News
and Analysis
Filter by:
11 May 2018: The Weekly Takedown
Users deserve transparency and accountability, which is why we’ve released the Santa Clara Principles and more news in this week’s Takedown.
Of course we should be able to use social networks to protest against puritanical views about women’s bodies. And we need to defy the idea that the only acceptable images of women are those selected to suit the male gaze, or that men (or tech firms!) can be the ones to decide whether our nipples are sexual or not.
Leigh Alexander
Offline/Online Sources
Offline/Online is a series of Onlinecensorship.org data visuals exploring how content moderation practices by social media companies impact marginalized communi...
2 August 2017: The Weekly Takedown
In the latest Weekly Takedown: Google's technosolutionism, why the #freethenipple movement is struggling, and more...
31 May 2017: The Weekly Takedown
A leak of Facebook's internal rulebook is making waves; meanwhile, users continue to complain about YouTube's advertising policies.
27 April 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Thailand and Vietnam go after Facebook, Instagram goes after museums, and Twitter refuses to go after Trump...and more in this week's Takedown.
15 March 2017: The Weekly Takedown
In this week's update, we look at the censorship of sexuality across social media platforms.
25 January 2017: The Weekly Takedown
The censorship of a Russian media outlet, pirates posting porn, and more in this week's Takedown.
The Weekly Takedown: 18 January 2017
Censorship in Thailand, a lawsuit against Microsoft, and more in this week's Takedown.
The Weekly Takedown: 11 January 2017
This year's starting off on a censorious foot, with Apple blocking a popular news app in China. Find out more in this week's Takedown.
30 November 2016: The Weekly Takedown
In this week's roundup, nudity and body image on Instagram, the "fake news" controversy, and why Facebook might be building a tool to censor in China.
Onlinecensorship.org launches second report, "Censorship in Context" (PDF)
Censorship in Context: Insights from Crowdsourced Data on Social Media Censorship
2 November 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Facebook dominates the headlines this week, with a new report on how executives are involved in content controversies and a letter from more than 70 rights grou...
26 October 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Will Facebook's new enforcement guidelines result in more freedom of expression on the platform?
5 October 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Why did a cat photo result in a takedown? ...and other important questions in this week's roundup.
21 September 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Facebook's near-blanket ban on nudity remains a hot topic this week, while a new report on the company's censorship of French antiracists gives insight into the...
14 September 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Nudity on Facebook and Instagram feature heavily in this week's takedown.
Facebook backs down, will no longer censor the iconic ‘Napalm Girl’ war photo
Our Matthew Stender spoke to the Washington Post about Facebook's decision to stop banning the iconic 'Napalm Girl' war photo.
You Need to Care About Facebook Censoring an Iconic Vietnam War Photo
Nick Ut’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of nine-year-old Kim Phúc fleeing from a napalm attack during the Vietnam war is one of the most iconic pieces of ph...
7 September 2016: The Weekly Takedown
This week, we look at algorithmic models to fight extremism, the growth of white nationalism on Twitter, and the ever-increasing censorship of Facebook pages an...
8 June 2016: The Weekly Takedown
In this week's edition: Bias against bodies, Israel seeks social media control, a Philippine journalist censored, and more.
31 May 2016: The Weekly Takedown
In this week's roundup: Pirate Bay founder calls Facebook's Zuckerberg a "dictator" and YouTube attempts to redefine pornography.
17 May 2016: The Weekly Takedown
Formerly known as "Last Week in Online Censorship," The Weekly Takedown shares stories of social media censorship from around the world.
Does social media have a censorship problem?
Index on Censorship spoke with team members Jillian C. York and Matthew Stender.
The Secret Rules of the Internet
The murky history of moderation, and how it’s shaping the future of free speech
Facebook Is Struggling To Control Groups Of Men Sharing Revenge Porn
Two private groups for residents of Melbourne, Australia, are involved in a bitter online war involving racist comments, drugs, and “revenge” porn that Facebook...
Onlinecensorship.org launches first report (PDF)
Unfriending Censorship: Insights from four months of crowdsourced data on social media censorship
March 30, 2016: LGBT groups rejected from Facebook
In this week's roundup: LGBTQ groups take issue with Facebook policies and
March 23, 2016: Politics and patriarchy
In this week's roundup: A Turkish news site, topless women, childbirth imagery, an Indian political cartoon and more censored by Facebook.
Facebook’s censorship of Aboriginal bodies raises troubling ideas of ‘decency’
Facebook happily hosts Kim Kardashian’s cleavage, but suspended users posting images of topless Aboriginal women for ‘violating community standards’.
March 15, 2016: Elective censorship
In this week's roundup: Instagram and Facebook censor mockery of Donald Trump and a German breast cancer campaign encourages breaking Facebook's nudity ban.
March 3, 2016: At the intersection of corporations and governments
In this week's roundup: Facebook erases culture in Indonesia, and meetings between the US Justice Department and social media companies make headlines.
February 23, 2016: A diverse mix of entities all experience Facebook censorship
In this week's roundup: A satirical magazine, marijuana dispensaries, and a Tunisian photographer all face Facebook censorship.
February 16, 2016: Facebook must face up to French censorship
Each week, we will share a roundup of notable news articles related to censorship on social networks.
February 9, 2016: Facebook thinks ice cream cones are too sexy
Each week, we will share a roundup of notable news articles related to censorship on social networks.
Why artist Shelby Sells can’t stop getting censored
Shelby Sells is an artist whose "glitterotica" images—vintage porn digitally superimposed with sparkles—are regularly censored from social media.
Facebook Censors a Bushwick Gallery Over Artist’s Toilet-Squatting Stunt
Gallery owner Christopher Stout found his Facebook account frozen after posting an image of performance artist Lisa Levy sitting nude on a toilet.
Censorship in the social media age
Social media platforms dominate today’s information ecosystem.
What does censoring nude art say about us?
The nude, one of the oldest and most recurrent subjects in the art world, has led to the suspension of many Facebook accounts over the years.