Infographic created by Liyah Moncevais

Stockton-   Censorship is something that the U.S. has dealt with all throughout history. Something that many countries still deal with today and a crisis our country is going through now. The First Amendment of the United States protects the freedom of speech, religion, and press. That being said, many believe that due to recent events such as book banning, TikTok being banned or Mark Zuckerburg removing fact checkers on Meta platforms, that our constitutional right to freedom of speech and press is being violated. This article serves to explain what is going on, how you can help and where to access information. 

What’s going on

There are many factors contributing to the censorship that is currently going on in the United States. For schools, they can pick and choose what materials they would like to include in their curriculum. This is where it gets a little tricky, schools are allowed to remove books or material they deem as inappropriate however many times they only remove books because it goes against their personal beliefs rather than it being actually inappropriate. The material that usually ends up getting removed is books that talk about racism, sexism, sexuality and gender discourse. Regardless of anyone’s personal beliefs, as long as it’s not harmful or actually inappropriate to children or teenagers then information should not be hidden from them. This extends out of the classroom, books in public libraries also are being banned in some states or media online. TikTok is a more recent ban that many people know and talk about. TikTok was banned for a day but when it came back people reported changes to the app saying pro-palastinan content isn’t as accessible and anti-right wing content is being censored as well. There is no guarantee that any of that is true however many people have found issues when the app came back to American users of spreading information without being censored. 

Censorship extends beyond the U.S. as many countries have their own laws and regulations when it comes to what media is being spread and what is being withheld from the public. Reporters Without Borders is an international non-profit organization that strives to give more people unrestricted access to news and information, protect the rights of press, and to allow people to view free and reliable information. They reported that more than 1/3 of the people in the world live in an area where there is no press freedom. 

How to access unbiased or uncensored media

There are many websites, apps, or organizations that strive to give everyone access to information no matter where you are, such as:

1. Reporters Without Borders – They provide unbiased news from all around  the world in 6 different languages that report on more on journalism and censorship. 
2. Media Bias/Fact Check – They provide detailed reports on which news outlets are swaying either towards right or left leaning biases and show you which news outlets are the least biased. 
3. Independent Journalists and Bloggers – Usually journalists who do not work for bigger companies provide news that is truthful and uncensored due to them not needing to fit into a certain criteria some news outlets want their journalists too. Unfortunately now all of them are truly reliable or unbiased so it is important to not put your full faith into it.
4. Social Media – This is one you must be careful with. While social media is a great place to view news from all over the world, false news is also incredibly prevalent on social media so it’s important to do your own fact checking. However it is a great place to try and find media that is uncensored depending on the region you live in. 
5. The Uncensored Library – It is a virtual library that is run by Reporters Without Borders that use a loophole through the use of the videogame Minecraft. Through a downloadable map or joining their server, as funny as it seems, they have dedicated time to put media that normally would be censored into the game where anyone can access regardless of the media restrictions any country may have. 
6. Online shopping – Even if your public library may not carry certain titles anymore due to censorship, most books still are available online or even other stores not local to your area which you can do a quick search to find. 
7. VPN – Some countries censor internet access and what you can view online which occasionally can be fixed by using a VPN to change your connection to a country where there aren’t restrictions. This doesn’t always work unfortunately but it still can in some cases. 

What you can do

There are several ways you can help your communities or others when it comes to viewing censored or extremely biased. Some options are harder than others and may take longer but any help that can be provided is beneficial but you can help by:

1. Fact Checking – Before you spread information online check multiple sources to ensure what you are spreading is true.
2. Try not to be so naive – On social media whether your algorithm is more left or right leaning, both sides have people who use fear-mongering to persuade others to do something or believe something is worse than it really is. 
3. Report and Block – If you come across media you know is false, report it and block the account to prevent it from spreading further. 
4. Petitions – There are many online petitions or even petitions in person you can sign to try and make change and prevent the censorship and banning of literature.
5. Peaceful Protests – There’s many protests you can find online to help the fight against censorship. ONLY join peaceful protests as it is within our constitutional rights that we can do so, any protests that cause harm to yourself or others is not legal. Make sure to do your research and to be careful in protests if you decide to participate. 
6. Donations – There are many organizations that you can donate to that help fund their projects to prevent censorship in other states or countries. Remember to research any company you decide to donate to so you know where your money is going. 
7. Do your research – Before you make an argument of any kind you should always research so you know in full what you are talking about and what you want to do. This allows for convincing arguments and to know 100% what you are doing. 

Censorship is a serious problem all over the world and one that in the U.S. is becoming more and more prevalent. Censorship prevents the spread of ideas, creates their own opinions, and hides the truth. Regardless if you agree with any material being banned, it is an infringement on people’s freedom of speech and press which is a problem that needs to be addressed and fixed.