How to stay informed in a censored society
Photo courtesy of Mutant669 / Wikimedia Commons
In a censored society, the first thing that will be attack is the people's access to information. Without that, we can be put in very vulnerable positions. We must learn to stay informed in a censored society, as some of the signs are becoming far too transparent.
As AI continues its persistent use in our classrooms and social media platforms are becoming our new source of consuming political content— it is becoming increasingly difficult to remain informed in a society where some of our information may be shared to harm and misinform certain audiences. On top of that, there have been numerous reports from outside countries of a lack of information being announced to the American people. It seems as though history is repeating itself, and we are experiencing the first stages of an authoritarian state with the use of one damning method— censorship.
These things are not only happening on our social media platforms, but they are also making devastating changes to our government. In March, the Trump Administration sought to purge the federal government of its “woke” initiatives and retaliated by flagging hundreds of words to limit the use of “woke” language in government documents; “Still,” starts a quote from the New York Times, “the words and phrases listed here represent a marked — and remarkable — shift in the corpus of language being used both in the federal government’s corridors of power and among its rank and file. They are an unmistakable reflection of this administration’s priorities.”
These words range from MSM (mainstream media), mental health, minorities, transgender, systemically, disability, discrimination, women, and hundreds more. Words related to diversity, equality, and inclusion quietly disappeared from federal pages and other public resources. These were taken offline, leaving millions of Americans in a state of panic and confusion as concerns of our government being scrubbed away have partially come to fruition.
Remaining informed in the United States, where media censorship limits access to diverse viewpoints, requires deliberate strategies to seek out reliable and independent sources of information. Actively seeking out diverse and reliable sources, critically evaluating the information you consume, and utilizing tools to bypass censorship can help you remain neutrally informed in a biased society and assist in navigating the complexities of media censorship.
An effective approach is to diversify your news consumption. Relying solely on mainstream outlets can expose you to biased or incomplete narratives. This then opens your eyes to a variety of sources, including independent media and journalism platforms, and provides an alternative perspective that mainstream media platforms might suppress. These platforms often operate outside the control of governments and corporations, offering a more diverse and unfiltered view of events.
Utilizing Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) tools can also help bypass censorship and access blocked websites. VPNs encrypt your internet traffic and route it through a server in another location, including other countries. NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and ProtonVPN are trusted sites that allow access to content that may be restricted in your region.
Verifying information on media sites before sharing it on your feed is crucial to preventing the spread of information. Websites like FactCheck.org, RumorGuard from the News Literacy Project, and OpenSecrets.org help determine the accuracy of the information you see online. It’s important to be cautious of exaggerated headlines and sources with an obvious bias. Always consider the information source you are consuming.