- An open letter to Google: Stop the censorship of the Internet! Stop the political blacklisting of the World Socialist Web Site! (25 August 2017)
- The bicentenary of Marx’s birth, socialism and the resurgence of the international class struggle (3 January 2018)
- The Place of the October Revolution in World History and Contemporary Politics (13 November 2017)
- Palace coup or class struggle: The political crisis in Washington and the strategy of the working class (13 June 2017)
- A Quarter Century of War: The US Drive for Global Hegemony 1990–2016 (11 July 2016)
- Socialism and the Fight Against War (10 February 2016)
Internet Censorship
The US government, in collaboration with social media companies, is implementing massive restrictions on Internet access. Capitalist governments in Europe and throughout the world are enacting similar repressive policies.
In late April 2017, Google announced the implementation of new algorithms aimed at limiting or blocking access to the WSWS and other left wing, anti-war and progressive websites. Similar measures to deny Internet users access to revolutionary socialist and oppositional information and commentary have been implemented by Facebook and Twitter.
The World Socialist Web Site has taken the lead in exposing this conspiracy to censor the Internet and issued a call for the formation of an International Coalition of Socialist, Anti-War and Progressive Websites to fight back against this attack on freedom of speech and basic democratic rights.
Students, workers, and artists denounce censorship
Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters condemns Twitter’s suspension of IYSSE account
By Gabriel Black, 11 April 2021
The censoring of the IYSSE, at a time of growing interest in a genuine socialist perspective among young people has been met with an outcry and statements of protest.
999 Matt Taiibi interview with Andre Damon
27 November 2020
Censored Planet: University of Michigan research finds worldwide increase in internet censorship
By Kevin Reed, 27 November 2020
Data collected by a group of UM researchers has revealed that online interference is growing internationally and that “the world’s freest countries are not safe from internet censorship.”
Meet the Censored: Andre Damon
By Matt Taibbi, 26 November 2020
Increased content moderation has been sold as a tool to control the far right, but the World Socialist Web Site was among the first to sound the alarm.
Zoom cancels meetings at several universities on Zoom censorship
By John Conrad, 24 November 2020
Zoom’s dramatic escalation of censorship has major implications as schools, academic institutions as well as political organizations have become increasingly dependent on the platform to conduct classes, conferences and meetings.
Solomon Islands government to ban Facebook
By John Braddock, 23 November 2020
The ban follows moves by governments across the Pacific to attack freedom of speech and basic democratic rights amid escalating social crises and political instability.
21 November 2020
Trump administration delays enforcement of TikTok ban
By Kevin Reed, 21 November 2020
The White House backed off from its threat to shut down the video-sharing app TikTok if its Chinese owner ByteDance did not divest itself of the popular social media platform to an American owner by November 12.
Twitter ends suspension of IYSSE account after widespread opposition
By our reporter, 20 November 2020
The effective ban on the youth movement of the Socialist Equality Party was overturned after statements of opposition from prominent defenders of democratic rights, including Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters, along with workers and young people around the world.
Facebook censors IYSSE online meeting about Trump coup threat
By Kevin Reed, 18 November 2020
The blocking of a meeting about the post-election coup plotting of Donald Trump from being posted on Facebook is an example of the intensification of political censorship being carried out by the social media platforms against left-wing and socialist organizations and publishers.
Spain’s PSOE-Podemos government imposes internet censorship
By Alice Summers, 17 November 2020
The “left populist” Podemos party is endorsing state censorship of the Internet, supposedly to fight “disinformation” and “foreign intervention.”
Stop online censorship: Restore the Twitter account of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (US)!
By Kevin Reed, 13 November 2020
In an act of online political censorship, Twitter has suspended the account of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality in the US.
US judge blocks shutdown of TikTok scheduled for November 12
By Kevin Reed, 10 November 2020
A Pennsylvania district court judge ruled in favor of a lawsuit filed by three TikTok users seeking a temporary injunction against the Trump administration’s plan to shut down the video sharing app if it is not sold to a US owner by November 12.
FBI seizes internet domain names it claims are part of Iranian influence campaign
By Kevin Reed, 7 November 2020
The Justice Department made vague assertions of “covert influence” and “pro-Iranian propaganda,” but presented no evidence of its allegations.
Social media platforms implement aggressive censorship during the 2020 US elections
By Kevin Reed, 6 November 2020
The major social media platforms took their political censorship operations into high gear on election day, including Facebook placing a fact checking label on every single post by anyone on their platform who is commenting or sharing content about the election in any way.
Google admits to censoring the World Socialist Web Site
By Kevin Reed, 4 November 2020
In an extraordinary public admission, Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated during congressional testimony on October 28 that the online search giant has been censoring content from the World Socialist Web Site.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald resigns from the Intercept in protest against censorship
By Andre Damon, 4 November 2020
Glenn Greenwald, the most prominent collaborator of whistleblower Edward Snowden and a world-renowned critic of the US media and intelligence agencies, has resigned from The Intercept, the publication he founded in 2013, in protest against its attempts to stifle his reporting critical of the Democratic Party.
US Senate hearing on Section 230 law devolves into demands for social media censorship
By Kevin Reed, 30 October 2020
The Senate Commerce Committee held a four-hour hearing on Wednesday to discuss the relevance of legal protections for online services that included testimony from three big tech CEOs.
The New York Times attacks the First Amendment and embraces censorship of “disinformation”
By Kevin Reed, 28 October 2020
An essay published in the October 18 edition of the New York Times Magazine argues that online “disinformation” has rendered First Amendment rights to free speech “inadequate,” requiring government and social media censorship of “unfettered speech.”
Faceboook moderators forced to return to offices as COVID-19 continues to spread
By Mike Ingram, 28 October 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the world, Facebook and its contractors are forcing content moderators to return to offices and risk their lives.
Facebook deploying teams with advanced censorship tools in advance of the US election
By Kevin Reed, 27 October 2020
Citing concerns over election-related “chaos” and “violence,” Facebook is preparing—in collaboration with the US intelligence state—advanced software tools for implementing a censorship regime during November 3 and its aftermath.
Australian spy agency raises new alarm about foreign “plot”
By Mike Head, 27 October 2020
This is not the first such lurid allegation by ASIO, accusing China of conspiring to take over Australia.
999 The New York Times embraces censorship
27 October 2020
999 The New York Times embraces censorship
26 October 2020
US Justice Department and eleven states file antitrust lawsuit against Google
By By Kevin Reed, 22 October 2020
The US Department of Justice submitted a lawsuit against Google on Tuesday saying the $1 trillion corporation was in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
999 Google anti-trust case
21 October 2020
The Social Dilemma: The “curse” of social media
By Joanne Laurier, 20 October 2020
The Social Dilemma is a docudrama hybrid that explores, according to its creators, “how social media is reprogramming civilization” in a dangerous direction.
Twitter and Facebook censor New York Post report on Hunter Biden
By Kevin Reed, 17 October 2020
The social media platforms Twitter and Facebook blocked and suppressed the sharing of links to a news article from the New York Post on Wednesday in a blatant act of online censorship.
Democratic Party House antitrust report calls for breakup of big tech monopolies
By Kevin Reed, 13 October 2020
The Democrats have mounted their antitrust initiative as a means of persuading the tech firms to work more closely with their faction of the political and intelligence establishment.
Trump intensifies conflict with big tech over Section 230 protections following censorship moves by Facebook and Twitter
By Kevin Reed, 10 October 2020
After Facebook and Twitter both censored Trump for falsely comparing the coronavirus to the flu, the president called for a repeal of the law protecting social media companies from liability for content posted on their platforms.
Grayzone questions US intelligence claim of “Russian influence campaign” run by PeaceData
By Kevin Reed, 6 October 2020
An article published by Grayzone shows that the website PeaceData—which US intelligence claims was part of a Russian misinformation campaign—was likely a false flag operation aimed at linking left-wing websites with the Moscow government.
Biden-Harris campaign demands increased censorship by Facebook before 2020 election
By Kevin Reed, 3 October 2020
The Biden-Harris campaign has issued an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg demanding that Trump campaign posts be removed from the social media platform.
White House nears antitrust lawsuit against Google while advancing new censorship rules for social media
By Kevin Reed, 26 September 2020
Any antitrust action against Google by the US government, whether focused on the search or advertising aspects of the tech firm’s business, has nothing to do with stopping anti-competitive practices or protecting the rights of consumers.
Facebook plans political censorship in anticipation of “chaos” and “violence” in the 2020 US elections
By Kevin Reed, 23 September 2020
Facebook is working with “world-class military scenario planners” to prepare for civil unrest in the US and “restrict the circulation of content” during the November elections.
White House bans TikTok and WeChat: A major intensification of internet censorship
By Kevin Reed, 19 September 2020
The move is an assault on freedom of expression and an effort to consolidate control of the internet by a handful of massive corporations working in partnership with the American government.
Announcing the Relaunch of the World Socialist Web Site on October 2, 2020
A statement by David North, chairman of the International Editorial Board
David North, 18 September 2020
On Friday, October 2, 2020, the World Socialist Web Site will be relaunched with an entirely new design and with vastly enhanced functionality.
NYU’s Center for Social Media & Politics: A think tank for a frightened ruling class
By Elliott Murtagh, 12 September 2020
The establishment of the center at NYU, a university with close ties to the state, reflects the ruling class’s increasing concerns over the political effects of social media.
Facebook announces political censorship plan in advance of US presidential election
By Kevin Reed, 7 September 2020
The new measures are aimed at protecting the capitalist two-party system and labeling left-wing political ideas as the work of “Russian interference.”
The unanswered questions in the latest Russian “meddling” allegations
By Andre Damon, 7 September 2020
The US media's claims of a nefarious campaign by Russia to "sow divisions" during in the 2016 election have been discredited. But the New York Times is “at it again.”
NSA surveillance program exposed by Edward Snowden ruled illegal by US Ninth Circuit
By Kevin Reed, 5 September 2020
The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the bulk phone record collection program of the NSA—exposed by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden in 2013—violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
End the blacklist of the World Socialist Web Site on Reddit!
By Kevin Reed, 5 September 2020
The blacklisting of the World Socialist Web Site on r/politics is a politically-motivated and unjustified attack on the rights of Reddit users to speak freely and read whatever they want on the link-sharing platform.
US-China conflict over TikTok intensifies as Trump’s forced divestiture deadline approaches
By Kevin Reed, 2 September 2020
The drive to force the Chinese-owned video sharing app to be sold to a US company was countered by Beijing’s imposition of export restrictions on software components of the platform.
Reddit moderators censor WSWS article on Trump’s speech at Republican convention
By Kevin Reed, 29 August 2020
After the article appeared on the front page of Reddit with over 9,000 upvotes, moderators removed it on the grounds that the WSWS is an “unacceptable source.”
Facebook censors anti-fascist and anarchist groups, falsely linking them with extreme-right violence
By Kevin Reed, 22 August 2020
Facebook has adopted positions put forward by the Trump administration and US Justice Department targeting left-wing opposition in the latest expansion of its political censorship regime.
Big tech firms meet with US national security agencies in advance of November elections
By Kevin Reed, 14 August 2020
Nine of the largest tech firms in the US met with multiple government police and intelligence agencies on Wednesday to discuss “election security” in the campaign prior to and on election day in November.
White House engineering a takeover of TikTok by Microsoft
By Kevin Reed, 3 August 2020
Under the White House’s direction, Microsoft is preparing to acquire the video-sharing app TikTok in a forced-divestiture from its China-based company ByteDance.
Open Letter from WSWS Chairman David North to Alphabet Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai
31 July 2020
This letter from David North was written in response to Pichai’s testimony on Wednesday before the House Committee on the Judiciary, in which he acknowledged complaints from the WSWS of censorship by Google.
Reports on Twitter hack confirm existence of admin tool used for social media censorship
By Kevin Reed, 24 July 2020
The revelations about Twitter’s methods for manipulating the account activity of users show that censorship is a top level priority of the social media company.
US moving to ban China-based TikTok social media app
By Kevin Reed, 18 July 2020
There is bipartisan support in Congress for the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts against the Chinese app.
Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves anti-encryption EARN IT Act
By Kevin Reed, 16 July 2020
The bipartisan vote passed to the floor of the Senate a redraft of the bill which exploits online child sexual abuse as a cover to attack free speech and encrypted electronic communications.
Amid Sri Lankan elections, YouTube censors Tamil-language WSWS posts
By V. Gnana, 16 July 2020
The move aims to prevent the Socialist Equality Party of Sri Lanka from alerting Tamil-speaking workers internationally in a timely fashion of the political dangers they face.
210 YouTube censors WSWS Tamil podcasts
15 July 2020
Reddit bans 2,000 communities in major censorship action
By Kevin Reed, 2 July 2020
On Monday, the news aggregation site Reddit banned the pro-Trump r/The_Donald and the left-radical r/ChapoTrapHouse, along with hundreds of other subreddits, in a censorship move aimed at satisfying the demands of advertisers.
Republicans introduce Senate bill to abolish strong encryption on consumer devices
By Kevin Reed, 29 June 2020
Three Republican Senators introduced a draft bill that would force tech companies to decrypt private consumer data on-demand for law enforcement.
New Zealand government introduces internet censorship legislation
By Tom Peters, 8 June 2020
The Labour Party-led government’s legislation would empower the Chief Censor “to make swift time-limited interim classification assessments of any publication.”
Trump threatens to close social media platforms after Twitter puts fact-check warnings on his tweets
By Kevin Reed, 28 May 2020
President Trump issued a threat to shut down social media companies on Wednesday after Twitter placed a fact-checking label on two of his tweets making unsubstantiated claims about mail-in ballots.
US government to file antitrust lawsuit against Google this summer
By Kevin Reed, 21 May 2020
The DOJ case will reportedly raise “concerns that Google uses its dominant search business to stifle competition.”
US Senate reauthorizes domestic surveillance, allows access to internet histories
By Kevin Reed, 16 May 2020
The Senate voted 80 to 16 to reauthorize the domestic surveillance provisions of the USA Freedom Act, including rejection of an amendment that would have barred law enforcement from accessing the internet browsing and search histories of citizens.
Apple and Google implementing smartphone-based contact tracing technology
By Kevin Reed, 20 April 2020
The two US tech monopolies that dominate the international mobile devices market have announced a joint effort to implement COVID-19 contact tracing technologies.
130 Coronavirus and internet censorship
10 April 2020
Sri Lanka government intensifies crackdown on social media
By Vimukthi Vidarshana, 9 April 2020
The arrest of social media users exposing Colombo’s inadequate responses to COVID-19 will be extended to online publishers and media outlets.
Why is the World Socialist Web Site banned from the subreddit r/coronavirus?
By Kevin Reed, 3 April 2020
The subreddit r/coronavirus has banned content from the World Socialist Web Site from being shared among its 1.8 million reader-members. We are demanding that the moderators explain why this decision has been made and immediately reverse this act of political censorship.
999 WSWS banned from r/coronavirus
30 March 2020
German government prepares for internet censorship and deployment of the armed forces
By Ulrich Rippert, 23 March 2020
The social democratic state premier of Lower Saxony, Boris Pistorius, has called for a clamp-down against those contradicting official government propaganda about the coronavirus epidemic.
US federal appeals court rules that private technology conglomerates are not bound by First Amendment
By Kevin Reed, 2 March 2020
A federal appeals court in California upheld the dismissal of a 2017 lawsuit brought by the right-wing video publisher PragerU based on claims that YouTube was biased and was violating First Amendment freedoms.
999 Court ruling on tech companies and First Amendment
29 February 2020
Trump administration’s national counterintelligence strategy focuses on “hacktivists, leaktivists and public disclosure organizations”
By Kevin Reed, 15 February 2020
A major assault on First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of the press is being prepared.
US spied on governments for decades through secret ownership of Swiss encryption firm
By Kevin Reed, 13 February 2020
The revelations that the CIA and NSA have been spying on the diplomatic cables of governments around the world for the past five decades demonstrates that the American imperialism has long operated as a law unto itself in world affairs.
The Trump administration’s surveillance dragnet
By Niles Niemuth, 10 February 2020
The massive breach of the right to privacy, first justified by President Bush in the guise of the “war on terror,” then expanded under President Obama, is now being utilized in Trump’s fascistic war on immigrants.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham introduces bill that threatens end-to-end encryption
By Kevin Reed, 8 February 2020
The assault on end-to-end encryption is part of the ongoing drive by the state to censor and regulate content on the internet.
4 February 2020
Elizabeth Warren issues call for internet censorship
By Patrick Martin, 31 January 2020
While nominally directed against Russia and right-wing “trolls,” the proposal would open the way to a sweeping attack on the democratic rights of the American people.
Edward Snowden warns that Assange and Greenwald prosecutions mark new stage in assault on press freedom
By Oscar Grenfell, 30 January 2020
The NSA whistleblower wrote: “The most essential journalism of every era is precisely that which a government attempts to silence. These prosecutions demonstrate that they are ready to stop the presses—if they can.”
Private equity firm to purchase the assets of the .ORG domain registry for $1 billion
By Kevin Reed, 27 January 2020
Opposition is growing to the plan by the Internet Society, the non-profit organization responsible for managing the standards and protocols of the internet, to sell the top-level domain registry .ORG to the private equity firm Ethos Capital for $1.135 billion.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro government charges journalist Glenn Greenwald with “cybercrimes”
By Bill Van Auken, 22 January 2020
The trumped-up charges against Greenwald by Bolsonaro’s fascistic government are of a piece with the global assault on free speech and democratic rights and the jailing of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
Google suppressing World Socialist Web Site content in its search results for the New York Times’ 1619 Project
By Kevin Reed, 20 January 2020
The popular, authoritative and original content published by the World Socialist Web Site on the New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project is being manually suppressed by Google in search results.
Opposition grows to Nepal government’s move to curtail social media
By Rohantha De Silva, 17 January 2020
The Information Technology Bill’s vague language puts social media users at high risk for criticising business leaders, politicians and bureaucrats.
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter remove accounts and content opposing the illegal assassination of Iranian General Suleimani
By Kevin Reed, 16 January 2020
The social media companies YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are following the orders of the Trump administration in the aftermath of the criminal assassination of Iranian General Suleimani on January 3.
Desperate to stem protests, dozens of governments shut down internet access in 2019
By Andre Damon, 27 December 2019
Amid a global upsurge of political protests and strikes, governments all over the world are shutting down the internet in desperate bids to stem the tide of popular opposition.
Mueller probe accessed the Google account of Assange supporter Somerset Bean
By Kevin Reed, 5 December 2019
Somerset Bean, an artist and political activist, who has been a staunch supporter of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, revealed on Monday that Google was compelled by court order to provide the US authorities access to his online account.
Google fires four workers in apparent retaliation for their workplace activism
By Kevin Reed, 27 November 2019
Google dismissed the workers on Monday in retaliation for their participation in the organized opposition of the workforce to company policies and practices.
Wall Street Journal investigation confirms Google operates censorship blacklist
By Andre Damon, 18 November 2019
A report published Friday confirms many of the central allegations made by the World Socialist Web Site in 2017 regarding Google’s censorship of the internet.
Facebook and YouTube remove posts naming CIA impeachment whistleblower
By Kevin Reed, 11 November 2019
Facebook and YouTube have taken the extraordinary step of censoring social media content on their platforms that mention the name of the CIA whistleblower behind the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
The Democrats’ campaign for internet censorship: Who is to determine what are “lies”?
By Andre Damon, 9 November 2019
While couched in demagogic language accusing Facebook of “profiting” off of “disinformation,” the Democrats’ campaign for internet censorship is aimed at silencing political opposition and dissent.
Twitter’s ban on political advertisement: A new move to censor the internet
By Andre Damon, 1 November 2019
The move by Twitter is a capitulation to demands by congressional Democrats and the media that technology companies more aggressively censor political statements, in the guise of “fact-checking.”
Pentagon awards $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft
By Kevin Reed, 1 November 2019
Amazon was widely expected to win the ten-year agreement, but Trump’s intervention apparently tipped the contract to Microsoft.
Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal arrested in Washington DC
By Kevin Reed, 30 October 2019
The independent journalist was shackled in a cage for five hours on a false charge stemming from protests at the Venezuelan embassy in April and May of this year.
GM fires Flint workers over social media posts during strike
By Jerry White, 29 October 2019
Flint Assembly workers, including a 19-year veteran of GM, have been targeted in a campaign of retaliation aimed at silencing opposition to the corporations and the UAW.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez backs internet censorship
By Kevin Reed and Andre Damon, 25 October 2019
At a hearing Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez demanded that Facebook “fact-check” political statements and “take down lies,” endorsing calls by the intelligence agencies for technology companies to censor the internet.
New Zealand PM promotes internet censorship at UN
By Tom Peters, 30 September 2019
Jacinda Ardern met with world leaders and tech companies to promote a new “crisis response protocol” to rapidly remove online content deemed “extremist.”
Government Internet shutdowns on the rise internationally
By Kevin Reed, 11 September 2019
Instances of governments shutting down the Internet are on the rise in response to the growth of social conflict and protest, as well as the use of social media to organize political opposition.
DARPA requests proposals for “Semantic Forensics” system
US Defense Department prepares for mass internet censorship
By Kevin Reed, 6 September 2019
The Pentagon is seeking proposals from corporate technology partners for the development of an automated system that will censor “false media assets” and “disinformation.”
Media blacks out Roger Waters’ performance in defence of Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 5 September 2019
The media silence is an act of political censorship, carried out in order to assist the US and British governments persecute WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
UK Home Office set up fake social media network to target young British Muslims
By Tania Kent, 30 August 2019
“This is Woke,” which describes itself as engaging “in critical discussions around Muslim identity, tradition and reform,” was created by a media company on behalf of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism at the Home Office.
Australian PM calls for new internet censorship measures at G7
By Oscar Grenfell, 27 August 2019
Morrison is campaigning for an international crackdown on social media, while his government asserts the right to ban websites and domains domestically.
Twitter purges 200,000 accounts “originating from China”
By Oscar Grenfell, 21 August 2019
The company’s actions are part of a campaign, in collaboration with the US government and intelligence agencies, to censor unfavourable or adverse political content on social media.
Facial recognition technology and identity politics
By Kevin Reed, 17 August 2019
The Democrats are seeking to channel mass opposition to the wholesale invasion of privacy into a campaign to regulate and “equalize” facial recognition technology.
FBI presses for social media surveillance “early alerting tool” in aftermath of mass shootings
By Kevin Reed, 12 August 2019
The FBI is stepping up its campaign for a real-time social media alert tool to allow continuous surveillance of all social media activity across platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
FTC imposes $5 billion fine on Facebook for “deceiving users” about data privacy
By Kevin Reed, 27 July 2019
The settlement is part of a concerted effort by the US government to implement regulations and control over social media platforms.
Chelsea Manning’s lawyer refutes conspiracy allegation against Julian Assange
By Mike Head, 25 July 2019
“I don’t think Chelsea was played at all,” Nancy Hollander told Australian television.
