Has your account//// post/////// photo////// link/////// campaign///
been suspended?/ censored?// taken down? removed?/// banned?////
WHAT IS ONLINE CENSORSHIP?
Onlinecensorship.org seeks to encourage social media companies to operate with greater transparency and accountability toward their users as they make decisions that regulate speech. We’re collecting reports from users in an effort to shine a light on what content is taken down, why companies make certain decisions about content, and how content takedowns are affecting communities of users around the world.
No Refuge on Facebook
Syrian artist Khaled Barakeh shared images of deceased refugees on Facebook that showed the cost of war, but Facebook hid them from view
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No Support for Breasts
Facebook banned a bra company from advertising its guide of breast sizes and shapes, even though the ad only showed a drawer full of bras
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Big Brother YouTube
The ‘Innocence of Muslims’ video sparked anger in some countries, so YouTube independently blocked it in Egypt and Libya
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AKA Happy
Facebook shut down the account of Happy Addis, a prominent LGBT activist. Same-sex relations are illegal in Ethiopia
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Context is Everything
Popular rapper Talib Kweli used contextualized imagery to make a statement about racism, but Instagram took it down as “hate speech”
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Abstain From Advertising
Twitter wants you to abstain...from advertising. It banned the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy’s sex positive health messages
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Too Real for Instagram?
Artist Rupi Kaur wanted to demonstrate society’s uneasiness about menstruation. She didn't expect Instagram to prove her point by censoring the photos
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Identity Management
Former Facebook employee and trans woman Zoë Cat had to show proof of her name under the platform’s Real Name Policy
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Censorship Tag Team
Facebook removed a video of the self-immolation of a Tibetan monk. 136 Tibetans have self-immolated since 2009 to protest Chinese restrictions on their culture ...
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The Revolution That Almost Didn’t Happen
The 2011 Egyptian uprising was first announced on a page that Facebook had deleted a year before because one of the administrators was using a pseudonym.
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Owned by the State
In 2011, Flickr banned prominent Egyptian activist Hossam Hamalawy for posting photos retrieved from a raid on state security offices.
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We Are… Hypocrites
After the Charlie Hebdo shootings, Mark Zuckerberg spoke out for free expression. Two weeks later, Facebook began censoring some images of the Prophet.
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29 June 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Jillian C. York
Jun 29 2016
This week, we look at the relationship between art and social media, political censorship in the Philippines and Singapore, and whether companies are using auto...
22 June: The Weekly Takedown
Jillian C. York
Jun 22 2016
In this week's edition: Pressure from Bangladesh to remove "inappropriate speech," and removal of speech with no prodding at all.
15 June 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Sarah Myers West
Jun 15 2016
In this week's edition: Companies grapple with hate speech, and AI gets its day in the limelight.
Facebook Removed a Stanford Rapist Meme and Users Are Pissed
Gizmodo
Jun 9 2016
Several Facebook users have taken to the platform to complain that their posts about convicted rapist Brock Turner—whose treatment and sentencing has drawn wide...
8 June 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Jun 8 2016
In this week's edition: Bias against bodies, Israel seeks social media control, a Philippine journalist censored, and more.
European Commission's Hate Speech Deal With Companies Will Chill Speech
EFF
Jun 3 2016
A new agreement between the European Commission and four major U.S. companies—Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Microsoft—went into effect yesterday.
Mark Zuckerberg is ‘dictator’ of Facebook ‘nation’: The Pirate Bay founder
CNBC
May 27 2016
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg is the "dictator" of "the biggest nation in the world", the co-founder of file sharing site The Pirate Bay, told CNBC on Friday, a...
31 May 2016: The Weekly Takedown
May 31 2016
In this week's roundup: Pirate Bay founder calls Facebook's Zuckerberg a "dictator" and YouTube attempts to redefine pornography.