Archive for the ‘Censorship’ Category

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan Issues Sweeping Information Requests … – ProPublica

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March 22, 2023: This storys headline has been corrected to remove an inaccurate description of Rep. Jim Jordans requests for information, which were not subpoenas.

House Republicans have sent letters to at least three universities and a think tank requesting a broad range of documents related to what it says are the institutions' contributions to the Biden administrations censorship regime.

The letters are the latest effort by a House subcommittee set up in January to investigate how the federal government, working with social media companies, has allegedly been weaponized to silence conservative and right-wing voices. So far, the committees investigations have amplified a variety of dubious, outright false and highly misleading Republican grievances with law enforcement, many of them espoused by former President Donald Trump. Committee members have cited supposed abuses that include the FBIs search of Mar-a-Lago, its investigations of Jan. 6 rioters and the Biden administrations purported use of executive powers to shut down conservative viewpoints on social media.

Now, universities and their researchers are coming under the spotlight of the committee, which the Republicans have labeled the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. The letters, signed by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who is chair of both the House Judiciary Committee and the subcommittee, were sent in early March.

They cover an investigation into how certain third parties, including organizations like yours, may have played a role in this censorship regime by advising on so-called misinformation, according to a copy of one of the letters obtained by ProPublica.

The committee requested documents and information dating back to January 2015 between any employee, contractor, or agent of your organization and the federal government or social media organizations pertaining to the moderation of social media content. ProPublica confirmed the requests went to Stanford University, the University of Washington, Clemson University and the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

The letters have prompted a wave of alarm among those in the field that the congressional inquiry itself, no matter what it finds, will lead universities to pull back on this research just as the 2024 election gets underway. Recent efforts definitely have a chilling effect on the community of experts across academia, civil society and government built up to understand broader online harms like harassment, foreign influence and yes disinformation, Graham Brookie, who leads studies in this area at the Atlantic Council, told ProPublica.

The weaponization committee is being weaponized against us, another researcher told ProPublica. Like half a dozen others interviewed for this story, this person asked not to be identified because of the ongoing congressional probe.

Democrats have called the committee a modern-day House Un-American Activities Committee, akin to the congressional committee that pursued alleged communists during the McCarthy era.

Since Rep. Jordan took over the gavel of the judiciary committee in January, he has issued more than 80 subpoenas and requests for documents. Recipients have included the CEOs of social media companies, intelligence officials who signed on to a statement about Hunter Bidens laptop during the 2020 campaign and members of the National School Boards Association who asked the Justice Department to investigate threats of violence against school board officials. Jordan himself refused a subpoena to testify before the Democratic-led House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, prompting that committee to refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee.

Jordans missives were sent a day after a committee hearing on the Twitter files, leaked internal communications from the company that purported to show how right-wing accounts were sidelined and silenced. In written testimony, a panelist accused a broad swath of organizations and individuals of being members of the Censorship Industrial Complex, including, he implied, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, CIA, Department of Defense and universities. The witness wrote disinformation researchers, working with the government, are creating blacklists of disfavored people and then pressuring, cajoling, and demanding that social media platforms censor, deamplify, and even ban the people on these blacklists.

A New York University study concluded in 2021 that social media had not silenced those on the right. The claim of anti-conservative animus by social media companies, the study said, is itself a form of disinformation: a falsehood with no reliable evidence to support it."

A spokesperson for Rep. Jordan did not respond to requests for comment.

Since the 2016 elections, Stanford, UW, Clemson and others have engaged in research, sometimes in partnership with social media platforms, government officials and each other, into ways that disinformation can pose threats to democracy and how such efforts can be meaningfully countered. The role of lies and disinformation leading to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol gave increased prominence to their work.

As ProPublica has previously reported, sustained accusations by congressional Republicans and right-wing influencers that the Biden administration is stifling dissent have caused the administration to back away from its efforts countering disinformation, including canceling research contracts and sending messages inside the administration that disinformation work is too hot to handle.

Those moves followed a bungled rollout of a clumsily named Disinformation Governance Board to coordinate efforts to counter what the administration had called dangerous conspiracy theories that can provide a gateway to terrorist violence. Following criticism, the administration disbanded the board and accepted the resignation of its executive director, Nina Jankowicz.

Jordan has subpoenaed Jankowicz, too. She is scheduled to testify April 10 and said she will happily testify under oath.

This sort of inquiry isnt something that belongs in the United States Congress, said Jankowicz. But given that this method of bullying has caused other institutions to fold to Republican pressure in the past, I fear we may see the blunt force of congressional committees continue to be used in ways that are in direct opposition to the safety, security and free expression of the American people.

DeSantis Privately Called for Google to Be Broken Up

Stanford did not answer a question about whether it stood by its research or make its researchers, the Stanford Internet Observatorys Alex Stamos or Renee DiResta, available for comment. The university referred ProPublica to an online fact sheet addressing inaccurate and misleading claims made in the congressional testimony about Stanfords projects to analyze rumors and narratives on social media relating to U.S. elections and the coronavirus. The German Marshall fund said it was working to address the request and Clemson Universitys media relations department did not respond to requests for comment.

The University of Washingtons Center for an Informed Public issued a statement that said Were incredibly proud of our work, adding that some of the projects CIP researchers have contributed to have become the subject of false claims and criticism that mischaracterizes our work, a tactic that peer researchers in this space are also experiencing. The statement did not specifically address the House requests.

A university spokesperson, Victor Balta, said in an email, The UW stands behind this important research aiming to resist strategic misinformation and strengthen our discourse. We have received a request for documents and information, and a response is in progress.

March 22, 2023: A headline on this story originally incorrectly described Rep. Jim Jordans letters to universities. They are requests for information, not subpoenas.

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Republican Rep. Jim Jordan Issues Sweeping Information Requests ... - ProPublica

The Simpsons eerily predicts parents demands to censor Michelangelos David in school – Yahoo News

The Simpsons appears to have predicted the unfortunate reality of a parental uproar at a Florida charter school.

Years ago, in the animated sitcoms ninth episode of its second season (1991), titled Itchy & Scratchy & Marge, Marge Simpson is horrified by the violence depicted on her childrens TV show Itchy & Scratchy.

After failing to convince the production company to tone down the violence, she forms an angry mob named SNUH (Springfieldians for Nonviolence, Understanding, and Helping) to join her in protesting the shows studio.

Meanwhile, Michelangelos David is sent around on a tour of the US, with an expected stop in the Simpsonss city of Springfield, angering members of SNUH.

They urge Marge to protest the famed sculpture, claiming its offensive and inappropriate. However, Marge, being an artist herself, insists its a masterpiece. Shes later pointed out for her hypocrisy in differentiating what art should be censored.

Marge eventually concedes to give up on her anti-TV violence campaign; Michelangelos David is brought to the city and freedom of expression wins the day.

Over two decades later and the events of the cartoon appear to have played out in the US city of Tallahassee, although ending in greater consequences.

Hope Carrasquilla, a Florida charter school principal, has been forced to resign after three parents complained that their children were upset by images of Michelangelos David shown in their sixth-grade history class, according to reports from local outlet Tallahassee Democrat.

One parent reportedly branded the statue pornographic, saying they wish they had been informed ahead of time that their children would be shown such images.

The news comes amid the states attack on public education, drag shows, abortion and more. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is currently fighting to ban, what he considers, the woke indoctrination of public schools.

Through his approved legislation, the state would review reading materials and limit classroom discussion of gender identity, and race books could be pulled indefinitely or temporarily from the curriculum.

At the moment, DeSantis will likely be former President Donald Trumps Republican party nominee rival in the 2024 election.

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The Simpsons eerily predicts parents demands to censor Michelangelos David in school - Yahoo News

Modi’s India: The Age of Intolerance – Index on Censorship

ISSUE: VOLUME 52.01 SPRING 2023

Modi's India: The Age of Intolerance

We at Index have been keeping an eye on India under Narendra Modi ever since he was elected to the office of prime minister in 2014. We have written on the law to make standing for the national anthem mandatory in cinemas, for example, and written on women put online for auction and on Muslim butchers too afraid to advertise beef. It was not until a tip-off came in November though that we took a much closer look. We were told about a long-time TV presenter who was becoming a lone critical voice. They feared for their job. Did we want to be put in touch? We said yes, only they were too scared to talk on the record. Then they lost their job and didnt want to talk at all. This whiff of a story was the spark that turned into a flame and from it our special report. We ascertained that on every key marker of a democracy Modis India fails. The press, once vibrant, is being strangled; the judiciary is no longer independent; laws have been amended to throw protesters in jail; opposition figures are harassed; minorities live in fear. Statues of Modi go up, ancient mosques come down. A hyper form of ethno-nationalism that wed more associate with interwar Europe is the doctrine of the land. There is no room for tolerance. Beyond our special report we publish an essay from Nariman Dzhelyal, who is the leader of the Crimean Tatars, written from his prison cell. Celebrated Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov introduces Dzhelyal and explains why he is such a formidable character. The academic and author Kerry Brown wades into the contentious issue of whether we should ban Confucius Institutes, while Jo-Ann Mort talks about the inventive tactics used by US organisations to fight abortion bans. Finally, Martin Bright reminds us of those Afghan journalists still living under Taliban rule. Its easy for the world to move on to the next disaster, the next big story and that is why Index exists to not forget.

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Modi's India: The Age of Intolerance - Index on Censorship

‘Book Banning and Censorship’ is topic | Coast Life … – Newport News Times

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'Book Banning and Censorship' is topic | Coast Life ... - Newport News Times

Penguin to publish "classic" Roald Dahl books after "censorship" backlash – CBS News

  1. Penguin to publish "classic" Roald Dahl books after "censorship" backlash  CBS News
  2. Censorship or context? Australian book industry wrestles with how to refresh outdated classics  The Guardian
  3. Roald Dahl classic editions will be released, following censorship concerns  CNN

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Penguin to publish "classic" Roald Dahl books after "censorship" backlash - CBS News