Charikus (CJ) Brown

Professor Malcolm Campbell

WRDS 1103

09/28/2022

Questions Proposal: Has Political Censorship Gone Too far?

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

● How has censorship affected political writing?

● Has censorship negatively or positively affected political writing in today's world?

● How can the writing of the first amendment be interpreted in modern-day terms?

Research

My question is significant because in the world we live in today social media and

what we see online are almost just as important if not more important than what we see in

real life. Censorship is a relevant topic in the news today because popular figures getting

banned from almost all social media platforms. Many people today such as political

scientists, politicians, and just the general public ask the question if censorship has gone

too far. With the recent situations of censorship on social media, different platforms have

been under fire with people questioning if their decisions are unconstitutional. This could

lead to us asking ourselves how much power these companies have, and also how should

we interpret the constitution in a modern-day setting. I hope to learn more about how we

interpret the constitution as well as how much information is censored from the public.
Source #1:

https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/the-problem-with-censoring-political-speech-online-inclu

ding-trumps

This source begins by addressing the Trump situation that occurred in January of 2021.

The source tells us why platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook decided to ban

former President Trump. Social The text then goes on to tell us about how the Supreme Court

has shut down laws similar to the one Governor Ron Desantis passed in Florida that prevents

online platforms from blocking any candidates for political office. The source then goes into how

censorship is not having a positive effect.

Source #2: https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/896/censorship

This source starts by telling us when and how censorship has been used over time. It then

goes into what types of speech are not protected by the first amendment. The source explains

Libel and Slander when it comes to public officials, when words can incite a “breach of peace”,

& determining whether something is considered obscene. The source ends by going into laws

attempting to reduce anti-government speech.

Source #3: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/censorship

This article is about the first amendment and censorship. This source breaks down the

first amendment and also how it has been interpreted. The text also speaks on how censorship

can affect intellectual freedom negatively. Public schools, libraries, & institutions and how the

students need to access books that contain “offensive” materials. The source ends with this

statement “The First Amendment only prevents government restrictions on speech. It does not

prevent restrictions on speech imposed by private individuals or businesses. Facebook and other
social media platforms can regulate or restrict speech hosted on their platforms because they are

private entities”.

Source #4: https://www.carnegielibrary.org/the-first-amendment-and-censorship/

This source also speaks on the first amendment and how it pertains to censorship. The

source tells the audience that the first amendment only protects your speech from government

censorship. The author then goes on to list multiple instances when your thoughts or what you

say can be censored. This source gives us this definition of censorship, “Censorship is the

suppression or prohibition of words, images, or ideas that are considered offensive, obscene,

politically unacceptable, or a threat to security”. The text ends with speaking about free speech

online and on social media.

Interest in this Topic

I am interested in this topic because of how relevant it is today. When former President

Donald Trump got banned it sparked an entirely new conversation about how much power these

private social media companies have. Some people think that banning people off of your

platform is unconstitutional but since it is not the Government taking action, the companies are

free to do what they want. I have seen online that many companies do not promote creators with

non-popular political opinions as much as they promote those with more popular political
opinions. I am mainly interested in this topic because of my interest in politics and how hot of a

topic censorship is in the world right now.