ministers in 2005, for example, was not considered a party political film.

Exceptions are also made when political films are made concerning political parties of other nations. Films such as Michael Moore's 2004 documentary Fahrenheit 911 are thus allowed to screen regardless of the law.

Since March 2009, the Films Act has been amended to allow party political films as long as they were deemed factual and objective by a consultative committee. Some months later, this committee lifted the ban on Singapore Rebel.

Soviet Union

Main articles: Censorship in the Soviet Union and Censorship of images in the Soviet Union

Independent journalism did not exist in the Soviet Union until Mikhail Gorbachev became its leader. Gorbachev adopted glasnost (openness), political reform aimed at reducing censorship; before glasnost all reporting was directed by the Communist Party or related organizations. Pravda, the predominant newspaper in the Soviet Union, had a monopoly. Foreign newspapers were available only if they were published by communist parties sympathetic to the Soviet Union.

Spain

Main articles: Censorship in Spain and Internet censorship in Spain

Turkey

See also: Censorship in Turkey, 2017 block of Misplaced Pages in Turkey, and 2016–present purges in Turkey
Turkish journalists protesting imprisonment of their colleagues on Human Rights Day, 10 December 2016

Online access to all language versions of Misplaced Pages was blocked in Turkey on 29 April 2017 by Erdoğan's government.

Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code deems it illegal to "Insult the President of Turkey". A person who is sentenced for a violation of this article can be sentenced to a prison term between one and four years and if the violation was made in public the verdict can be elevated by a sixth. Prosecutions often target critics of the government, independent journalists, and political cartoonists. Between 2014 and 2019, 128,872 investigations were launched for this offense and prosecutors opened 27,717 criminal cases.

United Kingdom

Main articles: Censorship in the United Kingdom, Internet censorship in the United Kingdom, and Film censorship in the United Kingdom

From December 1956 until 1974 the Irish republican political party Sinn Féin was banned from participating in elections by the Northern Ireland Government. From 1988 until 1994 the British government prevented the UK media from broadcasting the voices (but not words) of Sinn Féin and ten Irish republican and Ulster loyalist groups.

United States

Main articles: Censorship in the United States, Internet censorship in the United States, Film censorship in the United States, Book censorship in the United States, and Censorship of school curricula in the United States See also: Censorship of student media in the United States

In the United States, most forms of censorship are self-imposed rather than enforced by the government. The government does not routinely censor material, although state and local governments often restrict what is provided in libraries and public schools. In addition, distribution, receipt, and transmission (but not mere private possession) of obscene material may be prohibited by law. Furthermore, under FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, the FCC has the power to prohibit the transmission of indecent material over broadcast. Additionally, critics of campaign finance reform in the United States say this reform imposes widespread restrictions on political speech.

Uruguay

Main articles: Censorship in Uruguay and Internet censorship in Uruguay

In 1973, a military coup took power in Uruguay, and the State practiced censorship. For example, writer Eduardo Galeano was imprisoned and later was forced to flee. His book Open Veins of Latin America was banned by the right-wing military government, not only in Uruguay, but also in Chile and Argentina.

See also

  • Censor bars – Basic form of censorship
  • Collateral censorship – Type of censorship of speech
  • Deplatforming – Administrative or political action to deny access to a platform to express opinions
  • Media regulation – Laws on mass mediaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Motion Picture Production Code, also known as Hays Code – U.S. film studio self-censorship rules (1930–1967)Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Nineteen Eighty-Four – 1949 novel by George Orwell
  • Orwellian – Pertaining to a dystopia like in George Orwell's fiction
  • Taboo – Societal or cultural prohibition
  • Streisand effect – Increased awareness of information caused by efforts to suppress it

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Works cited

  • Crampton, R.J. (1997), Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century and After, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415164221
  • Major, Patrick; Mitter, Rana (2004), "East is East and West is West?", in Major, Patrick (ed.), Across the Blocs: Exploring Comparative Cold War Cultural and Social History, Taylor & Francis, Inc., ISBN 978-0714684642

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