Political censorship

Political censorship exists when a government attempts to conceal, fake, distort, or falsify information that its citizens receive by suppressing or crowding out political news that the public might receive through news outlets. In the absence of neutral and objective information, people will be unable to dissent with the government or political party in charge. The term also extends to the systematic suppression of views that are contrary to those of the government in power. The government often possesses the power of the army and the secret police, to enforce the compliance of journalists with the will of the authorities to spread the story that the ruling authorities want people to believe. At times this involves bribery, defamation, imprisonment, and even assassination.

The word censorship comes from the Latin word censor, the job of two Romans whose duty was to supervise public behaviour and morals, hence 'censoring' the way people acted.

Statistics

According to the 2015 prison census by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the world's biggest jailers of journalists are:^[1]

History

Nikolai Yezhov, the man to the right of Joseph Stalin was shot in 1940. He was edited out from the photo by Soviet censors.^[2] Such retouching was a common occurrence during Stalin's reign.

Over the course of history, many nations and political organisations have utilised political censorship and propaganda in order to manipulate the public. The Ancien régime, for example, is well known for having implemented censorship.

In 1851, Napoleon III declared himself emperor. The wealthier citizens immediately saw in him a way to protect their privileges, that were put in danger by the French Revolution of 1848, which threatened to re-organise the social hierarchy. This was a time when all sorts of cultural productions was censored, from newspapers to plays.^[3]

Soviet Union

Independent journalism did not exist in the Soviet Union until Mikhail Gorbachev became its leader; all reporting was directed by the Communist Party. Pravda, the predominant newspaper in the Soviet Union, had a near-monopoly. Foreign newspapers were available only if they were published by communist parties sympathetic to the Soviet Union.

Uruguay

In 1973, a military coup took power in Uruguay, and the state employed 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.^[4]

Cuba

The Cuban media is operated under the supervision of the Communist Party's Department of Revolutionary Orientation, which "develops and coordinates propaganda strategies".^[5]

United States

Many countries' campaign finance laws restrict speech on candidates and political issues. In Citizens United v. FEC, the United States Supreme Court found that many such restrictions are an unconstitutional form of censorship.

European Union

In the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, strategic use of censorship by the European Union has blocked the Russian government-owned media outlets Sputnik and Russia Today at multiple levels and platforms. Studies show these two channels have been a disinformation tool at the discretion of the Kremlin for years.^[6] In turn, Putin has blocked foreign and domestic press as well as Twitter and Facebook through legislation punishing what the government labels as disinformation with long prison sentences. Oriol Navarro and Astrid Wagner from the Institute of Philosophy (IFS-CSIC) suggest that this censorship poses a danger to freedom of expression and that the term “disinformation” can be easily used to legitimize the suppression of dissent in an analogue to the use of the word “terrorism”.^[7]

Singapore

In the Republic of Singapore, Section 33 of the Films Act bans of the making, distribution and exhibition of "party political films", at pain of a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 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 Fahrenheit 911 are thus allowed to screen regardless of the law.

References

^ "2015 prison census: 199 journalists jailed worldwide". 22 January 2015.
^ The Commissar vanishes (The Newseum)
^ Costa, Iná Camargo (2001). "Teatro político no Brasil". Trans/Form/Ação. 24: 113–120. doi:10.1590/S0101-31732001000100008.
^ "Fresh Off Worldwide Attention for Joining Obama's Book Collection, Uruguayan Author Eduardo Galeano Returns with "Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone"". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
^ "10 most censored countries". The Committee to Protect Journalists.
^ Troianovski, Anton (2022-03-04). "Russia Takes Censorship to New Extremes, Stifling War Coverage". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
^ Wagner, Astrid; Navarro, Oriol (6 March 2022). "Desinformación y censura, dos herramientas clave de la guerra en Ucrania". The Conversation. Retrieved 2022-04-29.

v t e Censorship
Media regulation	Books books banned Films banned films Internet circumvention Music Postal Press Radio Speech and expression Student media Televisions banned televisions Thought Video games banned video games
Methods	Bleeping Book burning Broadcast delay Censor bars Chilling effect Collateral censorship Concision Conspiracy of silence Content-control software Damnatio memoriae Euphemism Minced oath Expurgation Fogging Gag order Heckling Heckler's veto Internet police Memory hole National intranet Newspaper theft Pixelization Prior restraint Propaganda Purge Revisionism Sanitization Self-censorship Speech code Strategic lawsuit Surveillance computer and network mass Whitewashing Word filtering
Contexts	Criminal Corporate Apple Facebook Google Hate speech Online Ideological LGBT issues Media bias Moralistic fallacy Naturalistic fallacy Politics Propaganda model Religious Suppression of dissent Systemic bias
By country	Censorship Chinese issues overseas Freedom of speech Internet censorship Muhammad controversy

v t e Media manipulation
Context	Bias Crowd psychology Deception Dumbing down False balance Half-truths Media Obfuscation Orwellian Persuasion Manipulation (psychology)
Activism	Advocacy group Alternative media Boycott Call-out culture Cancel culture Civil disobedience Culture jamming Demonstrations Deplatforming Grassroots Guerrilla communication Hacktivism Internet Media Occupations Petitions Protests Youth
Advertising	Billboards False Infomercials Mobiles Modeling Radio Sex Slogans Testimonials TV Criticism of advertising Annoyance factor
Censorship Media regulation	Books Broadcast law Burying of scholars Catch and kill Corporate Cover-ups Euphemism Films Historical negationism Internet Political Religious Self
Hoaxing	Alternative facts April Fools' Deepfake Fake news websites Fakelore False document Fictitious entries Firehose of falsehood Forgery Gaslighting List Literary Lying press Photograph manipulation Racial Urban legend Virus Video manipulation
Marketing	Branding Loyalty Product Product placement Publicity Research Word of mouth
News media	Agenda-setting Broadcasting Circus Cycle Emotive conjugation False balance Infotainment Managing Narcotizing dysfunction Newspeak Pseudo-event Scrum Sensationalism Tabloid journalism
Political campaigning	Advertising Astroturfing Attack ad Canvassing Character assassination Dog whistle Election promises Lawn signs Party platforms (or manifestos) Name recognition Negative Push polling Smear campaign Wedge issue
Propaganda	Bandwagon Big lie Crowd manipulation Disinformation Fearmongering Framing Indoctrination Loaded language National mythology Rally 'round the flag effect Techniques
Psychological warfare	Airborne leaflets False flag Fifth column Information (IT) Lawfare Political Public diplomacy Sedition Subversion
Public relations	Cult of personality Doublespeak Non-apology apology Reputation management Slogans Sound bites Spin Transfer Understatement Weasel words Corporate propaganda
Sales	Cold calling Door-to-door Pricing Product demonstrations Promotion Spaving Promotional merchandise Telemarketing
Related	Influence-for-hire Media bias United States Media concentration Media democracy Media ecology Media ethics Media franchise Media influence Media proprietor