Stories about Censorship
Saudi Arabia: Call for release of two Saudi Wikipedians
A request for the release of doctors Osama Khalid and Ziad Al-Sufyani, who contributed to Wikipedia Arabic and were jailed in Saudi Arabia for 32 and 8 years, respectively.
Cambodia bans music video of police attacking workers in 2014
"It is LICADHO’s belief that the music video is not incitement, and is protected speech under the Cambodian Constitution. We are saddened by this restriction on freedom of expression."
Rights organization OVD-Info gives an overview of repression in Russia in 2022
In 2022 in Russia, there were more than 21,000 arrests and at least 370 defendants in criminal cases for anti-war statements and speeches. More than 200,000 Internet resources have been blocked including 11 sentences in cases of state treason.
Saudi Arabia: Government agents infiltrate Wikipedia, sentence independent admins to prison
The Saudi government infiltrated Wikipedia by recruiting the organization’s highest-ranking administrators in the country to control information about the country and prosecute those who contributed critical information about political detainees.
Kosovo: Six attacks against journalists in December following escalating tensions
The Kosovo media sphere is endangered by the recent physical assaults and their implications for press freedom and reporting on developments in the northern part of the country
Filipino activists decry Facebook’s ‘automated censorship’
The removal of posts “exposes how the so-called community standards of Facebook are arbitrarily invoked to silence activists and revolutionaries.”
No good news for media freedom in Kyrgyzstan as government arrests journalists, activists, and bloggers
In the meantime, the government continues its practice of freezing media outlets’ bank accounts and blocking websites, publicly harassing journalists and social media activists.
Indonesia's new penal code revisions don't just threaten sexual freedoms
Indonesia's recent penal code revisions threaten journalists, free speech, bodily autonomy and more — severely undermining democracy in the region.
The effects of internet shutdowns on public mobilization
Internet shutdowns are not a surprising new phenomenon within authoritarian regimes. In fact, there is a considerable tendency for authoritarian regimes to restrict internet access, though at different levels.
Freedom of expression in Tanzania is on a downward spiral
In Tanzania, freedom of expression is a constitutional right of every citizen that has however been undermined by the continuous passing and enacting of a series of repressive regulations over the years.
Mexican collective pirating books to make culture accessible is blocked
Since 2019, the Pirateca.com website has provided open access to more than 279 Spanish titles, under the slogan “Books are not stolen, they're expropriated!”
In Turkey, social media platforms become complicit in censoring media and freedom of speech
Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook have become complicit in aiding the state to silence independent voices in Turkey, even at times when content is not political.
In Turkey, a football federation joins a list of institutions with powers to censor content online
Granting a football federation rights to censor content in the absence of a court order is yet another sign of a narrowing environment for freedoms.
Defamation lawsuit against Serbian investigative media outlet KRIK sets a dangerous precedent
Just before Serbian investigative media outlet KRIK received an EU Award for Investigative Journalism, a Serbian court sentenced it for publishing truthful news about a criminal trial.
LIVE on November 24: Disinformation and censorship in Russia
Join us on YouTube live on November 24 for a discussion exploring the convergence of Russia’s rapidly strengthening censorship infrastructure, and its use of disinformation both internally and externally.
TikToker Nekoglai was deported from Moscow to Moldova with signs of torture
The “ritual of guilt and shame” has been increasingly used by the Russian police to publicly show the “remorse” and fear of those protesting
Turkey throttles internet access following deadly explosion in Istanbul
"Those who impose a broadcast ban, supposedly so that the public does not panic, are scaring everyone more by suppressing all the media."
Eight months of ‘fakes’ and ‘discreditation’: How the Kremlin’s new laws against anti-war dissent are applied online
Censorship and political repression are not new to Russia, but, in 2022, they reached new heights. Alongside new digital tools, new legislation allows the state to expedite and industrialise the repression of dissidents.
Twitter and Facebook have suspended accounts affiliated with the Cuban government
For the first time in Cuba, Twitter has also marked some accounts as "government-affiliated"
The tweets may flow: A look into India’s take-down requests
The tussle between social media giants, governments, and citizens raise questions about agency and power. Each stakeholder has tried to push back on the other to further their interests.
