Censorship and Political Misinformation

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Introduction In 1944, after the Red Army invaded Poland and imposed the communist system upon it, large groups of Polish society resisted the attempts at social conversion inspired by Marxist ideologies and Soviet example. Many social echelons were effected by the new social engineering which included, "expropriations, ideological and organizational unification, and party and state control over social, political, and economic life." (Karpinski. 1997). Writers, artists and educators had success bypassing such strict censorship and were able to deliver their messages to the public, teaching values different than the ones officially approved by their government. After 1956, Polish historians, sociologists, and philosophers were able to publish valuable works that were free of Marxist ideological obligations. Some authors chose to bypass censorship completely by publishing abroad. The development of unofficial, uncensored, and underground publishing in the 1970's broadened the channels of public communication. Radio Free Europe and other Western radio stations broadcast works published abroad and in the underground, giving them stronger resonance throughout the world. Typically, controlling ideological unification, regulating flow of information, and neutralizing critical opinion are the focal points of government controlled censorship. For centuries, the Chinese people have been isolated from the rest of the world due to the People’s Republic of China, or PRC, government’s strict censorship laws. Though the rise of the Internet has increased the flow of information within China, all information is heavily scrutinized by the current censorship machine known as the Golden Shield Project, colloquially referred to as the Great Fi... ... middle of paper ... ... Road Blocks. Washington: GPO, 2006. Web. Pierson, David. "China: Online Call for Protests in China Prompts Crackdown - Latimes.com." Los Angeles Times - California, National and World News - Latimes.com. 26 Feb. 2011. Web. Schrage, Elliot. "Testimony: The Internet in China." Official Google Blog. 15 Feb. 2006. Web. Solomon, Richard. Mao’s Revolution and the Chinese Political Culture. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1971 United States. Federal Communications Commission. Fiscal Year 2008 Performance and Accountability Report. Washington: GPO, 2008. Web. Watts, Jonathan. "China's Secret Internet Police Target Critics with Web of Propaganda | Technology | The Guardian." The Guardian. 14 June 2005. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. Karpinski, Jakub, and Tibor Dessewffy. "Dissidents--Then and Now". Transition. Feb. 21 1997: 14-23. SIRS Researcher. Web. 02 Feb. 2011.

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