Simran Week Two: The Power in Silence
Whenever we think about the power of language, we often think about the power of words. However, there is as much power in the specific words being spoken as there in the specific words that aren’t being spoken. I read the article “How Russia Tries to Censor Western Social Media” by Andrei Zakharov and Ksenia Churmanova, which is linked here: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-59687496. The article talks about how Russia often tells media companies to remove certain posts. Many companies, including Facebook and Twitter, now are charged fines in Russia due to not removing certain content(it has not been confirmed whether or not the companies actually did pay the fines). Russia claims that these posts are illegal and therefore should be removed; however, these posts are often in support of Alexei Navalny, who is an opposition leader and criticizes Putin.
By censoring the posts of those in support of Navalny, Russia is trying to stop Navalny supporters from assembling. For instance, one post Russia censored was about a protest in favor of Navalny. Russia also got Google and Apple to remove a strategic voting app that was designed to help supporters of Navalny vote for the same candidate in the elections to increase the chances of their party winning. By censoring these posts, Russia is trying to prevent Navalny from getting more power, so Navalny is less of a threat to Putin. Censorship is not only taking away people’s rights to free speech, but it is also preventing people from participating in a fair election. Censoring language can even cause people to have an inaccurate view of the world. For instance, if Russia is censoring posts that support Navalny, people are more likely to believe that Navalny has fewer supporters in Russia than he actually does. This could cause fewer people to believe that they should support Navalny because they might believe that he is not a powerful enough candidate.
This article made me think about how lucky I am that I can speak freely. I can use social media to see what other people have written about political candidates, and I can talk about my own views on the candidates. This allows me to participate in a fair election and have a voice in issues that directly affect me.
Sources Used: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-59687496
Comments
One time, I watched a YouTube video about the idea of censorship. It was titled “Censorship Makes No Sense.” You can probably tell the attitude of the creator about the idea of censorship. The creator mentioned how our society chooses to censor the weirdest things. And he actually brought up some really good points. Most popular TV shows and series have graphic depictions of violence as well as sexual referenes. Although the ones targeted towards younger audiences are typically watered down, the suggestion of violence and lewdity is still present. I think that we really need to reconsider what we should be showing to kids these days.
I think it's crazy how things we take for granted (freedom of speech and press) are illegal in other countries. Although I'm sure we still don't have full transparency in the USA, I believe that we are lucky enough that we have privileges others die for. There are many countries that use censorship to manipulate their citizens, such as India and China, and I hope in the future, countries will stop doing this.
It’s interesting to see someone talk about silence when last week we were all talking about everything language. I applaud your creativity! When I hear the news that people out there are getting silenced, it isn’t a very good feeling—it’s quite a dirty tactic to use in politics. Some people who genuinely want to raise awareness about looming issues in society are getting hurt because they’re doing the right thing. A society where the people remain oblivious to the good or bad workings of higher-ups simply sounds like them playing with dolls in a dollhouse. People should be able to formulate their own opinions on these political figures and decide as a collective if they accept them or not. Manipulation in the form of censorship just does not feel morally right to me.
-Angel Susantin
Silencing people in politics is a dirty thing to do and makes it easy for the opponent to take control. By having less freedom of speech less thoughts are spoken out. The restriction lessens ideas passed out resulting in a defeat to the silenced party. Censorship of certain political stuff restricts message passed out and thus less support is shown viewed as a weak view than the dominant parties.
I really love how you organized your blog post as each paragraph has a set meaning with connections to the entire topic. Censorship really is something that may anger many as they can't be heard and can affect many things outside of that. We all want to be famous people, but one thing that they face is censorship and having strong opposition from the other side which really impacts their lives and ideas.
Sincerely,
Mrinmayee
I found the censorship Russia uses very shocking. I thought censorship was not as widespread or common anymore since most people are given the rights of freedom of speech and whatnot. Russia’s determination to censor articles that were against their beliefs was also surprising to me. Is it because words are so powerful that Russia is scared of another party rising up? Like you said, I am also really thankful that where we live we are able to speak and think freely without the censorship of the media.
Sincerely,
Faith Tong
The idea of censorship is honestly disgusting, but it happens just almost everywhere. Social media, news, and really just any place that provides a platform for people to speak out on. “Freedom” of speech is hard to justify too. Of course, there are topics that are maybe very very sensitive and could use censorship, but using censorship in order to hide stuff from the public is not very epic at all.
What Russia is doing to their people is awful. It’s horrible that the one place people can freely speak on is being taken away. It just shocks me how people can be so voiceless, and her I am living in a country that gives people freedom and doesn’t take freedom say from anyone. I truly take having a voice and speech for granted, it’s something that I should not do. I don’t know where I would be or how I would feel if I was forever silenced and bonded to their rule.