Ideal State Policy on Media Censorship Essay Sample

📌Category: Entertainment, Government, Media, Politics
📌Words: 806
📌Pages: 3
📌Published: 16 February 2022

New York: Media censorship is an international procedure that has loomed over media houses for the past few centuries. It dates back all the way to the draconian Greek era, when the state wrapped adamantine chains of censorship around the philosopher Socrates’ teachings and    philosophies. Today, censorship is still prevalent with administrations all around the world placing policies on publishings, broadcasts, radio and the internet. Governments set up censorship policies to control slander, libel, hate speech and a myriad of other reasons. States claim that these censorship policies are created only with public welfare in mind and that these legislatures are established to maintain a coherent and ordered state.

However, it is quite clear that throughout the ages the primary purpose of media censorship is not to benefit the public but to benefit the government. Restricting freedom of press grants governments the ability to censor any information that is inimical to the government, regardless of how important that information could be. Moreover, governments can do this in an efficacious and facile method, guising their true purpose under the veil of ‘protection of the public’s interests’.  This is definitely not acceptable and is a blatant disrespect for one of the most fundamental human rights - freedom of speech.  This is even pertinent in the public choice theory, which palpably states that high government censorship and state media curtails public oversight and expedites political corruption. Reports have also indicated that states with high censorship on newspapers often have underdeveloped banking systems as well as fewer businesses per capita.

Furthermore, censorship is often used as a tool to obstruct information that is averse to a government's ideals. A classic example of this is when Adolf Hitler decimated over twenty thousand books, simply because of their anti-german sentiment. This is also clearly a violation of basic human rights as each individual is entitled to his/her own perspective and opinion.  To summarise, censorship of the media should never be used to gain a political advantage, or to eradicate ideologies that governments deem ‘indecent’ just because they are antipathetic to a government’s own ideals. 

As we continue the inexorable march into the information age, news is accessible everywhere and on an unparalleled scale. But, this also means that fake news is ubiquitous and found in all pockets of the internet. Fortunately, most of the time the line between fake news and real news is distinct and most individuals can clearly distinguish between the two. However, sometimes that line can blur, articles with fabricated ‘facts’ are often written in a strong and pervasive register, thus leading many individuals to fall prey to false misinformation. Although individuals are certainly entitled to their opinion, purposely pushing false facts as the truth poses severe threats to liberal democracies and can undermine the democratic process. Hence, an ideal policy would definitely implement regulation on fake news to curb its exponential spread.

Censorship is also widespread in an extremely sensitive topic - religion. Governments often severely censor media based on religious teachings or media related to religions that a particular government deplores. Furthermore, religious censorship often occurs when dominating religions exert their power over minority religions. However, everybody has the freedom of expression and freedom to religion. Therefore an ideal censorship on media policy would ensure that all religious media are allowed and would honour these rights. Yet, a line must be drawn and exceptions should be made to regulate or censor forms of media which severely hurt a religious sentiment .

Another instance where censorship is prevalent is in autocratic or totalitarian countries. In these types of countries governments frequently withhold information from their citizens. Governments withhold this information to exert control over the population  and prevent free expression that might lead to a rebellion. Unfortunately, this is even seen democratic countries where governments often hold back vital information. But, the watershed New York Times Co. vs  United States supreme court ruling has shown that a truly just, liberal and democratic policy does not stand for information suppressed. 

To further emphasize the pitfalls of  media censorship, studies have indicated that higher levels of media censorship has led to harassment and imprisonment of journalists to occur in countries such as Singapore, Belarus, Burma, Ethiopia, China, Iran, Syria, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Yet, media censorship should not be unreservedly denigrated, as  it is relevant in society. A few  cases where censorship on media is applicable (especially on a national scale) is when the media threatens the sovereignty of a nation, the unity or integrity of a nation and when the media threatens foreign relationships with other nations. 

In conclusion, an ideal media censorship policy would keep media censorship to a minimum, while maintaining a liberalistic, unprejudiced and fair perspective on all types of media. Media censorship should definitely not be implemented when the implementation of that censorship violates a fundamental human right such as freedom of expression, religion or press.  However, the importance of censorship should not be underestimated as it is a useful tool for regulating media in certain cases ( such as the ones mentioned earlier) and for protecting the public good. To further reiterate, media censorship should definitely not be administered for any political reason whatsoever or to control the populace of a country.

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