WCensorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient." Censorship can be conducted by governments, private institutions, and other controlling bodies.
WAll God's Chillun Got Wings (1924) is an expressionist play by Eugene O'Neill about miscegenation inspired by the old Negro spiritual. He began developing ideas for the play in 1922, emphasizing its authenticity in his notes: "Base play on his experience as I have seen it intimately." O'Neill wrote the play in the fall of 1923 and revised the text only slightly for its 1924 publication. Arguably one of his most controversial of plays, it starred Paul Robeson in the premiere, in which he portrayed the black husband of an abusive white woman, who, resenting her husband's skin color, destroys his promising career as a lawyer.
WBans on communist symbols were introduced or suggested in a number of countries as part of their policies of decommunization.
WBibliophobia is the fear or hatred of books. Such fear often arises from fear of the effect books can have on society or culture. Bibliophobia is a common cause of censorship and book burning. Bibliophobia and bibliophilia are antonyms.
WA cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence or other embarrassing information. In a passive cover-up, information is simply not provided; in an active cover-up, deception is used.
WEastern Bloc media and propaganda was controlled directly by each country's Communist party, which controlled the state media, censorship and propaganda organs. State and party ownership of print, television and radio media served as an important manner in which to control information and society in light of Eastern Bloc leaderships viewing even marginal groups of opposition intellectuals as a potential threat to the bases underlying Communist power therein.
WIn India, "The Emergency" refers to a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country. Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution because of the prevailing "internal disturbance", the Emergency was in effect from 25 June 1975 until its withdrawal on 21 March 1977. The order bestowed upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be suspended and civil liberties to be curbed. For much of the Emergency, most of Indira Gandhi's political opponents were imprisoned and the press was censored. Several other human rights violations were reported from the time, including a mass forced sterilization campaign spearheaded by Sanjay Gandhi, the Prime Minister's son. The Emergency is one of the most controversial periods of independent India's history.
WA euphemism is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that may be found offensive or suggest something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes to downplay. Euphemisms may be used to mask profanity or refer to taboo topics such as disability, sex, excretion, or death in a polite way.
WExpurgation, also known as bowdlerization, is a form of censorship that involves purging anything deemed noxious or offensive from an artistic work, or other type of writing of media.
WThe expression "fig leaf" is widely used figuratively to convey the covering up of an act or an object that is embarrassing or distasteful with something of innocuous appearance, a metaphorical reference to the Biblical Book of Genesis in which Adam and Eve used fig leaves to cover their nudity after eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Some paintings and statues have the genitals of their subjects covered by a representation of an actual fig leaf or similar object, either as part of the work or added afterward for perceived modesty.
WFogging, also known as blurring, is used for censorship or privacy. An area for a picture or movie is blurred to obscure it from sight. This form of censorship is used for sexually related images/scenes, hiding genitals, pubic hair, or sexual penetration of any sort. Pixelization is a form of fogging. In Japan, where it is called bokashi, fogging is employed on most films aired on public television that feature adult content of any kind.
WFreedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The term freedom of expression is usually used synonymously but, in legal sense, includes any activity of seeking, receiving, and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.
WFreedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints.
WThe Gordon W. Prange Collection is the most comprehensive archive in the world of Japanese print publications issued during the early years of the Occupation of Japan, 1945–1949. The Collection is located in Hornbake Library at the University of Maryland.
WIl est interdit d'interdire ! is an aphorism in French created and pronounced for the first time on the radio RTL by Jean Yanne in the form of a mocking joke, and considered as a polyptote by linguists. This sentence later became one of the slogans of May 1968.
WLèse-majesté, a French term meaning "to do wrong to majesty", is an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state.
WThis article lists times that items were renamed due to political motivations. Such renamings have generally occurred during conflicts; for example, World War I gave rise to anti-German sentiment among Allied nations, leading to disassociation with German names.
WIn journalism and public relations, a news embargo or press embargo is a request or requirement by a source that the information or news provided by that source not be published until a certain date or certain conditions have been met. They are often used by businesses making a product announcement, by medical journals, and by government officials announcing policy initiatives; the media is given advance knowledge of details being held secret so that reports can be prepared to coincide with the announcement date and yet still meet press time.
WNewspeak is the fictional language of Oceania, a totalitarian superstate that is the setting of dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell. In the novel, the ruling English Socialist Party (Ingsoc) created Newspeak to meet the ideological requirements of English Socialism in Oceania. Newspeak is a controlled language of simplified grammar and restricted vocabulary designed to limit the individual's ability to think and articulate "subversive" concepts such as personal identity, self-expression and free will. Such concepts are criminalized as thoughtcrime since they contradict the prevailing Ingsoc orthodoxy.
W"Orwellian" is an adjective describing a situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It denotes an attitude and a brutal policy of draconian control by propaganda, surveillance, disinformation, denial of truth (doublethink), and manipulation of the past, including the "unperson"—a person whose past existence is expunged from the public record and memory, practiced by modern repressive governments. Often, this includes the circumstances depicted in his novels, particularly Nineteen Eighty-Four but political doublespeak is criticized throughout his work, such as in Politics and the English Language.
WPostal censorship is the inspection or examination of mail, most often by governments. It can include opening, reading and total or selective obliteration of letters and their contents, as well as covers, postcards, parcels and other postal packets. Postal censorship takes place primarily but not exclusively during wartime and periods of unrest, and occasionally at other times, such as periods of civil disorder or of a state of emergency. Both covert and overt postal censorship have occurred.
WProfanity is a socially offensive use of language, which may also be called cursing, cussing or swearing, cuss words, curse words, swear words, bad words, dirty words, or expletives. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rude, or culturally offensive. It can show a debasement of someone or something, or be considered an expression of strong feeling towards something. Some words may also be used as intensifiers.
WRegressive left is a pejorative term for a branch of left-wing politics that are accused of holding views that conflict with liberal principles, especially tolerating Islamism.
WSafety of journalists is the ability for journalists and media professionals to receive, produce and share information without facing physical or moral threats.
WSociology of Revolution is a book by Russian American sociologist Pitirim Sorokin. Sociology of revolution as branch of sociology was developed by Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan. to a certain extent earlier than Sorokin. Hobbes lived and created in the period of English Revolution. In the opinion by Hobbes, "the war of all against all" begins in the period of revolution and of Civil War, when all men threaten by each man, when each man has the right to all things by right of strong man, when "Man Is Wolf to Man" Sorokin had generalized the data about the new revolutions, unknowns for Hobbes – French Revolution, Russian Revolution (1917), etc.
WThe SPEAK FREE Act of 2015 is a bipartisan Act of Congress that was introduced on May 13, 2015, designed to serve as federal anti-SLAPP legislation, to protect free speech in practice. Its title is an acronym that stands for "Securing Participation, Engagement, and Knowledge Freedom by Reducing Egregious Efforts Act of 2015".