good thesis statement about censorship

113 Censorship Essay Topics & Examples

Looking for censorship topics for research papers or essays? The issue is controversial, hot, and definitely worth exploring.

🏆 Best Censorship Topic Ideas & Essay Examples

🚫 internet censorship essay topics, 📍 censorship research questions, 💡 easy censorship essay topics, 😡 controversial censorship topics to write about, ❓ research questions about censorship, 🙅 censorship topics for research paper.

Censorship implies suppression of public communication and speech due to its harmfulness or other reasons. It can be done by governments or other controlling bodies.

In your censorship essay, you might want to focus on its types: political, religion, educational, etc. Another idea is to discuss the reasons for and against censorship. One more option is to concentrate on censorship in a certain area: art, academy, or media. Finally, you can discuss why freedom of expression is important.

Whether you need to write an argumentative or informative essay on censorship, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ve collected best internet censorship essay topics, title ideas, research questions, together with paper examples.

• Need for Internet Censorship and its Impact on Society The negative impacts of internet have raised many concerns over freedom of access and publishing of information, leading to the need to censor internet.
• Literature Censorship in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury The issues raised in the novel, Fahrenheit 451, are relevant in contemporary American society and Bradbury’s thoughts were a warning for what he highlighted is happening in the contemporary United States.
• Pros and Cons of Censorship of Pornography This is due to the fact that pornography is all about exploitation of an individual in maters pertaining to sex as well as violence exercised on females by their male counterparts.
• Censorship in Advertising One of the most notorious examples is the marketing of drugs; pharmaceutical companies have successfully convinced a significant number of people that drugs are the only violable solution to their health problems.
• Censorship on Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury The main protagonist of the novel is Guy Montag, a fireman whose job like others, is to burn books without questioning the impact of his decision.
• Censorship and “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher Though the novel “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher could be seen as inappropriate for young adults, attempting to censor it would mean infringing upon the author’s right to self-expression and the readers’ right to […]
• Censorship of Films in the UAE Censorship of films in the United Arab Emirates is a major ethical dilemma as reflected in the case study analysis because the practice contravenes the freedom of media.
• Censorship: For the People, or for Controlling The main aim for this art in our societies is to restrain and conceal beneath the disguise of defending the key fundamental public amenities that are; the State, families and churches.
• Censorship and the Arts in the United States The article titled “Censorship versus Freedom of Expression in the Arts” by Chiang and Posner expresses concerns that the government may illegitimately censor art to avoid corruption of morals and avoid subversion of politics.
• ”Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury: Censorship and Independent Thinking By exploring the notion and censorship and how it affects people, the author draws parallels with the modern world of his time and the increasing impact of government-led propaganda. Censorship is a recurring theme that […]
• Self-Censorship of American Film Studios In this sense, the lack of freedom of expression and constant control of the film creations is what differs the 20th-century film studios from contemporary movie creators.
• Twitter and Violations of Freedom of Speech and Censorship The sort of organization that examines restrictions and the opportunities and challenges it encounters in doing so is the center of a widely acknowledged way of thinking about whether it is acceptable to restrict speech.
• Censorship by Big Tech (Social Media) Companies Despite such benefits, these platforms are connected to such evils as an addictive business model and a lack of control over the type of content that is accessible to children users.
• Freedom of Speech: Is Censorship Necessary? One of the greatest achievements of the contemporary democratic society is the freedom of speech. However, it is necessary to realize in what cases the government has the right to abridge the freedom of self-expression.
• Art and the Politics of Censorship in Literature The inclusion of the novel in classroom studies in the early 1960s especially 1963, spurred criticisms due to the issues of contention addressed by the novel.
• The Issue of Parents’ Censorship Filtering the sources of information by the adults is like growing the plants in the greenhouse, hiding them from all the dangers of the surrounding world.
• Art and the Politics of Censorship The final act of the film is the most vital of all the scenes because the subject of the dispute elucidates the disparities between the director, producer, and censors.
• Censorship of Pornographic Material Effects of pornography are broad and the consequences are hazardous as it affects the moral fiber of the society. Censorship of explicit and pornographic material should be encouraged as we cannot imagine the catastrophe that […]
• China Intellectual Property Research on Censorship To prove the importance of the China’s intention to set the internet censorship, it is necessary to mention about rapid expansion of online technologies has made the internet one of the effective means of communication […]
• Pornography and Censorship in Society Admittedly, sexual explicitness has risen to new levels in the last few years, due in part to changing attitudes toward sexual behavior and the desire for more personal flexibility in the making of moral decisions.”The […]
• Censorship, Holocaust and Political Correctness In this paper, we will focus on exploring different aspects of formal and informal censorship, in regards to a so-called “Holocaust denial”, as we strongly believe that people’s ability to express their thoughts freely is […]
• Censorship in the United States Thus, the rationale of censorship is that it is necessary for the protection of the three basic social institutions; the family; the religion; the state.
• Balance of Media Censorship and Press Freedom Government censorship means the prevention of the circulation of information already produced by the official government There are justifications for the suppression of communication such as fear that it will harm individuals in the society […]
• Music Censorship in the United States Censorship is an act of the government and the government had no hand in the ban of Dixie Chicks songs, rather it was the fans boycotts that led to a ban on airplay.
• Modern Means of Censorship In his article Internet Censorship neither by Government nor by Media, Jossey writes about the importance of online political communication during the elections and the new level of freedom provided by the Internet.
• Art and Media Censorship: Plato, Aristotle, and David Hume The philosopher defines God and the creator’s responsibilities in the text of the Republic: The creator is real and the opposite of evil.
• Censorship, Its Forms and Purpose The argument here is that censorship is a means being used by conservative persons and groups with distinct interests to make life standards so difficult and unbearable for the minors in the society, in the […]
• Censorship in China: History and Controlling This is especially so when the government or a dominant religious denomination in a country is of the view that the proliferation of a certain religious dogma threatens the stability of the country or the […]
• Creativity and Censorship in Egyptian Filmmaking The intention of the media laws and other statutes censoring the film industry is to protect the sanctity of religion, sex, and the overly conservative culture of the Egyptian people.
• Internet Censorship and Cultural Values in the UAE Over the past few years, the government of the UAE introduced several measures, the main aim of which is to protect the mentality of people of the state and its culture from the pernicious influence […]
• Societal Control: Sanctions, Censorship, Surveillance The submission or agreeing to do according to the societal expectations and values are strong under the influence of both official and informal methods of control.
• Censorship Impacts on Civil Liberties In the US, the First Amendment guarantees the freedom of expression; it is one of the main democratic rights and freedoms.
• Internet Censorship: Blocking and Filtering It is the obligation of the government to protect the innocence of the children through internet censorship. In some nations, the government uses internet blocking and filtering as a method to hide information from the […]
• Media Censorship: Wikileaks Wikileaks just offers the information which is to be available for people. Information is not just a source of knowledge it is the way to control the world.
• Censorship on the Internet Censorship in the internet can also occur in the traditional sense of the word where material is removed from the internet to prevent public access.
• Censorship of Social Networking Sites in Developing Countries Censorship of social media sites is the control of information that is available to users. The aim of this paper was to discuss censorship of social media sites in third world countries.
• Government Censorship of WikiLeaks In my opinion, the government should censor WikiLeaks in order to control information content that it releases to the public. In attempting to censor WikiLeaks, the US and Australian government will be limiting the freedom […]
• Censorship defeats its own purpose Is that not a disguised method of promoting an authoritarian regime by allowing an individual or a group of individuals to make that decision for the entire society The proponents of SOPA bill may argue […]
• Censorship and Banned Books Based on what has been presented in this paper so far it can be seen that literary freedom is an important facilitator in helping children develop a certain degree of intellectual maturity by broadening their […]
• Ethics and Media: Censorship in the UAE In this case, it is possible to apply the harm principle, according to which the task of the state is to minimize potential threats to the entire community.
• Aspects of Internet Censorship by the Government When one try to access a website the uniform resource locator is checked if it consists of the restricting keyword, if the keyword is found in the URL the site become unavailable.
• Censorship vs. Self-censorship in the News Media Assessment of the appropriateness of the mass media in discharging the above-named duties forms the basis of the ideological analysis of the news media.
• Should Censorship Laws Be Applied to the Internet? On the other hand, the need to control cyber crime, cyber stalking, and violation of copyrights, examination leakage and other negative uses of the internet has become a necessity.
• Internet Censorship in Saudi Arabia The censorship is charged to the ISU, which, manage the high-speed data links connecting the country to the rest of the world.
• Media Control and Censorship of TV The second type of control imposed on the media is the control of information that may put the security of a country at risk.
• Chinese Censorship Block Chinese People from Creativity With the development of the country’s first browser in the year 1994 and subsequent move by the government to “provide internet accessing services” in the year 1996, the use of the technology began to develop […]
• Censorship for Television and Radio Media This paper seeks to provide an in-depth analysis of censorship with the aim of determining the extent to which content on broadcast media can be censored. A good example of a situation in which moral […]
• Empirical Likelihood Semiparametric Regression Analysis Under Random Censorship
• An Argument Against Internet Censorship in United States of America
• The Lack of Freedom and the Radio Censorship in the United States of America
• Censorship as the Control of What People May Say or Hear, Write or Read, or See or Do
• An Analysis and Overview of the Censorship and Explicit Lyrics in the United States of America
• The First Amendment and Censorship in the United States
• Advertiser Influence on The Media: Censorship and the Media
• The Freedom of Speech and Censorship on the Internet
• Censorship Necessary for Proper Education of Guardian
• An Argument in Favor of Censorship on Television Based on Content, the Time Slot and the Audience
• Music Censorship and the Effects of Listening to Music with Violent and Objectionable Lyrics
• An Analysis of Controversial Issue in Censorship on the Internet
• Consistent Estimation Under Random Censorship When Covariables Are Present
• Music Censorship Is a Violation of Constitutional and Human
• Censorship Should Not Be Imposed by the Government
• Internet Censorship and Its Role in Protecting Our Societys Addolecent Community
• Against Internet Censorship Even Pornography
• The Concept of Censorship on College Campuses on the Topic of Racism and Sexism
• Cyber-Frontier and Internet Censorship from the Government
• Creative Alternatives in the Issues of Censorship in the United States
• Asymptotically Efficient Estimation Under Semi-Parametric Random Censorship Models
• Chinese and Russian Regimes and Tactics of Censorship
• An Overview of the Right or Wrong and the Principles of Censorship
• An Argument Against the Censorship of Literature in Schools Due to Racism in the Literary Works
• The History, Positive and Negative Effects of Censorship in the United States
• Burlesque Shows and Censorship Analysis
• Importance of Free Speech on the Internet and Its Censorship
• Historical Background of the Libertarian Party and Their Views on the Role of the Government, Censorship, and Gun Control
• Internet Censorship and the Communications Decency Act
• Monitoring Children’s Surfing Habits Is a Better Way Than Putting Censorship Over the Internet
• A History of Censorship in Ancient and Modern Civilizations
• Censorship, Supervision and Control of the Information and Ideas
• Importance of Television Censorship to the Three Basic Social Institutions
• An Argument That Censorship Must Be Employed if Morals and Decency Are to Be Preserved
• Is Internet Censorship and De-Anonymization an Attack on Our Freedom
• Censorship or Parental Monitoring
• What Does Raleigh’s Letter Home and the Censorship Issue Tell You About Raleigh?
• Does Censorship Limit One’s Freedom?
• How Darwin Shaped Our Understanding of Why Language Exists?
• How Does Censorship Affect the Relationship with His Wife?
• Why and How Censorship Lead to Ignorance in Young People?
• What Is the Impact of Censorship on Children?
• How Does Media Censorship Violate Freedom of Expression and Impact Businesses?
• Censorship or Responsibility: Which Is the Lesser of Two?
• How Can Censorship Hinder Progress?
• How Musical Censorship Related to the Individual?
• How The Media Pretends to Protect Us with Censorship?
• What Is the Impact of Censorship on Our Everyday Lives?
• Is There China Internet Censorship Against Human Rights?
• Can Ratings for Movies Censorship Be Socially Justified?
• Censorship: Should Public Libraries Filter Internet Sites?
• Does Parental Censorship Make Children More Curious?
• What Are the Arguments for and Against the Censorship of Pornography?
• How Propaganda and Censorship Were Used In Britain and Germany During WWI?
• Should the Chinese Government Ban the Internet Censorship?
• How Virginia Woolf’s Orlando Subverted Censorship and Revolutionized the Politics of LGBT Love in 1928?
• How Modern Dictators Survive: Cooptation, Censorship, Propaganda, and Repression?
• What arguments Were Used to Support or Oppose Censorship in Video Nasties?
• Why News Ownership Affects Free Press and Press Censorship?
• Should Music Suffer the Bonds of Censorship Interviews?
• Why Should Graffiti Be Considered an Accepted from of Art?
• What Is the Connection Between Censorship and the Banning of Books?
• How Does Congress Define Censor and Censorship?
• How Does Censorship Affect the Development of Animations?
• Why Should Internet Censorship Be Allowed?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Human Rights — Censorship

Essays on Censorship

Hook examples for censorship essays, the power of banned words hook.

""In the world of censorship, some words hold more power than others. Explore the impact of censorship on language, expression, and the voices that have been silenced throughout history.""

Censorship in Literature: Forbidden Stories Hook

""Behind the covers of banned books lie forbidden stories that challenge norms and provoke thought. Journey through the pages of censored literature and the battles fought to tell these tales.""

Freedom of Expression vs. Harmful Content Hook

""The clash between freedom of expression and the need to protect against harmful content fuels the censorship debate. Analyze the delicate balance between these two fundamental values.""

Censorship and the Digital Age Hook

""In the age of the internet, censorship has taken on new forms and challenges. Delve into the digital battlegrounds of online censorship, privacy concerns, and the power of social media platforms.""

The Artistic Rebel: Censorship in the Arts Hook

""Artistic expression has often collided with the boundaries of censorship. Investigate the stories of artists who defied censorship to create provocative and impactful works of art.""

Censorship and Democracy Hook

""Censorship can have far-reaching consequences on democracy and the public's access to information. Explore the role of censorship in shaping political landscapes and public opinion.""

The Fight Against Censorship Hook

""Throughout history, individuals and organizations have risen to challenge censorship. Join me in examining the movements and activists who have fought for the freedom to speak, write, and create without fear of censorship.""

Censorship in "Fahrenheit 451": The Suppressing Inquisitiveness

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The Banning of William Faulkners Novel

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Censorship of Art and Freedom of Expression

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Pros and Cons of Internet Censorship in Unfree Countries

The restriction of our first amendment rights through the use of censorship, negative effects of internet censorship, the necessity of political correctness and censorship, the issues of internet censorship in australia, a research of censorship in china, censorship in social media, drawbacks and benefits of internet censorship, evaluation of the practicality of internet censorship, media censorship in china, the benefits and shortcomings of internet censorship today, a study on censorship in music, television and the movie industry, a research on the censorship of popular music, the analysis of plato’s republic: the issue of censorship, discussion of whether censorship of internet is necessary, analysis of the benefits of internet censorship, evaluation of the 1984 child protection act and keith jacobson's case of procurement of prohibited uncensored material, internet censorship - the way we can protect ourselves today, internet censorship as a modern way to protect the youth, censorship and dehumanization in "v for vendetta" and "brave new world", relevant topics.

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Harvard Law & Policy Review

Online Censorship Is Unavoidable—So How Can We Improve It?

By Ben Horton*

A few weeks ago, Professors Jack Goldsmith and Andrew Keane Woods ignited controversy by suggesting in the Atlantic that China was right and America was wrong about internet censorship and surveillance. This seemingly contrarian stance rubbed people the wrong way , especially given reports that China’s online censorship delayed their response to COVID-19 and that Chinese agents have actively disseminated disinformation about the virus—and then attempted to suppress reports revealing their disinformation campaign .

Except the professors’ critics seem to have missed the point of their essay. Goldsmith and Woods said China was right that the internet inevitably would be censored and surveilled, not that China’s methods were normatively appealing.

Even discounting existing state surveillance and censorship on the internet in the United States, private surveillance and censorship is ubiquitous. And, notwithstanding our intuitions, most people want an internet that is subject to ubiquitous censorship—that is, “content moderation.”

Putting aside illegal content (child pornography, snuff films, etc.), most consumers do not want to be inundated with what Sarah Jeong has dubbed “ the internet of garbage .” They do not want to be harassed, bullied, threatened, or spammed on the internet. And in the midst of a global pandemic, they want to ensure disinformation is kept to a minimum. They want to limit harmful speech.

Part of our problem is we still think of speech burdens in a binary, on-off way. But especially online, the question is not whether you can find content, it is how hard it will be to be find and how much it will be amplified .

The question is not if there will be censorship and surveillance, [1] the question is who gets to do it, and how it is done. Right now a relatively small group of private actors make not only the substantive decisions about content on the internet, they decide the process that drives those decisions and how information flows through their networks. They wield enormous power , and are almost completely unaccountable to the public.

So, what are our options?

Option 1: Stay the Course

First, the United States could continue to shield tech companies from most tort-based liability for content posted on their platforms via Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act , maintain an expansive view of the First Amendment, and not substantively regulate tech companies.

Supporters of the current system largely admit that ubiquitous content moderation is good, so long as it is private. They hold that a system of private speech regulation provides a market incentive for platforms to reach a Goldilocks-zone of content moderation : Enough harmful speech is blocked that it is possible to maintain deliberative communication amid the noise, but not so much that deliberative communication is also blocked. Consumers have a choice, and services that fail to moderate will either fail or be consigned to the dark corners of the internet .

But how real is that choice? Alphabet owns the two most popular websites in the world. Facebook (through its eponymous service and Instagram), Twitter, and Reddit collectively dominate U.S. social media . Over the past twenty years who has rivaled them? MySpace? Snapchat? Yahoo!? Tumblr? Even including these rivals, American consumers have had two significant options for their search engines and four or five social media sites. And, at least in part, that lack of choice is due to the inaction by antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice when Google bought YouTube and when Facebook acquired Instagram . In a monopolistic environment consumers can try to campaign for changes to private companies’ policies, but their effectiveness might rely on some of the substantive regulations discussed below.

As Evelyn Douek has argued, these platforms are increasingly cooperative in their moderation decision-making , making consumer choice even more illusory. YouTube’s policies on terrorism-related content are not significantly different than Facebook’s or Twitter’s because they all belong to the same private group that develops those standards. Facebook’s new Oversight Board is probably a step in the right direction, but what happens if it becomes the de facto decision-maker for social media standards generally?

Finally, the market theory is contingent on the assumption that people choose their networks based on the ability of the network to curate information. But the profit incentive of social media companies is to increase our engagement—which might mean pushing harmful content on users , or at least enabling that sort of thing ( until they’re caught ). The negative effects of this content might be exaggerated , but without greater transparency we just don’t know.

Aside from the harms of disinformation, staying the course has the additional drawback of eliminating the United States from the global conversation about internet governance. As Microsoft President Brad Smith mentioned in a recent interview , in the future, tech companies may simply adapt their products to the regulations of the European Union and other Western democracies that lack stringent First Amendment or Section 230 protections against government involvement in online speech. We already see this to some extent with the NetzDG law in Germany, which, if nothing else, is offering us some useful transparency on content moderation.

Or tech companies themselves might simply decide how public health crises are managed .

Either way, the United States government, for better or worse, will simply not have much of a say in what the internet looks like.

Option 2: Content-Based Regulations

For constitutional reasons, the approach of regulating speech based on its content is closed off to the United States. There is a lively academic debate about the status of lies and hate speech under the First Amendment. But absent a political revolution, it will remain an academic debate. The Supreme Court has said, in an 8-1 opinion , it will not open up new “uncovered” zones of speech. Content-based regulations of harmful speech will continue to be subject to strict scrutiny, and they will continue to be struck down.

In the U.S. context, at least for the foreseeable future, content-based censorship will continue to be ubiquitous and limited to private actors. That does not mean we need to leave the speech moderating apparatus entirely to the private sector.

Option 3: Torts, Competition, Process, and Friction

Contrary to cyber-libertarians, the options available are not limited to “censorship” or no regulation at all. We have other tools at our disposal. The key is to focus on content-neutral regulations, especially those that govern the flow of information rather than regulations that criminalize certain content.

As a threshold matter, these policies do not have to—and likely will not—take the form of flat bans and mandates. They might be conditions attached to liability immunities or tax incentives, and they can—and should—distinguish between different types of online services. Of course, companies have been lobbied, and should be lobbied, to make these changes on their own; I am arguing that there is some role for direct government regulation in these realms.

First, we could reform Section 230. While supporters maintain that Section 230 is necessary to ensure that platforms can engage in decent moderation without fear of liability , detractors argue that a well-crafted alternative could still shield sites that engage in good-faith moderation without shielding sites that are designed to facilitate human trafficking , for instance. And regardless of where you stand on the 230 debate, given bipartisan support for both SESTA – FOSTA and the delayed “ EARN IT Act ,” 230 as we know it is unlikely to survive. If we want sensible intermediary liability protection, and not a patchwork of exceptions that probably make the internet less safe, the 230-or-nothing stance is increasingly politically untenable.

Second, we can advocate for regulations that promote competition, creating a market where consumers have real choices and their choices make a difference. This need not be the traditional “breaking up” of companies given the beneficial network effects consumers find in centralized services and the possible aggravation of harm that a balkanized internet could bring . Pro-competition policy could start with blocking the sale of startups to Facebook and Google . It could include the imposition of substantive requirements, like an information fiduciary responsibility or interoperability requirement on organizations with a certain share of the market. Any regulations, however, need to be sensitive to the needs of non-profits with large user bases and low revenues .

Third, and more controversially, we can require more transparent processes in content moderation. A number of organizations have released and advocated for the “ Santa Clara Principles .” These include, at a minimum, publishing the number of posts and accounts taken down organized by the category of violation, providing notice to users whose accounts or posts are taken down, and instituting some kind of appeal process. If content-based moderation decisions are largely going to be done by private actors, their legitimacy relies on being transparent and understandable to the public. Even if changes are brought about by private pressure, we cannot collectively criticize and improve on secret processes .

Finally, and most controversially, maybe we can impose content-neutral, friction-creating regulations that force consumers to be more deliberate in sharing and consuming information. For instance, WhatsApp recently limited its forwarding function so that any messages that come from a chain of more than five people must be forwarded one chat at a time. This type of rule is not content-based; it applies to speech based on its virality, not the “topic, idea or message” communicated. Disclosure requirements—revealing, for example, whether or not a human is speaking —might also increase friction and deliberation. And some regulations of social media’s “frictionless” design might be allowable under the First Amendment.

These regulations avoid the hard epistemological questions and constitutional hurdles of defining harmful speech. They regulate the flow of information regardless of its content instead of worrying about speech concerning a particular topic. Furthermore, they ban no speech—deliberate communication is unaffected.

There are pros and cons to every policy mentioned, with administrability challenges and constitutional issues . But to reach a substantive discussion of the realistic possibilities for regulation in the U.S. context, the conversation needs to move beyond the false binary of “censorship versus free speech.”

* Ben Horton is a rising 3L at Harvard Law School and an Online Editor for HLPR.

[1] I am not talking about the problems of surveillance presented by innovations like the Ring doorbell , or facial recognition . I am referring to the level of surveillance necessary to ensure that speech is successfully moderated on platforms—being able to tie punishments to certain accounts, for example. That overlaps with the problems of online behavioral manipulation and surveillance capitalism, which I am not addressing in this post.

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Tips on Writing a Persuasive Internet Censorship Essay

Internet censorship essay can be looked at as a persuasive essay as the topic is pretty much open. You will first have to make a stand for or against the topic to win over your reader. It is your job as a writer to convince the reader beyond doubt to accept your point of view. To do this, you will have to do good research whereby you should keep the biasness of the reader in mind and have a solid understanding of both sides of the coin. A great persuasive essay shows the reasons for the correctness of the opinion of the writer and the reasons for the incorrectness of the opposing view. Persuasive writing has been widely used in relation to blogs, advertising, political speeches, and newspaper editorials. In most cases the assignments on persuasive writing as well as test prompts are concerned with contemporary issues such as internet censorship. The main aim of the persuasive essay is to convince or persuade the reader to think in a certain way which is your way.

• Prewriting Stage

This stage is very crucial where the writer needs to plan on every aspect of the essay. Choose a position and make sure the position has more points to argue out to avoid running out of points in the middle of the essay. Ensure you do an extensive research to make your essay as solid as possible. Avoid relying on one source and have a wide base of sources both primary and secondary where you will be able to get an insight of all sides of the topic.

• Draft the persuasive essay

Ensure the introduction has a strong hook that catches the attention of the reader. You can start your essay with an unusual statistic or fact, a quotation or question, or even an emphatic statement. The thesis statement should leave no doubts on the writer’s position where each body paragraph needs to cover a different point and the sentences of every paragraph must offer strong evidences. Ensure that you consider the different ways of making the argument inclusive of using an analogy, illustration, drawing comparisons with a hypothetical situation. Do not make assumptions that the reader has an in-depth knowledge of the issue. Write the essay as though you are in a debate where you would have to introduce your topic, list the evidences you have as well as draw a conclusion for the audience as a persuasive essay has the very same structure.

Write a conclusion that ties all your ideas together. At this point place emphasis on your thesis. You can either use a story or information discussed prior to give your conclusion a good stand. Again, the closing sentence should be captivating where it can be a question that provokes the thinking of readers or even recommendations that gives specific ideas to readers.

• Revise your essay

You should review your essay modifying and reorganizing it and try to make it to the best version it can be. Ensure that you confirm the following:

-If the essay presents a solid position of the issue and if it is supported by relevant quotes, examples, facts, and statistics.

-Check if the introduction has an intriguing hook that makes the reader want to read more.

-Whether each paragraph provides compelling evidence that aims at supporting the point.

-If the opposing sides are presented and convincingly invalidated.

-Check the sentence structure and the preciseness of word choice.

-If the concluding paragraph shows the position of the writer.

If you feel that the essay is missing the mark you can have another look of the thesis. When the thesis offers a strongly built argument as well as clearer adversarial viewpoint the rest of the essay will fall into place.

• Edit your essay and make a final copy

Proofread plus correct the grammatical errors as well as mechanics editing to improve the clarity and style. You will even get a fresh editing perspective when you ask your friend to read the essay.

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Writing about Freedom of Speech and Censorship

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Freedom of speech is an important and inalienable right, which determines the degree of liberation and democracy of the society. Voltaire wrote that people have no freedom without the right to express their thoughts. Now, freedom of speech, which was in oblivion for a long time, tends to rise again.  This fact makes the topic of freedom of speech and the issue of censorship an extremely popular one in colleges and universities. If you want to write a decent censorship and freedom of speech essay, research paper, or even freedom of speech term paper, read this article to find out all the best writing secrets and tips.

Useful tips on how to write quality essays on freedom of speech 

We offer you to get acquainted with this part of the article to find out all the best tips on writing perfect essays about freedom of speech.  •    Decide what type of essay you will work on. This aspect is important as each specific essay type has its features and may even differ in terms of structure. •    Make an outline. It’s an important step in any paper writing because a well-structured plan will help you a lot during the writing process.  •    Develop a strong thesis. Make sure it is brief, clear, and describes your main idea along with the points you will use to support it. •    Research the topic. It’s a good idea to read some credible resources, such as journal articles on the topic, to have a clear understanding of the issue you are going to consider before actually writing about it.  •    Check your spelling and grammar. These little details really make a difference. Even the greatest paper will look unprofessional with a great number of typos or improper grammar. 

Freedom of speech essay topics

Here are some really interesting freedom of speech essay ideas for your consideration:  •    What does freedom of speech mean to me essay •    Pros and cons of freedom of speech essay •    Freedom of speech opinion essay: is it important for you to speak your mind?  •    Freedom of speech in social media essay •    Freedom of press essay •    History of the freedom of speech essay •    Censorship essay  •    Free speech on college campuses essay •    Essay about lack of freedom of speech •    Defamation and freedom of speech essay •    Essay on disadvantages of freedom of speech •    Freedom of speech should be restricted essay •    Freedom of speech and political correctness essay •    Essay on the First Amendment freedom of speech •    Against censorship essay •    Regulations should be put on freedom of speech on social media essay •    Freedom of speech limitations essay •    Censorship persuasive essay: why censorship is dangerous?  •    Freedom of speech argumentative essay: why there should be no censorship?  •    Should freedom of speech be limited essay •    Essay about freedom of speech and the Internet •    The importance of freedom of speech at school essay •    Why freedom of speech is important essay •    Why are there laws limiting the freedom of speech essay •    Should we change laws outlined in the First Amendment essay

Freedom of speech essay outline

Whether you have to write a short essay on freedom of speech or extensive research work on this topic, it will have a very clear structure that consists of the following items: •    Freedom of speech essay introduction. The main goal of the introduction is to demonstrate your position on the question put forward (in the form of thesis or simple argumentation) and to set a rhythm for the whole paper. Before presenting the thesis statement, it is crucial to review basic facts about the topic to get a reader a better understanding of why it is important to research it.  •    Freedom of speech essay thesis. Your position should be very clear so that the readers do not have any doubts about your personal attitude to the problem or the arguments you are going to use to support it. •    The main part. All the important points of your essay should be discussed here in detail. In the first paragraph of the main part, you should use your strongest and most rigorous arguments, while the less obvious examples should follow after it. In order for the reader to form an integral picture of your paper, choose at least 1-2 relevant examples from real-life events that confirm your position. Tie all parts of the text to each other. Remember that you should not write separate sentences: all judgments must follow logically from previous statements. •    Freedom of speech essay conclusion. Despite the fact that the conclusion is at the very end of the paper, do not write it as if you have a new thought in your head: this part should never include any new information. The final paragraph is the last chance to emphasize the depth of your reflections. It is also necessary to restate your thesis mentioned in the introduction. After this, you should draw logical conclusions based on examples and their explanations. After you are done with the outline and the writing, choose a few suitable titles for freedom of speech essay and see which one matches the points you have reviewed best. Find a few freedom of speech essay examples to see how a title may be structured and understand what kind of words you may include to convey the main idea of the paper better.

Freedom of speech research paper topics 

Here are the top 10 topics for your freedom of speech research paper: •    Research paper on media censorship •    Censorship in the USSR •    Censorship in North Korea •    The Charlie Hebdo attack: the flip side of freedom of speech  •    Freedom of speech in the US before the First Amendment  •    Is anonymity possible on the Internet?  •    How important is censorship in today’s world?  •    The Arab Spring •    Media censorship in China •    Gitlow v. New York case

Freedom of speech research paper outline

•    Introduction. Here, you need to develop a strong thesis statement and give a brief introduction to the problem under consideration. Your main task here is to present the topic of your paper and emphasize its importance. If necessary, justify why you have decided to focus on this specific topic instead of a variety of others. •    Main part. In this part, you have to make a literature review, presenting the ideas of the outstanding researchers. Show how you have searched for the material, why you have chosen specific sources to consider, and what you have found in them. You may compare and contrast the ideas of different researchers and explain the differences in their findings if any.  •    Conclusion. In the final section, you need to recap the review made in the body of the text and reemphasize the importance of the issue you considered in the paper. You also have to restate your thesis here. 

Interesting facts for freedom of speech and censorship research papers and essays

The topic of freedom of speech and censorship is vast and versatile, and, sometimes, it is easy to get lost among interesting ideas. That is why we have decided to collect the most interesting historical facts concerning this topic: •    The survey conducted in 2002 in the USA by the Freedom Forum Center for First Amendment showed that 42% of the respondents thought that too much freedom was given to the US media.  •    More than 2/3 of the US citizens believe that freedom of speech is crucial, even if people who use it only have something offensive to say. •    In China, there is a censorship police that monitors people activities and punishes those who say something unpleasant about the government. •    In the 50’s, the word “pregnant” was censored by the media as it was considered improper. •    Turkey is the first in the list of countries when it comes to the number of jailed journalists. •    In Cuba, Internet access is heavily monitored and, as it is very expensive, only ¼ people actually use Internet actively on a daily basis. •    Government in Iran blocks about 40% of the content on the Web for their citizens.

Historical overview for censorship and freedom of speech college essay or research paper 

Once you are assigned to write a freedom of speech and censorship essay or a research paper, it is crucial that you choose what specific idea to focus on. In order to do it, we suggest that you learn more about the history of the subject in question and see if any events prompt you to choose a certain topic to research.

Church censorship

The problem of access to information and control over it became relevant after the collapse of the slave society and growth of the movement against the tyranny of the Roman emperors, as well as the subsequent rise of the Christian church. Today, we would say that people of those times tried to establish social justice.  The Church carried out noble activities at that time, defended the poor, destitute, and oppressed people. Nevertheless, it sought to protect the Bible from distortion to preserve the canonical text. And, accordingly, a framework was introduced for those ideas that people were allowed to preach. When there were a lot of gods, the problem of censorship and access to certain texts did not exist. When one universally recognized Creator appeared, Christianity began to claim the role of the dominant religion, standing against the old gods and proclaiming that there is only one God who has a great plan for each of its creatures. 

State and university censorship 

At the same time, various monarchies emerged in Europe. The first of them arose in France, Spain, and England. In Germany and Italy, the situation was more complicated, as there were many different states in these countries. Spiritual limitations were based on censorship enforced by the state represented by monarchs. First, the functions of censorship were placed on the church, and then on universities. The latter were a kind of intermediary link between the government and the church in the implementation of censorship. The first universities arose on the basis of theological research centers. For example, the Sorbonne was located in the temple, where the local teachers studied theology. Therefore, when the French kings entrusted control over the sacred books to the professors, they knew that these people were faithful Catholics acting within the church laws.

Inquisition

Censorship was initially created with an intent to preserve the original texts. Later, it turned into a means of persecuting dissenters. People began to divide into those who had the right to censor (kings and priests) and those who had to obey their decisions. During the development of censorship, the institution of the Inquisition was established. People were subjected to double punishment for having another point of view. Firstly, their books were taken away and destroyed. Secondly, citizens accused of heresy were burned.

Reformation and Renaissance

The Protestant Church opposed the Inquisition and censorship. Its representatives, who appreciated Christian ideals, began to advocate for freedom of speech. To a certain extent, Luther and some other leaders of the Reformation fought for liberation from the hierarchical structure and subordination to authority. The idea of freedom of speech was reinforced by philosophical concepts born in the Renaissance when questions of humanism and human rights became extremely relevant. Further development of the human rights concept is associated with the activities of English and French philosophers: Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Diderot, and others. They put forward a number of important thoughts that changed the idea of what the world should be like.  For example, the concept of civil society was created. The division of powers into administrative, governmental, legislative, and judicial was proposed by Montesquieu. And, within the framework of these philosophical doctrines, a new understanding of humanism has emerged. 

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Sample essay on censorship.

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This sample research paper reflects how government leaders and organizations have continued to use censorship in an effort to control people more effectively. The role censorship plays in governing people is truly something one must grasp to understand contemporary international and domestic politics. Whether you are a beginning student or a practicing professional in your field, this issue is important and one you should be as informed on as possible. This particular document is more suited to an introductory level discussion, but Ultius writers are ready and able to write on this subject up to the dissertation level .

Censorship: true governmental power?

Conservative views are a group of beliefs that have not experienced much in the way of change. Through the censorship of modern thought, expression and belief, conservative minds have been able to preserve their noticeably closed minded way of doing things. Censorship dates back as far as the age of antiquity and further with Socrates being one of the first notable figures to perish at its hands . Some have come to view the government as a savior for censoring what they consider wrong, while others see the government as overly authoritative in its attempt to pass judgement upon what is right or acceptable for the masses. While censorship is often viewed as a relatively moralistic venture, throughout history, it has actually been one of the key tools by which governments have maintained their control.

Censorship throughout history

Over the years the fight for censorship has proven to be dangerous for those who oppose it. History has shown that even though the government was created to help people, their views of what they consider "corrupt" or "profane" have frequently been called into question. According to BeaconForFreedom.org:

”Perhaps the most famous censorship in ancient times is that of Socrates, sentenced to drink poison in 399 BC for his corruption of youth and his acknowledgement of unorthodox divinities.”   (Newth).  

Many think that the government hides the truth behind the guise of protecting the innocence of youth, while others believe that the world is safe from the true evils that surrounds them. Some decisions that governments have made have left endless questions about why censorship ever came into existence. While government policies still insist that freedom of expression is an inherent human right, it seems to feel that it can place limitations upon how far this freedom extends. Whether it is music, newspapers, or media, the government will always play a hand in the extent to which free expression can be exercised, though the view of its use in America has changed as time has passed. 

Legal Issues with Censorship

While the censorship of music has cause the greatest stir in modern history, the age of censorship first appeared in print. In early years of the mass marketed press, owners wallowed in defeat if their newspapers were censored, often experiencing a shutdown of their businesses if censorship was employed. In America, the freedoms granted by the 1st amendment to the Constitution are often called into question by censorship. Though many elements of censorship have changed where the free press is involved, not all views of what should be shared is taken lightly. The censorship of the printed word doesn’t just affect newspapers read around the world. High school press papers are well known examples of censorship, due to the perceived "fragility" of young minds. This "preservation of youthful innocence" has long been a shield behind which the supporters of censorship have hidden. The decisions made may not be acceptable or fair to those who oppose them, but the protection of the innocence of youth will always be what is most important for many. 

Hazelwood school district

One example of censorship and the question of academic freedom was in the case of Hazelwood School District vs Kuhlmeier. Students who worked for the school paper at Hazelwood East in 1983 thought that it would be a noble idea to dedicate certain parts of the paper to students who:

• Were HIV positive
• Were pregnant
• Lived in homes affected by divorce

Once the school’s principal, Robert Reynolds, read the proofs of the articles, however, he wanted them removed from the paper. With this decision being made, the students in charge of the paper were outraged, accusing the principal of censorship of freedom of press. Even though the students who were interviewed in the articles were not named, the principal still felt that it was too much of a risk to take in allowing the newspaper be read by other students and teachers. Reynolds feared that the students who were talked about in these articles would be discovered and that it would have been a matter of time before harm came to them.

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Censorship in the 21st century

Music has long been a target of censors and continues to be one in the 21st century. For many, censorship represents all that is wrong with the world and that secrets and hidden truths are concealed behind the walls of government. For many parts of the world, the eyes of the people are closed to the secrets carried in their government due to censorship which has been attributed to the concealment of:

• Planned attacks
• Embezzlement

Still other atrocities remain hidden behind the veil of censorship, keeping the public ignorant to them. For some, censorship can either hurt a community or raise its values to higher standards. However, censorship does protect the innocence in situations where safety can be compromised. In the Hazelwood School District case, it is conceivable that protection was needed due to harm that could have come to the students that were discussed in the school paper. The newest target of censorship is understandably the internet. There has long been a cry to the government to impose regulations on content available online .

Censorship may not always be fully understood or appreciated by those it is designed to "protect", but it is sometimes needed for the building of the core values of youth. Like any new policy, law, or rule, there are elements that are not liked or respected. Boundaries will always be tested with censorship, because some believe that no one, particularly the government, should be the judge of what is right and what is wrong beyond established law. Figures of authority will eternally strive to "protect the innocent" that they feel cannot judge or fend for themselves. However, there will always be those who stand in opposition. Certainly, it can be said that there are some things that we probably should not know or see due to its graphic nature and ability to disrupt the emotional well-being of our otherwise happy lives. The question that remains, however, is who gets to decide this?

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Works Cited

Newth, Mette. The Long History of Censorship . 2010. Norway. < http://www.beaconforfreedom.org/liste.html?tid=415&art_id=475>.

Zeinert, Karen. Free Speech: From Newspapers to Music Lyrics . New Jersey. Enslow, 1995.

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10 Theses About Cancel Culture

What we talk about when we talk about “cancellation.”

By Ross Douthat

Opinion Columnist

Cancel culture is destroying liberalism. No, cancel culture doesn’t exist. No, it has always existed; remember when Brutus and Cassius canceled Julius Caesar? No, it exists but it’s just a bunch of rich entitled celebrities complaining that people can finally talk back to them on Twitter. No, it doesn’t exist except when it’s good and the canceled deserve it. Actually, it does exist, but — well, look, I can’t explain it to you until you’ve read at least four open letters on the subject.

These are just a few of the answers that you’ll get to a simple question — “What is this cancel culture thing, anyway?” — if you’re foolish enough to toss it, like chum, into the seething waters of the internet. They’re contradictory because the phenomenon is complicated — but not complicated enough to deter me from making 10 sweeping claims about the subject.

So here goes:

1. Cancellation, properly understood, refers to an attack on someone’s employment and reputation by a determined collective of critics, based on an opinion or an action that is alleged to be disgraceful and disqualifying.

“Reputation” and “employment” are key terms here. You are not being canceled if you are merely being heckled or insulted — if somebody describes you as a moron or a fascist or some profane alternative to “Douthat” on the internet — no matter how vivid and threatening the heckling becomes. You are decidedly at risk of cancellation, however, if your critics are calling for you to be de-platformed or fired or put out of business , and especially if the call is coming from inside the house — from within your professional community, from co-workers or employees or potential customers or colleagues, on a professional message board or Slack or some interest-specific slice of social media.

2. All cultures cancel; the question is for what, how widely and through what means.

There is no human society where you can say or do anything you like and expect to keep your reputation and your job. Reputational cancellation hung over the heads of Edith Wharton’s heroines; professional cancellation shadowed 20th-century figures like Lenny Bruce. Today, almost all critics of cancel culture have some line they draw, some figure — usually a racist or anti-Semite — that they would cancel, too. And social conservatives who criticize cancel culture, especially, have to acknowledge that we’re partly just disagreeing with today’s list of cancellation-worthy sins.

3. Cancellation isn’t exactly about free speech, but a liberal society should theoretically cancel less frequently than its rivals.

The canceled individual hasn’t lost any First Amendment rights, because there is no constitutional right to a particular job or reputation. At the same time, under its own self-understanding, liberalism is supposed to clear a wider space for debate than other political systems and allow a wider range of personal expression. So you would expect a liberal society to be slower to cancel, more inclined to separate the personal and the professional (or the ideological and the artistic), and quicker to offer opportunities to regain one’s reputation and start one’s professional life anew.

“It’s a free country,” runs the American boast, and even if it doesn’t violate the Constitution, cancellation cuts against that promise — which is one reason arguments about cancel culture so often become arguments about liberalism itself.

Here’s What Cancel Culture Looked Like in 1283

The internet didn’t invent the angry mob..

Get your self-gratification! Can’t have a canceling without self-gratification! You are hereby sentenced to be publicly canceled by having thy head smoked — This will be a good one. Yea, love a good canceling! She’s been canceled, yeah? Shh! Shut out, on the bog pile of shame for the crime of saying something offensive 11 years ago! [cheers] 11 years ago! Let’s judge past statements by present-day perspective. It’s like saying the same thing today, kinda! Don’t I get a trial? No! This is a canceling. No due process. We are the jury! Our anger makes us qualified. Plus, we’re all perfect. Yea, we’re all perfect! You may be granted a reprieve if you apologize. Of course, I apologize. I’m sorry that you were offended. Sorry that we’re offended? That’s a non-apology. That’s worse than saying nothing. Well, if apologizing makes it worse, what’s the point of apologizing at all? She hates apologizing! Cancel her even more. Cancel her! Fare thee well, and may you never again utter the phrase, “[Expletive] the peasants!” [gasps] He just said something bad about peasants. I‘m a peasant, and I’m offended. No, I said, uh, she said, “[Expletive] the peasants!” Oh my god! He said it again. No, I love peasants. I would never say “[Expletive] — ” Cancel him! [chanting] I apologize, unreservedly. That’s not a good enough apology. I thought it was all right. An apology apologist! He’s for apologies. Get him. Oh hang on hang on. I’m confused. Are we against him, for being for apologies? Or against her, for being against apologies? Because — That’s irrelevant. What matters is that you’re angry. Cancel him! [chanting] But we’re supposed to be canceling her! Well, that was whole minutes ago. Who knows? Things we say today might be offensive in the future. She’s right, you might have offended me in the future. Well, you might be offending me in the future right now. Pre-cancel! Pre-cancel! It’s a pre-canceling! I hereby increase your taxes by 150 percent. No? Well, I’m going to burn your crops too. I’ll just get on with it then, shall I? Could I come along? Yes, yes please. Age before beauty!

4. The internet has changed the way we cancel, and extended cancellation’s reach.

On the other hand, a skeptic might say that it wasn’t liberalism but space and distance that made America a free country — the fact that you could always escape the tyrannies of local conformism by “lighting out for the territory,” in the old Mark Twain phrase. But under the rule of the internet there’s no leaving the village: Everywhere is the same place, and so is every time. You can be canceled for something you said in a crowd of complete strangers, if one of them uploads the video, or for a joke that came out wrong if you happened to make it on social media, or for something you said or did a long time ago if the internet remembers. And you don’t have to be prominent or political to be publicly shamed and permanently marked : All you need to do is have a particularly bad day, and the consequences could endure as long as Google.

5. The internet has also made it harder to figure out whether speech is getting freer or less free.

When critics of cancel culture fret about a potential online-era chill on speech, one rejoinder is that you can find far more ideas — both radical and noxious — swirling on the internet than you could in a sampling of magazines and daily newspapers circa 1990. It’s easier to encounter ideological extremes on your smartphone than it was in the beforetime of print media, and easier to encounter hateful speech as well.

But at the same time the internet has hastened the consolidation of cultural institutions, so that The New York Times and the Ivy League and other behemoths loom larger than they did 30 years ago, and it’s arguably increased uniformity across cities and regions and industries in general. And the battle over norms for cancellation reflects both of these changes: For would-be cancelers, the chaos of the internet makes it seem that much more important to establish rigorous new norms, lest the online racists win … but for people under threat of cancellation, it feels like they’re at risk at being shut out of a journalistic or academic marketplace that’s ever more consolidated, or defying a consensus that’s embraced by every boardroom and H.R. department.

6. Celebrities are the easiest people to target, but the hardest people to actually cancel.

One of the ur-examples of cancel culture was the activist Suey Park’s 2014 hashtag campaign to #cancelColbert over a satirical tweet from the Twitter account of “The Colbert Report.” Six years later, Stephen Colbert is very much uncanceled. So are Dave Chappelle, J.K. Rowling and a much longer list of prominent pop culture figures who have faced online mobs and lived to tell, sell and perform.

Their resilience explains why some people dismiss cancellation as just famous people whining about their critics. If someone has a big enough name or fan base, the bar for actual cancellation is quite high, and the celebrity might even have the opportunity — like a certain reality-television star on the campaign trail in 2016 — to use the hatred of the would-be cancelers to confirm a fandom or cement a following.

However, not everyone is a celebrity, and …

7. Cancel culture is most effective against people who are still rising in their fields, and it influences many people who don’t actually get canceled.

The point of cancellation is ultimately to establish norms for the majority, not to bring the stars back down to earth. So a climate of cancellation can succeed in changing the way people talk and argue and behave even if it doesn’t succeed in destroying the careers of some of the famous people that it targets. You don’t need to cancel Rowling if you can cancel the lesser-known novelist who takes her side; you don’t have to take down the famous academics who signed last week’s Harper’s Magazine letter attacking cancel culture if you can discourage people half their age from saying what they think. The goal isn’t to punish everyone, or even very many someones; it’s to shame or scare just enough people to make the rest conform.

8. The right and the left both cancel; it’s just that today’s right is too weak to do it effectively.

Is it cancel culture when conservatives try to get college professors disciplined for anti-Americanism, or critics of Israel de-platformed for anti-Semitism? Sure, in a sense. Was it cancel culture when the Dixie Chicks — sorry, the artists formerly known as the Dixie Chicks — were dropped by radio stations and tour venues, or when Bill Maher’s “Politically Incorrect” was literally canceled, for falling afoul of patriotic correctness? Absolutely.

But as the latter examples suggest, the last peak of right-wing cultural power was the patriotically correct climate after Sept. 11, a cultural eon in the past. Today the people with the most to fear from a right-wing cancel culture usually work inside Trump-era professional conservatism. (And even for them there’s often a new life awaiting as a professional NeverTrumper.) Attempted cancellations on the right are mostly battles for control over diminishing terrain, with occasional forays against red-state academics and anti-Trump celebrities. Meanwhile, the left’s cancel warriors imagine themselves conquering the entire non-Fox News map.

9. The heat of the cancel-culture debate reflects the intersection of the internet as a medium for cancellation with the increasing power of left-wing moral norms as a justification for cancellation.

It’s not just technology or ideology, in other words, it’s both. The emergent, youthful left wants to take current taboos against racism and anti-Semitism and use them as a model for a wider range of limits — with more expansive definitions of what counts as racism and sexism and homophobia, a more sweeping theory of what sorts of speech and behavior threaten “harm” and a more precise linguistic etiquette for respectable professionals to follow. And the internet and social media, both outside institutions and within, are crucial mechanisms for this push.

It’s debatable whether these new left-wing norms would be illiberal or whether they would simply infuse liberalism with a new morality to replace the old Protestant consensus. It’s arguable whether they would expand the space for previously marginalized voices more than they would restrict once-mainstream, now “phobic” points of view. But there’s no question that people who fall afoul of the emergent norms are more exposed to cancellation than they would have been 10 or 20 years ago.

10. If you oppose left-wing cancel culture, appeals to liberalism and free speech aren’t enough.

I said earlier that debates about cancellations are also inevitably debates about liberalism and its limits. But to defend a liberal position in these arguments you need more than just a defense of free speech in the abstract; you need to defend free speech for the sake of some important, true idea. General principles are well and good, but if you can’t champion controversial ideas on their own merits, no merely procedural argument for granting them a platform will sustain itself against a passionate, morally confident attack.

So liberals or centrists who fear the left-wing zeal for cancellation need a counterargument that doesn’t rest on right-to-be-wrong principles alone. They need to identify the places where they think the new left-wing norms aren’t merely too censorious but simply wrong, and fight the battle there, on substance as well as liberal principle.

Otherwise their battle for free speech is only likely to win them the privilege of having their own ideas canceled last of all.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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• How to Write an Argumentative Essay on Censorship?
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When students get an assignment to write an essay on censorship, they sometimes cannot understand the purpose of writing it. Most of these students do not understand the significance and essence of censorship.

It is common among students to be uncertain about the right way of writing an essay on censorship. So, understanding the role of censorship in the modern world is the most important step in the process of essay writing. 

Students should also take care of censorship because it deprives people of their rights and freedom. The censorship limits the amount of information, views and ideas that circulate within a society.

If you look at the short explanation offered above, you will already be able to imagine what type of essay you are going to deal with. It is probably an argumentative structure that the essays on censorship will take on.

In order to make your essay writing process simpler and easier, we would like you to pay attention to the following simple hints that can guide you effectively in argumentative essay writing.

One of the most significant steps in writing this essay is to prepare a strong thesis statement. Once you have written the thesis, you should add it to the last part of the introductory paragraph. An original and well-written introduction will not only attract your readers' attention, but will also include a coherent thesis statement that provides hints on what you are going on to write about in your paper. Moreover, a good introductory paragraph can lead the reader to the next part of the essay in a smooth manner. As a result, your audience will be able to see the connection between the parts of the argumentative essay.

Each one of the body paragraphs of your essay should have its own idea. Body paragraphs of the paper should include evidence to support the arguments. Moreover, it is essential for you to document all the used sources. Your readers should be able to check the genuineness of all the facts you have used in your paper.

In the last paragraph of your essay, you should confirm your thesis. Moreover, you should remind your audience about your research question and show them that it has been successfully answered. Writing the concluding paragraph is all about summing-up your argument.

We hope that these simple hints and tips will help you compose a great argumentative essay on censorship. Follow our recommendations as well as keep in mind the significance of censorship and your motivation to discuss the aspects of this issue.

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What is a good thesis statement for censorship?

Censorship prevents our socety from expanding toward the future goals that we must set in life.

A strong thesis statement on censorship could be: "Censorship impacts freedom of expression by restricting access to information and limiting the diversity of voices in society, ultimately hindering the exchange of ideas necessary for a democratic society."

Add your answer:

Is this a good or bad thesis statement?

I would need to see the thesis statement in order to determine if it is good or bad.

What makes a good thesis statement?

A good thesis statement is clear, specific, and presents a claim or argument that can be supported with evidence. It should also be significant and address the main idea of the paper. Additionally, a good thesis statement helps guide the reader on what to expect from the rest of the paper.

A good thesis statement should have?

A good thesis statement should clearly state the main argument or point of the paper, be specific and focused, and guide the reader on what to expect in the rest of the paper. It should be debatable and present a unique perspective on the topic.

What following Characteristic of a good thesis statement?

A good thesis statement is clear and specific, presenting a concise argument that can be supported with evidence. It should be relevant to the topic and guide the reader on what to expect in the rest of the paper.

What should a good thesis statement do?

A good thesis statement should clearly present the main idea or argument of the paper, be specific and focused, and provide direction for the reader on what to expect in the rest of the essay.

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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Thesis statement on "censorship", 7 comments:.

Your argument and outline sound great, Andrew. I like the line with "arrest, destroy, silence..." Very attention grabbing. You might change the wording of your thesis a little by changing "as seen evident" to "evident" or "as evidenced by".

Great input, thanks Jenna. Yeah I was trying to be a little dramatic there and your right the thesis is a little wordy. I'll definitely make some revisions to it.

I like the dramatic effect, haha. As we learned, the printing press really did contribute significantly to the production of materials for the general public, thus inciting them to action. However, this became the unfortunate result of the Enlightenment. As soon as the State and Church stepped in, the printing press itself was in danger of getting thrown out. We definitely found something interesting here!

Indeed we did Ted. It was great working with you and thanks for the tips on the Korean Keyboard cover!

Wow! I think you really chose a challenging topic to deal with. Well, this would certainly with thesis help for other people who are also writing academic composition on the same topic of yours. Anyway, did you already finish your paper?

i have indeed

Stumble across this in the process writing a paper on censorship and it's importance,absolutely loved it, almost made me change my mind about it, wondering how the rest of the paper turned out, would love to look at counter arguments on the subject