Tag: Censorship

From the archives (2) Blogging and human rights

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In case you were curious, the word blog in Farsi looks like this – وبلاگ. Iranians who didn’t like the way things were going in their country started وبلاگ’ing like crazy after the 2000 crackdown on Iranian media. Iranians who interact with the internet are by definition risk-takers. Photo Christopher Rose As recently as late 2016, five Iranians were sentenced to prison terms for writing and posting images on fashion blogs. The content was decreed…

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Facebook’s news ban – what was that all about?

Nothing better demonstrates the irrelevancy of  Facebook’s news ban than this tweet from elder statesman Everald Compton. “My friends in Parliament tell me that meeting between #CraigKelly and #Barnaby was to create new #conservative party with Barnaby as leader. They will be joined by Christensen and Canavan and sit on the cross benches. #Morrison will lead minority government. Happy Days.” Compton, who many would know through his long-running blog, Everald at Large, posted the 45-word…

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Down the rabbit hole, looking for trouble

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The phrase ‘going down the rabbit hole’ could well apply to my activities earlier this week, as I set out to research ‘alternative’ social media networks including those adopted by the right wing. Before I disappeared down the burrow, I had some idea what I would encounter, having last year researched 4Chan and 8Chan. My research was thwarted right at the start by Amazon’s reported move to ban Parler from its web-hosting network. Apple and…

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Censorship, guns and the right to arm bears

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  I was idly wondering if I should have a go at George Christensen for pulling that silly, anti-greenies gun stunt at the firing range but self censorship kicked in. What if he knows where I live? I blanched. The process known in journalism school as ‘self censorship by osmosis’ still kicks in, even 18 years down the track. You may have assumed I was about to jump into the very deep pool of acrimonious…

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