#censorship
"Several Arkansas #libraries and #library associations are suing Crawford County officials and state prosecuting attorneys in an effort to overturn Act 372...primarily a measure allowing books in public libraries to be banned or relocated... Plaintiffs include the Fayetteville Public library, the Central Arkansas Library System, the Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library, and the American Booksellers Association"
#books #censorship
https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-06-04/library-groups-booksellers-seek-to-block-arkansas-act-372
https://talkbusiness.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Act-372-lawsuit-June2023-TBP.pdf
#YouTube: #Desinformationen zu US-Wahlen werden nicht mehr vollumfänglich glöscht | heise online https://www.heise.de/news/Meinungsfreiheit-YouTube-loescht-Desinformation-zu-US-Wahlen-teils-nicht-mehr-9163826.html #FakeNews #Zensur #censorship #DigitalServicesAct #DSA
#China's growing #comedy scene feels #censorship chill
Ottawa police accused of intimidating schoolboy | #Ottawa Citizen https://bit.ly/3N9TRAc #ottnews #Censorship #OttawaPolice #Intimidation #Children #Police #onpoli @ontariogreens @onpoli
A school in Tennessee thought
It'd be wise to what Spiegelman wrote
But it missed the mark
And will leave students in the dark
By banning the famed 'Maus' from its tote
#tennessee #maus #censorship #education #limerick #poetry
https://www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/tennessee-school-book-ban-robbing-students-history-rcna87531
Gender Queer, All Boys Aren't Blue, and the Assault on LGBTQ Literature https://grumpyoldteacher.com/2023/06/04/gender-queer-all-boys-arent-blue-and-the-assault-on-lgbtq-literature/ #Censorship
Arkansas: Librarians Sue to Overturn Law That Criminalizes Them https://dianeravitch.net/2023/06/04/arkansas-librarians-sue-to-overturn-law-that-criminalizes-them/ via @dianeravitch #Censorship
How to get arrested in #Russia? Just wear blue and yellow
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy
https://english.nv.ua/nation/how-to-get-arrested-in-russia-just-wear-blue-and-yellow-50329421.html
Russians are looting state-owned agricultural enterprises in the temporarily occupied #Kherson region
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy #Russia
Ukrainians expect immediate response from Hungarian government over map of Ukraine without #Crimea in #propaganda video
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy #Russia
#NATO does not challenge #Russia's security, but Russian imperialism – Estonian Prime Minister
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy
Ukrainian forces in #Bakhmut suffer 7.5 times fewer casualties than Russians
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy #Russia
Polish Volunteer Corps reports that it participates in raids in Russia together with RDC
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy #Russia
China tightens security on 34th anniversary of Tiananmen protest
#HongKong #China #HumanRights #ChinaAggression #Dictatorship #Surveillance #ChinaCrimes #Censorship #BoycottChinaproducts @chinascio #ChinaWarCrimes #TiananmenSquare
#Taiwan urges #China to embrace democracy ahead of Tiananmen anniversary
#HongKong #HumanRights #ChinaAggression #Dictatorship #Surveillance #ChinaCrimes #Censorship #BoycottChinaproducts @chinascio #ChinaWarCrimes #TiananmenSquare
Hong Kong police detain eight people on eve of Tiananmen anniversary
#HongKong #China #HumanRights #ChinaAggression #Dictatorship #Surveillance #ChinaCrimes #Censorship #BoycottChinaproducts @chinascio #ChinaWarCrimes #TiananmenSquare
‘#Spymania’ grips Russian security services amid sharp rise in treason cases
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy #Russia
#Kyiv missile strikes: Tracking the rise of Russian attacks
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy #Russia
Why are people leaving #Russia, who are they, and where are they going?
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy
#Ukraine #war: Girl, 2, killed and 22 injured in Dnipro after Russian strike
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy #Russia
These U.S. companies are still doing business in #Russia
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy
#Ban #censorship of drag shows in Tennessee was for the “impermissible purpose of chilling constitutionally protected #speech,” judge says. Last paragraph of this story shows why #FirstAmendment is not what’s important to GOP legislators.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/03/tennessee-drag-law-unconstitutional/
Back at you puritanical book banners... Although I never would have thought this would have happened in Utah first. Perhaps because for them The Book of Mormon is the only religious text they want kids to read?
Huh. When you control the maps, apparently you can try to control the history.
King James Bible banned in school library after parent complains about sexuality in its passages.
#censorship #bible #gop #bookbans #irony #moralpanic
https://open.substack.com/pub/signorile/p/weekend-thread-whats-happening-d3e
🇷🇺 The number of political prisoners in #Russia is growing, and their life behind bars is anything but easy. AP reporter Dasha Litvinova interviewed some of them and their loved ones to get a glimpse of what it’s like.
A deeper look into a Utah school district’s #ban #censorship of the Bible for elementary and middle school grades, because the ability to pull a #book from the shelves is more important than preserving something of historical importance.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/06/03/utah-schools-remove-bible/
Russian military death toll in #Ukraine rises to about 209,470 troops
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy #Russia
Russian army now second strongest in #Ukraine – Secretary Blinken
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy #Russia
‘Run, Surrender, Or Die: President #Zelensky’s Greenlight for #Ukraine’s #Counteroffensive’
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy #Russia
Attacks in #Russia 'destroy myth of #Putin's invincible army'
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy
https://www.dw.com/en/attacks-in-russia-destroy-myth-of-putins-invincible-army/a-65812266
#Wagner boss says Russian forces laid #mines to harm his fighters
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy
#Russia
‘We Hate Them Even More’ – Rage and Defiance in #Kyiv as #Russia’s Attacks Increase
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy
Pro- #Ukraine Russian soldiers bring taste of war to #Putin’s doorstep again
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy #Russia
#Belarus’ #Lukashenko: ‘The only mistake we made’ was not finishing off #Ukraine with #Russia in 2014
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy
#VPNs #Privacy #Surveillance #Censorship #DigitalRights: "It’s difficult for technologists to build for all these different use cases, so many don’t. Some VPN providers are very focused on content streaming access in their business and operating models; others are more focused on online privacy and transparency, while others center on circumvention and anti-censorship.
The variety of user threat models and service provider business models in a multi-billion dollar global VPN industry all paint a picture of a complex, unregulated space. Given these challenges, this ecosystem can be a dangerous one for users to navigate.
In collaboration with the VPN Initiative at Team CommUNITY, OTF brought together different stakeholders to unpack the main technical, operational, user-facing, and community-related challenges that face VPNs focused on circumvention and user safety. It is our hope that increased collaboration and trust building within the space is the first step towards a safer and more seamless experience for users.
Here are some takeaways and opportunities that arose from the discussion at the VPN Convening which we hope community members will engage with and take forward:"
https://www.opentech.fund/news/how-can-we-improve-the-vpn-ecosystem/
Primary schools in Davis, Utah, #ban Bible for 'vulgarity and violence' after passage of 2022 #censorship law. #FirstAmendment (although I’m not quite sure what the Bible was doing in a public school anyway….)
This should happen in every #school district where #books are #censored just because a parent complains, until the #Christofascists learn that what's sauce for the goose...
"According to the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper, the parent who complained said the King James #Bible "has 'no serious values for minors' because it's pornographic by our new definition", referring to the 2022 book-ban law."
...
"The district is not the first in the US to remove the Bible from its shelves after the passage of conservative-backed book banning laws.
A Texas school district last year pulled the Bible from library shelves after complaints from members of the public who oppose conservatives efforts to ban some books. Last month, students in Kansas requested to have the Bible removed from their school library."
Utah schools ban #Bible for 'vulgarity and violence'
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/utah-schools-ban-bible-for-vulgarity-and-violence/ar-AA1c3Xc3?OCID=ansmsnnews11
#censorship #Christianity #exvangelical #bannedbooks #bookbans #bookbanning #Utah
School district bans Bible after “indecent” materials complaint. A parent submitted eight pages of passages in the Bible that showed it was inappropriate for kids.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/06/school-district-bans-bible-after-indecent-materials-complaint/
#LGBTQNation #BibleBan #SchoolDistrict #IndecentMaterials #ParentComplaint #Censorship #Politics #News
AVOID FLORIDA
Florida school yearbook’s LGBTQ page sends right-wing group off the rails: report - Raw Story
https://www.rawstory.com/amp/florida-yearbook-scandal-2660826466
Wired: The Messy US Influence That’s Helping Iranians Stay Online https://www.wired.com/story/us-iran-internet-freedom-sanctions/ #Tech #wired #TechNews #IT #Technology via @morganeogerbc #Security/NationalSecurity #Security/Privacy #StickandCarrot #cybersecurity #censorship #freespeech #Security #Iran
Family & supporters of #HumanRights #activist Dong Guangping have been able to confirm that he has been held in a #Chinese #DetentionCentre since October of last year, according to a press release.
Dong, 64, is an activist known for standing against Chinese #censorship & had condemned #China for #silencing info on #TiananmenSquare #massacre in 1989.
#AsianMastodon #SocialJustice #ChineseCensorship #PoliticalPrisoner #ChineseCanadaConnection
"“There’s a broad lane available for Democratic governors to reclaim the mantle of core American values — freedom, patriotism, rights,” Murphy told us...
Just as a car wreck commands attention, the ugliness of right-wing culture-warring often transfixes the news media. But another story is beckoning: Ordinary parents everywhere and their elected representatives are responding, and declaring that they’ve had enough."
#GiftArticle
https://wapo.st/3NaJtbk
"Democratic politicians are stepping up...
Democratic governors representing nearly 9 million students have sent a letter to leading textbook companies decrying “the negative impact that #censorship and book-banning has on this nation’s students.” The letter indicates that the governors are watching closely to see if attacks on the companies by right-wing governors — such as DeSantis — are producing #books that are “inappropriately censored.”"
#GiftArticle #GiftLink
https://wapo.st/3NaJtbk
Joint Statement: #Massachusetts #Library Organizations Stand with #Librarians Against #Censorship and Intolerance https://www.infodocket.com/2023/06/02/joint-statement-massachusetts-library-organizations-stand-with-librarians-against-censorship-and-intolerance/ #bookbans #libraries #books
On that note, here's this week's Book Riot #Censorship news, by Kelly Jensen: "Unfurling the book banner lies"
I am incredibly sad to be writing this on the first day of Pride month, but Mama Mia, here we go again...
Last year Seminole County (Florida) Public Schools found themselves receiving national attention for attempting to censor LGBTQ+ content in the Lyman High School yearbook. https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/05/10/yearbook-fight-pits-lyman-high-students-against-seminole-school-officials/ After massive public outcry, the School Board reversed Superintendent Serita Beamon's order and the books went out to students without the content being covered up.
Here we are one year later and once again Serita Beamon is attempting to censor LGBTQ+ content in the Lyman Yearbook. This year's debacle was energized by Lyman parent Sharmon Craft and an astroturf campaign thanks to her "Mom's For Liberty" cronies. https://www.foxnews.com/media/florida-yearbook-defining-lgbtq-terms-genderfluid-pansexual-parent-outrage
Former Lyman student and yearbook editor Madi Koesler does an excellent job of explaining where we are in the current fight and suggesting how you can help: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs7UNyFOZC4/ If you are in the greater Orlando area, we would love to see you at the School Board meeting this Tuesday. If you are not local, please make your voices heard via email.
My wife Danielle has been a teacher and the yearbook advisor at Lyman for the last five years, so please allow me to add a bit of additional color commentary to what has already been reported.
Even after the School Board ordered the books not to be censored last year, Serita Beamon lawyered the decision and attempted to introduce changes not authorized by the School Board. This led to further delays and negotiations around releasing last year's book.
In her email to parents this year, Beamon notes that the yearbook is subject to review prior to publication. The email leaves open whether or not the book was reviewed. I can assure you that the book was reviewed prior to publication and no concerns were raised about this content until Sharmon Craft and the Mom's for Liberty crew got involved.
You may also be interested at this point in reading the Student Press Law Center's brief article on prior review vs. prior restraint in student publications: https://splc.org/2020/10/ask-splc-what-is-the-difference-between-prior-restraint-and-prior-review/
In the email to parents, Beamon offers to allow parents to trade in their current yearbook for a new yearbook with the offending two-page spread blanked out. Understand that the Lyman yearbook has already been published and distributed to students. Providing new books with a blank spread will require printing another (short) run of yearbooks at the cost of thousands of dollars. Surely this is not an appropriate use of school funds given the already unprecedentedly low public school funding levels.
Conservative estimates are that 9-10% of the high school age population identifies as LGBTQ+. By erasing these two pages (less than 1% of the total yearbook) we erase their identities and lives from the Lyman community. This must not stand.
As was said in the 1980's, "We here. We're queer. Get used to it!"
#CaitlinJohnstone | #Propaganda Restricts Speech More Than #Censorship Does: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
This blog post is about the illusion of freedom, similar to what is described in the #book #BraveNewWorld
This is why I think Brave New World is a better book that #1984
I wrote about that here: https://psychicdrool.wordpress.com/2023/05/24/brave-old-book/
@atomicpoet
an addendum to this idea, which I agree with (hence the boost). I understand that a lot of masto users want to keep their posts from being easily searchable outside of their pre-approved pool--and that's great, more power to them. certainly I have posts sometimes I don't want any random person seeing and turning into a "reply guy" on.
but on th he other hand, some of us WANT our posts to show up for others, namely #contentCreators like me. I don't put 20+ hours into filming a video essay extolling the values of #feminism, #lgbtq #genderEquality, etc for just a small handful of existing supporters to watch. and people who are interested in finding more material on a certain subject (outside of programming and infosec 😜) are going to quickly give up on mastodon if every time they search for something like, say, #vidcon, they get no results.
if the goal is really to encourage others to leave "siloed" mainstream platforms, there has to be content here to fill the void that the corrupt platforms currently fill (at the expense of personal data and arbitrary #censorship). it's like saying "don't go to McDonald's, come to this amazing mom. and pop restaurant instead!" but there is no visible menu and you have to know someone who knows someone that knows what the restaurant offers to even order food in the first place.
BTW putting hashtags in front of things like I did in this post makes me want to vomit, because it feels like I'm trying to be a sell out, but I have to do it if I want to open up the conversation for people who don't already follow @atomicpoet or people who boost him?)
We're excited to share that OONI Explorer (open dataset on internet censorship) includes the following new features:
• Domain-centric pages
• Network-centric pages
• Charts on internet outages
• Mechanism for verifying OONI measurements
Learn more: https://ooni.org/post/2023-new-explorer-features/ ✨
@taon
Shopping at "Target" and vacationing in Florida should be boycotted for much more than a day in response to the Ableist and anti-LGBTQIA actions of both.
Desantis - Florida:
https://kolektiva.social/@OutOfExile_IDR_Voice/110381275316663044
Target removes Pride:
https://kolektiva.social/@OutOfExile_IDR_Voice/110426005931337191
#boycott #TargetStores #exclusion #EndAbleism #StopHomophobia #censorship #CivilRights #LGBTQRights #EndBigotry #equality #inclusion #diversity #Desantis #Florida #fascism #StopHate #Love4All #LoveOneAnother #TearDownTheWall
you write #software?
and it should be #censorship-resistant?
then neither you nor the location where the software is located may have a #mailbox.
https://mastodon.satoshishop.de/@mk/110327883752023824
video: https://mastodon.satoshishop.de/@mk/110327888879406504
Here's a link to a story about that.
#Twitter globally approved 83% of govt requests over content restriction under Musk: Report
🔗 #ElonMusk reacts criticism for giving in to governments’ Twitter censorship demands: ‘You’re such a numbskull’
Report finds Twitter has approved 83% more #censorship requests from authoritarian governments under Musk’s leadership https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/elon-musk-twitter-turkey-censorship-b2347509.html
The Democratic Party’s Crucifixion of Matt Taibbi
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-democratic-partys-crucifixion
#censorship
Deepfakes, cheapfakes, and Twitter censorship mar Turkey’s elections.
As the main candidates head to a runoff, disinformation is running riot on Turkish social media.
“When internet users turned to Google to search for Kılıçdaroğlu on that day, the false news was among the top suggestions made by the algorithm."
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/deepfakes-cheapfakes-and-twitter-censorship-mar-turkeys-elections
#Turkey #Turkiye #Elections #Politics #Disinformation #Deepfakes #Twitter #Censorship
The attack on Amanda Gorman's historic work proves it: DeSantis wants to create an America where it's easier for a white supremacist to ban a book than it is for a Black child to read a poem.
Read free: https://unprecedented.ghost.io/archive/the-hills-we-make-kids-climb/
(wow, I actually ran into Eldritch Cafe's character limit, how rare!)
so that is all to say that, I don't know of any instances that have an ample supply of content creators for me to network with, that aren't sex worker-focused, and aren't full body nudism focused either. I guess beggars can't be choosers, but I'm just frustrated that I'm pretty much the ONLY SINGLE topless-equality-focused creator I've ever heard of (there are organizations like #freethenipple and #gotoplessday but they don't have content creators per se, and residually in regards to GTD, have a weird religious cult founding??). there are a couple of #normalizeNudity creators (all nudists, and 90% cis male), and there are sex workers, but no one focused on gender equality anti- #censorship FIRST, normalize nudity after that's been established. it's lonely up here, and I'm always hoping I can inspire other creators to at least talk about topless inequality specifically, even if they don't make it a cornerstone of their content like I have. guess I'll just keep trying to scream through the patriarchal void to get people to at least question the default American ideology that says "female nipples are sexually explicit nudity but male nipples are not" and maybe feel inspired to vocally join the fight, even if it puts their sponsorships in jeopardy.
anyway just some thoughts. thanks for letting me rant!
I just started a "people to interview" list on here, so if anyone is interested in letting me interview you for my #feminism /#lgbtq / #mentalHealth / #genderEquality / anti- #censorship / other #progressive #leftist issues video series #toplessTopics, feel free to drop me a message!
you can see my past interviews here:
I've decided today's #livestream is gonna test the limits of #twitch #censorship by taking place in our #hotTub - since Twitch theoretically started allowing swimsuits on stream over a year ago (which of course allows topless "male-looking nipples" but not "female looking nipples" like everywhere else in or oriented towards this #puritanical #sexist #misgynist PoS country #America) I thought it'd be fun to do a #toplessTopics AMA (#askMeAnything) while wearing a bikini in our backyard hot tub. of course, given how topless Topics is #banned to a degree that no other #contentcreator is, I'll probably get #suspended yet again despite not breaking #CommunityGuidelines - but hey, that just gives me more screenshots for my banned page! https://www.toplesstopics.org/banned
anyway think of some AMA questions for me to answer on today's livestream, every Tuesday and Thursday 12-3 pm pst at https://www.twitch.tv/cerigotgame and I'll answer them live! they can really be AMA, but if they're sexual, I'll have to be super vague in how I answer. also, I'll think less of you as a person, for being a 🍆 for 🧠s instead of respectful. but go ahead and try I guess 🤷🏽♀️
see you all in two hours!
also, if you're a #contentCreator, please feel free to leave a reply on this thread with a brief summary about yourself and links to some of your content! my name is Cleo and I've been making videos online since the first year of YouTube's existence. my two main channels are #CeriGotGame, a very old one that is centered around #videoGames #cosplay and other nerdy stuff, and #toplessTopics "the channel that seeks to destigmatize female #toplessness through repeat exposure". Basically I do my videos nonsexually topless to try to normalize seeing "female looking nipples" (aka flagged by algorithms to ban as "sexually explicit nudity") outside of explicitly sexual situations, then use their attention to talk about issues important to me, like #feminism #lgbtq #houseless #racialInjustice #genderEquality #censorship #sexualEducation (discussed, not demonstrated!) and more.
I'm also always looking for interesting people to interview, so please let me know if you might like to let me record your thoughts on a topic!
most of my gaming stuff is here:
https://m.youtube.com/c/cerigotgame
https://m.twitch.tv/cerigotgame/videos
while my #toplesstopics stuff is all over the place, as unfortunately I keep having to reupload it to different platforms. currently the uncensored (containing nonsexual female nipples) versions of my videos are on peertube:
https://videos.trom.tf/c/toplesstopics/videos
and the censored versions (when I bother making them) are on YouTube:
https://m.youtube.com/user/toplesstopics
I also announce on my various social media accounts (including mastodon) when I post anything new: https://www.toplesstopics.org/contact
if you're not sure where to start, I list some of what I consider my "best" videos here:
https://www.toplesstopics.org/featured/
and I have all my interviews, which are probably the most interesting things I've done so far, here:
https://www.toplesstopics.org/interviews/
(I also sometimes export just the audio of my videos as "podcast episodes" if you want something to listen to during your commute--so look up "Topless Topics" on the podcast platform of your choice if you like)
Eager and hopeful to connect with other #contentCreators, about the subjects I cover or anything else, really!
Florida Mom Behind Amanda Gorman Book Ban Has Proud Boy Links
https://www.thedailybeast.com/florida-mom-behind-amanda-gorman-book-ban-has-proud-boy-links
#DailyBeastNews #AmandaGormanBookBan #FloridaMom #ProudBoyLinks #Censorship #FreedomOfSpeech #Politics #News
Apparently the misguided belief in #censorship via faking #DNS answers as a good thing is making the rounds among legislators. Perhaps it is time to reprise my 2013 piece "The UK "Porn" Filter Blocks Kids' Access To Tech, Civil Liberties Websites" https://bsdly.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-uk-porn-filter-blocks-kids-access.html
A big problem for our side is that when you accurately describe how bonkers the #GOP has become, people who don't follow politics closely just won't believe you.
"Tennessee Speaker appoints conspiracy theorist to develop state social studies standards"
https://popular.info/p/tennessee-speaker-appoints-conspiracy
Of course she does. And yet the legacy media keeps calling these fascist thugs "concerned parents."
"Florida Mom Behind Amanda Gorman Book Ban Has Proud Boy Links"
https://www.thedailybeast.com/florida-mom-behind-amanda-gorman-book-ban-has-proud-boy-links
#Australia federal government made over 4000 requests in three years to get posts about COVID-19 removed from online platforms.
https://reclaimthenet.org/australia-covid-social-media-censorship
hastily drawn #webcomic page once again mocking #patreon #tiktok #twitch etc for their #censorship #banned policies towards a photo or video of a woman without a shirt (or wearing a strapless dress) cut off at the shoulders as "implied nudity," but not a woman wearing a teeny tiny bikini and g-string. and of course, not banning topless people who "look male," even with full nipples fully on display. make it make sense 🙃 #feminism #sexism #genderEquality
haha, #patreon #bans photos of topleesh women that cut off at the shoulders as " implied newdeetay" when you know they would never do such thing for a picture of "male looking neepels" even if they showed all the way down to the waist. Once again I ask these fascist #sexist #misogynist #patriarchy-controlled anti-#feminist pro-#censorship #socialMedia platforms: do you think female neepels simply stop existing when we put a shirt on? How tf is a photo that cuts off at the shoulders "implied newdeetay" but a teeny weeny bikini doesn't? Make it make sense 🙃
@sarahc This is a 'minority' like billionaires are a minority: the book #censorship is a billionaire-driven #astroturf campaign.
These are the two pages that got Amanda Gorman's book banned from a Florida school. According to Gorman's twitter account, the objecting parent contended they were "not educational" and contained "indirect hate messages." The group Miami Against Fascism found that the parent has links to right supremacist groups. And yet that one complaint led to the book being removed.
"The majority of the 1,000-plus book challenges analyzed by The Post were filed by just 11 people.
Each of these people brought 10 or more challenges against books in their school district; one man filed 92 challenges. Together, these serial filers constituted 6 percent of all book challengers — but were responsible for 60 percent of all filings."
The majority of book challenges in the country were filed by eleven people. Eleven. People. When they talk about "parents' rights," that's who they're talking about.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/23/lgbtq-book-ban-challengers/
“A chemical weapons expert has been disinvited from giving a keynote speech at a UK-run expert conference after civil servants discovered social media posts he wrote criticising Conservative ministers and government migration policy.”
This is the new normal, in Tory-governed Britain.
Meme I quickly made about responses to the ongoing discussion about #searchability on the #fediverse. As a #contentCreator and #activist for #toplessEquality--which gets me banned repeatedly on all mainstream platforms even when I DO censor out my heinous female nipples (see https://www.toplesstopics.org/banned for receipts!), a primary motivator for me to use platforms like #mastodon is to be able to spread the word about #GenderEquality anti- #censorship among more potential supporters. But the lack of #searchability on Masto makes this very hard. I'm dependent on existing followers to boost my posts so others following -them- can see it, etc, but for whatever reason very few of my existing followers do. I also can't really find posts by other people outside of my instance and the people I'm following--like I've never seen another post about #vidcon besides my own, so I have no idea if anyone else on the fediverse is even messaging about it.
#Consent is of course a cornerstone of the fediverse experience, including someone consenting to whether or not they want a certain kind of content to pop up in their feeds. And having #contentWarnings and #altText encouraged if not required by most instances makes this place leagues more of a safe space for marginalized and/or traumatized people in a way that they cannot experience on mainstream platforms. But this can be very time-consuming and cumbersome, both remembering to add CWs and Alt Text to everything, coming up with custom text every time, and also on the end of it--when you follow enough people (or check out the public timelines) pressing "show content" over and over and over on each post gets REALLY annoying. But again, I'd rather have that tedium then have to subject myself to content that I find really triggering (for me, it's pretty much anything to do with kids and #gunViolence...I live in America where my kids are at risk of getting shot every day they go to school, and while I want to stay informed, I also need some mental prep before I look/read too much about it). And I know for others who have even more triggers, especially around things that the majority of people wouldn't find triggering (like pictures of food), then again, the fediverse is leagues better than the "normal" sites.
But back to searchability, as a veteran Twitter user (I cold-turkey quit in November, don't worry) I am well versed in how dealing with reactionary bullies who can take a tweet out of context and share it with their thousands if not millions of followers to dunk on you all at once. It can also open you up to a lot of haters in general, who will search out content like yours to leave hateful comments (like the comment sections of my Tiktok/Instagram/Youtube posts any time I mention #gunControl ...) BUT, even for content that I WANT people to find--primarily my topless equality content--again, it only shows up if followers of mine boost it to their own followers, and that's a very small niche. The only way we can ever hope to normalize gender-equal topless rights is if there are enough people putting pressure on social media sites and lawmakers to change their policies, and that requires a groundswell of support that's just not possible in isolated communities like Masto currently is. So I would LOVE some more methods for searchability, for people outside of my instance to find my content--and for me to find theirs.
I'm not a programmer, so I don't know how difficult this would be in reality. But the solution seems to me to be creating a searchable index, but making it opt-in only--accoounts like mine can opt-in to be found by people searching for #topless (who thereby might be influenced to think about topless equality, not just searching for porn), while others who want to keep their content protected (maybe searchable among their followers who they already trust, but not to the world wide web) can stay in the default opt-out status until they choose otherwise.
I've seen a few mentions of projects in the works LIKE this, but haven't seen one that's all the way working yet. If there's one that's mostly in working order, please recommend it! I'd love to give it a try.
Book banning in the US is an organized campaign by a very small group of people.
' The majority of the 1,000-plus book challenges analyzed by The Post were filed by just 11 people.
Each of these people brought 10 or more challenges against books in their school district; one man filed 92 challenges. Together, these serial filers constituted 6% of all book challengers — but were responsible for 60% of all filings. '
#books #schools #challenges #censorship #fascism
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/23/lgbtq-book-ban-challengers/
#Objection to #sexual, #LGBTQ #content propels #spike in #book #challenges
An #analysis of #book #challenges from across the #nation shows the #majority were filed by just 11 #people
#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Fascism #Censorship #RepublicanParty #Religion #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Genocide #Discrimination #Homophobia #Transphobia #EmptyThePews #ThePartyOfHate
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/23/lgbtq-book-ban-challengers/
The Online Safety Bill has seen a shift in emphasis away from taking down content, to preventing users from seeing it in the first place. It's an environment of sanctions rather than rights and freedoms.
With the Online Safety Bill, we're looking at an online landscape that will limit users’ content in invisible ways. This surveillance-based form of censorship will suppress debate on vital issues of public policy.
Not only about free speech, freedom of expression is also a right to receive information without interference.
The Online Safety Bill threatens both. Prior restraint provisions will wipe out speech before it takes place, shrinking the public realm.
👉 Take action to defend democratic expression: https://action.openrightsgroup.org/stop-state-censorship-online-speech
Anti- #Putin militia claims to have overrun Russian border village
#StandWithUkraine #RussiaAggression #RussianCrimes #Dictatorship #Surveillance #Censorship #RussianWarCrimes #FreeNavalny #PutinsWar #Muscovy #Russia
The Online Safety Bill will mean platforms use upload filters. They'll intercept content while the user is uploading it, then check if there's a match for illegal content.
It'll be a form of surveillance on users posting to the platform, 24/7.
👉 Act now to defend democractic expression: https://action.openrightsgroup.org/stop-state-censorship-online-speech
The government is using the Online Safety Bill to limit awareness of small boat crossings and the rights of migrants. The Bill aims to have content that 'assists' illegal immigration swept from social media.
Upload filters aren't well-equipped to pick out illegal content, which are complex and context-dependent decisions. The high error rates and false positives will see lawful posts censored.
"In the digital world, where censorship bots and algorithms are making tens of thousands of decisions a day, the potential for unintended consequences rises exponentially."
The Online Safety Bill will lead to the over-moderation of democratic expression.
#OnlineSafetyBill #censorship #freespeech #ukpolitics
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-online-safety-bill-is-still-a-censors-charter/
@jcct it's less of any issue what any user does than what moderators do, & if a moderator is banning users because other users don't like them or what they toot, that's at least censorship, before even thinking about the government which has done the same on Twitter.
It's really a universal issue of defining what is acceptable speech as black & white, partisan mobs for power & commerce, & anyone not playing along is subject to #censorship.
Draft2Digital: Stop letting censorship be an excuse to fuck over your authors
Last week, I received an email from Draft2Digital about my short story collection Whips & Fangs.
The collection is blocked from most major etailers for dubcon and noncon -- content that those etailers have no problem with in mainstream romance books.
Rather than supporting authors against these unfairly applied policies, @draft2digital is enabling them.
https://jessmahler.com/draft2digital-stop-letting-censorship-be-an-excuse-to-fuck-over-your-authors/
Platform policing required by the Online Safety Bill is done at scale using automated content moderation systems. But these are rife with errors and false positives that'll remove lawful content.
If content is "taken down before it’s even gone up, you might not even know anything is wrong... how can a person complain if they don’t even know it happened?"
This is a serious interference in freedom of expression.
#OnlineSafetyBill #censorship #freespeech #ukpolitics
https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/The-one-problem-with-AI-content-moderation-It-doesnt-work
Inside the lawsuit by parents, #authors, PEN America and #publisher Penguin Random House against Escambia County, Florida schools over #book #banning #censorship. There’s a lot to see. #FirstAmendment #FreedomToRead https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/19/opinion/book-ban-escambia-florida-lawsuit.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Prior restraint provisions in the Online Safety Bill will "rely on artificial intelligence techniques, or content moderation systems based on perceptual hashing. Both options entail risks of over-blocking. Lawful posts could be censored.” – ORG's Policy Manager, Dr Monica Horten.
Prior restraint is a severe restriction on free speech. It prohibits speech or any other form of expression before it can take place.
Find out more in our briefing on the illegal content safety duties and prior restraint in the Online Safety Bill.
What’s legal to say should be legal to type. A government regulator shouldn’t control speech, whether online or offline. The Online Safety Bill will change that.
If views blink out of existence before they appear, democratic expression becomes muted.
👉 Join our campaign: https://action.openrightsgroup.org/stop-state-censorship-online-speech
Anti-democratic legislation attacks our ability to engage in public debate.
From the Public Order Act to the Online Safety Bill, the government is leveraging powers to contain protest from IRL to URL.
Online platforms are public spaces for democratic discussion. The Online Safety Bill could threaten the circulation of images, videos or text concerning public protests on social media.
PEN America, five #authors and #publisher Penguin Random House sue Escambia County School District in Florida over #book #bans #censorship, saying putting books w/LGBTQIA content or books about racism in a “restricted” area as school boards decide their fate is a violation of the #FirstAmendment. #FreedomToRead #FreeSpeech #FreePress
#TheMetalDogArticleList
#MetalSucks
Metallica Remind a TikTok User They Still Hate Escape
Metallica's got some feelings on the matter. The post Metallica Remind a TikTok User They Still Hate Escape appeared first on MetalSucks.
https://www.metalsucks.net/2023/05/16/metallica-remind-a-tiktok-user-they-still-hate-escape/
#Metallica
#Escape
#TikTok
#Censorship
#Sanction
#Regulate
#SocialMedia
#MusicControversy
#SwedishParliament
The UK slumped down in the global index of free expression to being partially open.
The Online Safety Bill joins a patchwork of anti-democratic legislation and policies that have a chilling effect. Prior restraint censorship will be particularly damaging.
The Online Safety Bill will make social media platforms prevent users from encountering illegal content.
Upload filters will intercept and remove posts while they are being uploaded. This shrinks the realm of public debate.
👉 Take action to defend democratic expression: https://action.openrightsgroup.org/stop-state-censorship-online-speech
The effect of the anti-democratic Public Order Act was seen during the coronation.
The Online Safety Bill takes the attack on public debate further: blocking content that shows protest from social media feeds.
ORG's Head of Comms, Pam Cowburn, explains more. #OnlineSafetyBill #censorship #freespeech #ukpolitics
https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/online-safety-bill-a-danger-to-democracy/
A particularly draconian form of censorship is coming. Prior restraint bans content before publication and before a court has decided that it's illegal.
The #OnlineSafetyBill is a dangerous threat to free speech. #censorship #freespeech #ukpolitics
Read more from ORG Policy Manager, Dr Monica Horten: https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/small-boats-and-silent-protest-prior-restraint-in-the-online-safety-bill/
⚠️ Content may vanish before it's posted if the #OnlineSafetyBill becomes law.
What will get censored is open to political interference and will be decided by context-blind algorithms. This will chill public debate.
✊ Defend democratic expression today: https://action.openrightsgroup.org/stop-state-censorship-online-speech
Elon – the self-described "free speech absolutist" – agreed to censor Twitter in Turkey last Saturday, the day before a critical election, at the request of the nation's autocratic government, in a country where national media is ~90% state-controlled. Musk has lucrative business dealings with the incumbent Turkish government through SpaceX.
https://popular.info/p/musk-bows-to-turkeys-autocratic-government (7-min read)
#Turkey #Turkiye #Erdogan #Twitter #Elon #Musk #elections #media #censorship
@w7voa Nothing new here really. Only that it doesn't get as much attention when Europeans enforce this type of #censorship on the social medias like #Twitter
Next step we gave up dissidents' DMs & locations.
We could have been blocked otherwise!
Every platform does give & take w/ gov #censorship & user data requests.
Sometimes different teams push for different approaches. At minimum, you want serious friction & transparency.
#Musk defending caving to #censorship pressure:
"But they threatened to block us"
Autocrats will read this as a playbook.
OONI data confirms that the Telegram url shortener t.me was censored in France on the 11th and 12th of May (it seems unblocked now but I couldn't test it on all networks)
#censorship
DeSantis bans Holocaust textbooks in Florida schools.
Remember, DeSantis' "anti-woke" bans outlaw ideas that make people feel guilty about their desires, thoughts, or actions.
If history makes you feel guilty, it is time to examine your ideals.
https://www.newsweek.com/ron-desantis-war-woke-targets-holocaust-textbooks-1800034
#florida #history #censorship #neveragain #fascism #uspol #education