What is censorship?
Q: What is censorship?
A: Censorship is when an authority (such as a government or religion) or other group cuts out or suppresses communication. This can be done for different reasons, such as protecting military secrets, stopping immoral or anti-religious works, or keeping political power.
Q: Who are censors?
A: Censors are people whose job is to look at all types of media and remove material that has been deemed wrong, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient by the government or other authority.
Q: Is censorship always seen as an insult?
A: Yes, censorship is almost always used as an insult and there is much debate over what censorship is and when it is okay.
Q: Are there any limits on what can be published in countries with freedom of speech and press?
A: Even in developed countries with much freedom of the press, there are some things that cannot be published. For example, journalists are usually not allowed to publish many secrets about the military and pornography may be censored in some countries because it is seen as not moral.
Q: What happens if someone publishes something that has been censored?
A: If someone publishes something that has been censored they may face arrest from the government.
Q: Why do governments censor certain materials?
A: Governments censor certain materials to protect military secrets, stop immoral or anti-religious works, and keep political power.
Q: How does censorship affect society today? A: Censorship affects society today by limiting access to information which can lead to a lack of knowledge about important topics and issues within society. It also restricts creativity by preventing certain forms of expression from being shared publicly which can limit artistic growth within a community.
