The most effective propaganda is omissive, not commissive.
Example: One of the tech-sponsored websites was trying to steer Americans away from Tiktok and Rednote. They highlighted some Americans who ran afoul of Chinese censors banning a thread that was pro-LGBTQA2ABCDEF. See? Red Communist Atheist Godless Marxist China is imprisoned, we are free!
What’s omitted: Our platforms censor anti-LGBTQ2ABCDEF messages. Both sides censor. China’s censorship aims to maintain traditional morality, while our censorship aims to destroy traditional morality. In this comparison China is Christian and we’re the godless atheists.**
Big point: Censorship is another name for selection. Every publisher censors, whether you call it editing or banning. Every culture censors, whether you call it freedom or banning. Every store or library censors some products by choosing to stock its shelves with other products. Every animal and person censors food input and visual input. You can’t have a business or a culture or a life without some kind of selection.
The alternative is not censor vs freedom, the alternative is which DIRECTION the censorship pulls.
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** This is not brand new, not just Xi’s policy. In the 80s I knew several Chinese engineering grad students. They said that China strongly encouraged permanent traditional marriage and made divorce difficult. Workplaces provided counseling to help workers stay married. They were bothered by our cavalier attitude toward morality.
Polistra's Mill 