I see some discussions on Disqus or Reddit where people don't mention Corona because the posts might be removed and the accounts flagged. I see people put stars in swe*rwords. I see people commit all kinds of contortions to not mention any kinds of possibly sexual content.
No censor has been able to check everything. The point has always been to get people to self-censor, and even stop thinking about it as censorship.
So here we see the west reacting on Chinese censors. As an European, I've wondered about how the supposed land of the free managed to build a culture of deep puritan self-censorship. Undoubtly, I have my own built in Europe-based self censoring and can't even notice it.
I was in fact wondering if I could post this here, without risk of downvoting, flagging or account removal. I decided to take that risk and post, because a) to hell with virtual internet points b) HN is still reasonably free. But this post would not have much chance on Disqus/Reddit, and I did think about it so censorship works.
Most of the western world gave authoritarianism a huge vote of confidence with the pandemic response and still are unable to come to terms with what this means or their responsibility for it. How can the west stop its increasing addiction to authoritarianism when most of it can't even admit that it is a problem?
This started a lot earlyer than the pandemic, however. I've seen a huge increase when the WTC has been attacked.
Older example: American culture had huge puritan censorship on comics in th 1960's. The stories are heavily infantilized, and even the word for them became 'comics'. A new word, 'graphical novels' was needed to make the same things acceptable to a somewhat older public. Culture in Belgium is completely different: there is a much more natural progression, from children stories to young adult and adult ages. Adult also does not automatically imply sex. They're just books, with pictures.
I do think politicians became aware of the internet between 2010 and 2020, and covid gave them the excuse needed to start thought control and censirship on the new media.
Arguably the US censors were late to the party. Years ago Facebook execs proudly boasted to have been part of popular uprisings that toppled regimes around the world (eg. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUS1650658071/ ) .
It was only in recent years they realized it could happen locally too. It coincided roughly with COVID, but I guess before that they didn't realize how much social media shaped the political landscape (of every country that allowed them). Personally it feels like the social media censors started getting serious at that point.
No censor has been able to check everything. The point has always been to get people to self-censor, and even stop thinking about it as censorship.
So here we see the west reacting on Chinese censors. As an European, I've wondered about how the supposed land of the free managed to build a culture of deep puritan self-censorship. Undoubtly, I have my own built in Europe-based self censoring and can't even notice it.
I was in fact wondering if I could post this here, without risk of downvoting, flagging or account removal. I decided to take that risk and post, because a) to hell with virtual internet points b) HN is still reasonably free. But this post would not have much chance on Disqus/Reddit, and I did think about it so censorship works.