To read broadly and deeply is a marvellous thing that can make us alert to the wide-ranging varieties of being. But no book will condemn or redeem us.
Protesters in Utah demonstrate against a school district’s ban on the Bible for having ‘vulgarity and violence’ unfit for young children.
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
Distinct from civil disobedience, this legal strategy demands complete compliance with the law – even when there are loopholes that the laws’ creators didn’t intend.
Writers have challenged oppression, exposed social injustices and advocated for political change.
Librarian Sharice Towles checks in books at the main branch of the Reading Public Library circulation desk in Reading, Penn.
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Librarians are defending the rights of readers and writers in the battle raging across the US over censorship, book challenges and book bans. That conflict has even changed how librarians are trained.
In recent years, Indonesia has slashed the rate of deforestation. That’s why this new crackdown on researchers is so surprising.
Actor Margot Robbie blows out a candle on the cake to celebrate her birthday during the pink carpet event for the movie ‘Barbie’ in Seoul, South Korea, in July 2023.
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Once the context of cultural and territorial appropriation by China in Southeast Asia are understood, Vietnam’s ban of the Barbie movie isn’t surprising.
Book bans in Ron DeSantis’s Florida have censored beloved Australian author Mem Fox – for an illustrated character’s bath. But blanket nudity bans teach children bodies are ‘inherently sexual’.
The outrage misdirected at Lolita – and its author – does nothing to negate the realities it reflects. Reading Nabokov’s novel now raises questions about censorship, book banning and human nature.
Security guards separate guests on an episode of ‘The Jerry Springer Show’ titled ‘I am pregnant by my half-brother.’
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As ‘The Jerry Springer Show’ climbed the ratings ladder, the censorship bleep, which masked the slew of insults lobbed by warring guests, became a star of the show.
Author and producer Judy Blume and actors Abby Ryder Fortson and Rachel McAdams at the premiere of Are You There God It’s Me Margaret in LA.
Chris Pizello/AP
Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret is a coming-of-age story about identity, relationships, and relationships with your own body. It’s frequently challenged – and enduringly loved.
Social media algorithms are programmed to swoop in and flag certain words.
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Children’s books implicitly shape the minds of young readers - and are covertly censored in many ways. But revising occasional words will usually not shift the values regarded as outdated in the text.
Facebook and Instagram were recently told by their parent company, Meta, to overhaul their policy on nipple exposure. But the change may not be as radical as people hope. Here’s why.
Activists gather in front of Tel Aviv’s Embassy of Egypt to demonstrate in support of activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.
Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images