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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 & religion.
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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.
READ THE STORYLATEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS
21 June 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Jillian C. York
Jun 21 2017
In this week's Takedown: YouTube apologizes for censoring queer content, while Facebook mistakes anti-terror for terror.
31 May 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Jillian C. York
May 31 2017
A leak of Facebook's internal rulebook is making waves; meanwhile, users continue to complain about YouTube's advertising policies.
27 April 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Matthew Stender
Apr 27 2017
Thailand and Vietnam go after Facebook, Instagram goes after museums, and Twitter refuses to go after Trump...and more in this week's Takedown.
18 April 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Matthew Stender
Apr 20 2017
Facebook is under fire this week after a murder was broadcast on its Live platform.
12 April 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Matthew Stender
Apr 12 2017
This week's update shows how governments and corporate executives collaborate to limit access to content online.
31 March 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Ramzi Jaber
Mar 31 2017
A look at Twitter's latest transparency report and YouTube's new "restricted" mode...and more in this week's Takedown.
24 March 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Jillian C. York
Mar 24 2017
This week, we take a look at YouTube's latest restrictions and Twitter's takedown of more than half a million accounts.
15 March 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Jillian C. York
Mar 15 2017
In this week's update, we look at the censorship of sexuality across social media platforms.