Censorship is a major problem in many other countries like North Korea and China. In the United States we take freedom of speech very seriously and protect the rights of the people to have the freedom to do and say what they want, with certain exceptions. George Orwell’s classic 1984 shows a world where the government controls everything that their people do. In book two Winston and Julia’s affair is a direct example of breaking the rules that the government has set in stone. Even them being in a room together could get them killed. In chapter II of book two Winston says to Julia “Listen. The more men you’ve had, the more I love you . . . I hate purity. I hate goodness. I want everyone to be corrupt to the bones.” Julia’s affairs are a symbol of rebellion against the party and the censorship that the government has put onto them. Winston looks at this rebellion as an accomplishment and a quality that he values in Julia.
Through reading the article “Biden puts disinfo ‘Mary Poppins’ on ice, scraps Orwellian DHS board” by Theo Wayt, Mark Lungariello and Samuel Chamberlain, we learn of another way that the United States Government could be trying to censor their people. The Department of Homeland Security created a board with the purpose to stop the spread of disinformation. This was seen to the American public as a way for the government to control what information the public is able to publish and put into the world. This board gives them the authority to edit and delete social media posts like tweets. As we have learned in previous articles in this class twitter was being controlled by the FBI behind the scenes. Twitter gave the FBI the power to select certain accounts to be banned based on the fact that they did not like what that certain account was posting. This is a clear violation of the First Amendment. It is very concerning that the FBI and DHS have the power to censor what the American people can say and what they can post. This takes me back to some of the metaphors in George Orwell’s classic 1984. He is demonstrating the corruption that occurs when there is censorship in a country. The Ministry of Truth in 1984 says their goal is the pursuit of truth, but in reality their real goal is erase the truth of the past and the present and replace it with what the party believes is the truth. Much like what the DHS was trying to do is what the Ministry of Truth was doing. Furthermore, the article “Flashback: “We’ll Know Our Disinformation Program Is Complete When Everything the American Public Believes Is False.”” by Melissa Dykes explains more examples of FBI agents quotes that are concerning for the public’s freedom of speech. Most of the quotes she presented are old, but the interpretation of them is still very concerning. The fact they have been floating around for a while and just now have they become present in conversations is even more concerning. This just further defends the argument that the FBI is actively trying to protect their truth. Not the real truth and what the people believe, but what the government wants the people to believe.
In addition, it was more promising to hear Tracy Beanz talk about ways that the public can stop this increase in censorship in her interview with Kristi Leigh. Tracy mentioned platforms like Rumble that, to our knowledge, are not being controlled by the government and are platforms that the American people can go to to share whatever they want without the fear of the FBI or the DHS taking down their account. This raises the question; How do we know that platforms like Rumble are not being controlled by the government? And if it gets more popular will the government try and gain control? It seems that all the sources so far collectively agree that censorship is a problem in our country and something that is on the rise. This is also an issue that many believe that the American people can work together to solve, so why aren’t we?
Leave a Reply