Experience Tumblr like never before
Censorship - Blog Posts
Maybe I should say something.
There was, a few weeks ago, a debate on censorship in my class. I did not participate, unfortunately, but I just wanted to get my personal opinion out.
Nothing should be censored. Ever.
Because when we censor, we are making censoring things acceptable. Say we make one thing censurable. People will abuse that, expand and twist the definition until it covers everything they want censored.
We are not trusted with the privilege to censor. No one should be.
Little disclaimer, as well: This does not apply to blocking topics or words you find not to your taste from your own personal, private feed. This post refers to the deliberate removal or blocking of content from the public as a whole because one person finds it distasteful.
TikTok has been down for like 12 hours and I can already see exactly how no other app is going to be able to offer what TikTok does. I always see the memes of oh when AO3 is down or crashes immediately in real time everyone’s reactions on this app are like sound the alarm. But that’s kinda only for that specific instance. TikTok did that for EVERYTHING! The ceo death, instant reactions from all sides, the cease fire, opinions analysis and takes across the board. Now, I went omg people must be blowing up that is actually happened like how they were the past few weeks but on the other platforms now, and the reality is that no other platform can give the same instantaneous reactions and unfiltered responses as things happen. No matter your stance on if you like TikTok or not it has to be acknowledged that this is such a huge form of censorship and limitations from allowing people to actually connect with one another.
I think of how “trends” used to take years to spread from the bigger cities like New York to the smaller areas states over. Or even across the ocean from Italy to here, etc. but as technology advanced the physical gap of distance became ideologically shorter as we were able to connect closer and closer to real time with one another but the second we achieved a platform the facilitated that in a raw form, it was taken down and removed. I wonder who benefits the most from division of people dependent on location, socialization, and ideology confinement?
Most people on this app are consumers of media and information that varies from topic to topic and format to format but the one thing that is consistent amongst us all is that we are impacted by the content we seek and what find us. We find ourselves within it and eachother as we form communities and create connections. Something that is seen across so many fandoms and forms of media is the destruction of division and people seeking total control, as well as the the societal repercussions that come from actions claiming to be for the better while in reality perpetuating these motifs.
The world has always been a place of turmoil. It has always had these dark moments. WE (the common people) just never had the ability to SHARE our perspectives and be HEARD by others. We have never been able to form emotional connections without shared experience in real time. There have always been people that are selfish and seemingly evil just for the sake of being evil but when those things would happen, people couldn’t do much more than endure. And eventually when endurance ran short and people became fed up change would happen, but it could only be made by the individuals experiencing these darknesses. Now we have created channels of support, community and awareness that allow for endurance and education. It allows for new options to be explored and perceived. That’s been snuffed out time and time again through banned books, canceled media, government interference and the monetary control of main news and information distribution. Eventually endurance will run out as it has in the past and we the people now have the knowledge of something different. Of lives spent without these sources of turmoil and alternative solutions to problems within our control.
Do not go silent into the night. We can not regress into a technological darkness as websites are being bought out, controlled, monitored and censored to strip the common people of their resources, communities and opportunities for growth. Survival and endurance are the current focuses of so many of us, but for those in a place of power, a place of privilege, and a place of compassion, that can see the other side, have connected across the social barriers they continue to construct and have begun dismantling the divisions that try to force us to forget that we are all humans, one in the same, creatures of the earth and souled beings capable of intense beauty and intense pain.
iPhone Tumblr users, you can now turn off censoring by deselecting “hide sensitive content”, HOWEVER you need to log into your Tumblr account on a computer to do it, cannot do it from the iPhone app. default setting is censorship… fuck that shit
Updates about the TikTok ban/relight … a lot of people thought that TikTokers were being dramatic. We were forced to say “unalive” “pew-pew” and “grape”… now it’s a community violation to say that Meta sucks.
This is your sign to get off tik tok NOW.
First, it was the ban. But not only that, when they lifted the ban, it had a message.
(Source: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/us-politics/tiktok-ban-lifted-us-donald-trump-b1205689.html )
This is extremely concerning. This either means that someone who works in TikTok is a huge trumper, or that the United States Government had paid TikTok enough money to spread this message, and I think it's the latter. Why? Because, well, look at the message. Think about how short the ban was in retrospect.
Pair this extremely suspiciously short ban with the US & Canada (and possibly Mexico & etc.) censorship, and you get extremely concerning news that is basically screaming at you "TRUMP IS GREAT! WE ARE NOT A CULT! TRUMP IS GOD! HE WILLED THE APP BACK UP!! PRAISE TRUMPSUS!"
I know I got a little silly at the end, but that is the jist of it. If they are willing to censor anything about politics, what makes you think they won't do it for your own content?
Just... Think about it. And maybe log off. Forever.
oh my god...
so the first screenshot is trying to look this up on tiktok normally, "donald trump rigged election" and it says that search violates community guidelines.
the second screenshot is looking up the same exact thing, but with a (australian) vpn on. canadian vpn didn't fix it fyi.
THIS is exactly the type of censorship to be looking out for on tiktok. this actually is crazy.
A workshop teaching Zionists how to edit Wikipedia pages to be more favorable towards Israel. This is just one of many Israeli projects to manipulate Wikipedia, social media, and the Internet in general.
The speaker in the video is Naftali Bennet, a high tech millionaire and a right-wing Israeli minister close to the settler movement.
In 2010 two Israeli groups began offering a course in “Zionist editing” of Wikipedia entries. The aim was “to make sure that information in the online encyclopedia reflects the worldview of Zionist groups.” A course organizer explained that the use of the word “occupied” in Wikipedia entries “was just the kind of problem she hoped a new team of editors could help fix.”
Again in 2013, there was evidence of pro-Israel tampering with Wikipedia. Israel’s Ha’aretz reported that a social-media employee of NGO Monitor edited articles about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an allegedly biased manner. “Draiman concealed the facts that he was an employee of NGO Monitor, often described as a right-wing group, and that he was using a second username, which is forbidden under Wikipedia’s rules,” according to the paper.
Such actions have had an impact. A website critical of Wikipedia said in 2014 that there were “almost ten times as many articles about murdered Israeli children as there are articles about murdered Palestinian children,” even though at least 10 times more Palestinian children had been killed.
Israel’s Ha’aretz newspaper reported: “The organizers’ aim was twofold: to affect Israeli public opinion by having people who share their ideological viewpoint take part in writing and editing for the Hebrew version, and to write in English so Israel’s image can be bolstered abroad.”
There was to be a prize for the “Best Zionist Editor”—the person who over the next four years incorporated the most “Zionist” changes in the encyclopedia. The winner would receive a trip in a hot-air balloon over Israel.
How Israel and its partisans work to censor the Internet
Israel and partisans of Israel have long had a significant presence on the Internet, working to promote the lsrael narrative and block facts about Palestine, the Israel lobby, and other subject matter they wish covered up.
Opinionated proponents of Israel post comments, flag content, accuse critics of "antisemitism, and disseminate misinformation about Palestine and Palestine solidarity activists. Many of these actions are by individuals acting alone who work independently, voluntarily, and relentlessly.
In addition to these, however, a number of orchestrated, often well-funded projects sponsored by the Israeli government and others have come to light. These projects work to place pro-lsrael content throughout the Internet, and to remove information Israel doesn't wish people to know.
One such Israeli project targeting the Internet came to light when it was lauded in an article by Arutz Sheva, an Israeli news organization headquartered in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank.
The report described a new project by Israel's "New Media desk" that focused on YouTube and other social media sites. The article reported that Israeli soldiers were being employed to Tweet, Share, Like and more."The article noted, "It is well known nowadays that what happens on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube has great influence on events as they occur on the ground. The Internet, too, is a battleground." It was"comforting," the article stated, to learn that the IDF was employing soldiers whose job was specifically to do battle on it.
Full article here
Tumblr's new potentially mature content label is crazy, apparently my middle school level humor is too much for it. I make sure that anything that is NSFW is marked with a mature label already. Whatever standards their bot used are worse than that of my hyper conservative puritanical parents.
AH HELL NO
GET KOSA TRENDING.
STOP SCROLLING NOW!
AS OF FEBRUARY 21ST, 2024, WE GOT FIVE DAYS UNTIL THE DAY OF DECISION OF THE KOSA BILL, WHICH WILL CAUSE MASS CENSORSHIP ROUND THE INTERNET IF PASSED. OR DOOMSDAY. WE NEED EVERYONE TO KNOW ABOUT THIS AND CONTRIBUTE. I'M NOT GIVING UP ON YOU ALL.
WE'RE DOWN TO THE WIRE BUT WE CAN'T GIVE UP YET. IF WE GIVE UP, EVERYTHING IS OVER. IF WE DON'T, AT LEAST WE HAVE A CHANCE.
I'M THE ONE WHO SOUNDED THE ALARM, AND I'M NOT GOING TO CURL UP AND DIE YET.
Reblog this post in every LEGAL way you can under the Tumblr guidelines with the appropriate tags. TELL AND TAG EVERYONE YOU KNOW, then add the tags to see below... and more if you can think of any complying.
Visit badinternetbills.com if you want to find a way to defeat KOSA. It WILL NOT take much of your time. Reblog with any other information or sources, too-- but make sure to reblog if you can.
Reblog if you support lgbtq+ content.
Reblog if you support questioning queer youth and/or abused youth getting the information they need.
Reblog if you support Ao3 and/or other sites that wholeheartedly preserve talentedly made media.
Reblog if you're going to repost this on other sites than Tumblr and spread the word across Twitter, Tik Tok, Pinterest, or elsewhere, alongside the link to badinternetbills.com.
Reblog if you think KOSA is unfair and shouldn't be anyone's problem -- including the adults ALL OVER THE DAMN EARTH forced to face the mass censorship it causes because "think of the American Children!".
Reblog if you support internet activism and Palestine.
Reblog if you hate fascism or censorship, and don't want actually serious and helpful conversations censored on the internet.
Reblog if you value the internet in any way at all whatsoever.
CHECK THIS PETITION, TOO! https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-kosa?recruiter=1331807538&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=sms&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf&recruited_by_id=57368c40-d0fd-11ee-98f7-2175430f819f&share_bandit_exp=initial-36809664-en-US
(Also, please reblog with at least "stop kosa" as a tag and not "kosa". I made the mistake of not adding just "kosa" as a tag...)
We won't let this stand any longer. Let's start a riot and get this trending.
Do not let the antishippers find the Got or House of the Dragon fandom cause they'll cry
Or Labyrinth, or Flowers in the Attic, or any one of Stephen King's books. It's almost as if the wider public understands that fiction can be both fucked up and entertaining without the need for a moral lesson following after, or that it's an indictment that you're going to partake in the things you read about.
Antis are so far removed from reality, and they have to remain that way in order to not have their beliefs constantly challenged and torn apart.
Ao3 does not need an algorithm, you're just lazy
Ao3 does not need a 1-5 star rating system, you just want to bring down authors writing for FREE
Ao3 does not need automatic censorship, it is an archive, therefore anything can be posted
Writing or reading about something illegal does not mean the author nor the reader condones it, if that were true, you could never read a story involving anything negative
Purity culture is ruining fan culture and you all are fucking annoying
If you are 18+ and make, purchase, or enjoy artwork with nudity (especially depictions of "non-normative" bodies) or sexual activity, I encourage you to join this list.
SESTA/FOSTA and the restrictions of payment processors are the primary reasons that places like Tumblr, Instagram, Patreon, Squarespace, Gumroad and Etsy (with varying ways to get around the rules) will not sell products or even host images of nudity or sexual acts.
Since I started selling my own artwork online, almost 20 years ago, the number of sites where artists can post and sell anything that merely has a NIPPLE visible has been drastically reduced. If you're aware of the disparity in censorship on sites/apps like tumblr, insta, and tiktok -- all of which have documented trends of censoring images of visibly queer, fat, and/or disabled bodies, regardless of sexual content -- then you can understand how these additional limitations further restrict the arena for creative works by marginalized communities. And the ways you can directly, ethically support adult content creators/porn stars/sex workers.
Patreon, Squarespace, Gumroad. What do all these online spaces have in common? A monopolizing payment processor. My hand slipped and I contacted the ACLU, the FSC, and the MA Bar Association for legal assistance. If you’ve been fucked over by draconian nsfw bans please join my Mastercard Injury Mailing List.
tumblr gotta be the only site that allows nsfw but kills you if you try to search for it
Okay with the caveat that I have not personally verified this, but it does appear to be supported by google support threads and their abuse policy--
User sloan_spencer_author on instagram reports that another author they know had their Google docs access suspended for sharing explicit content.
I know that lots of y'all on f1blr use google docs, so I'd encourage you to back up your work locally (on your hard drive/an external drive). I don't know what a good alternative is--I've been using Proton Drive (since I already pay for a Proton email) and I don't see anything in the terms of service about prohibiting explicit content, so. Maybe that and Word or OfficeLibre? Man, I don't know. Our cyberpunk dystopia sucks.
11/30/23: KOSA is an anti-LGBTQIA+ censorship bill. It is essential you call THIS week. Tell them you are specifically against KOSA and especially against hotlining the bill.
Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the Senator of your choice.
Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/
My very last comic for The Nib! End of an era! Transcription below the cut. instagram / patreon / portfolio / etsy / my book / redbubble
The first event I went to with GENDER QUEER was in NYC in 2019 at the Javits Center.
So many of the people who came to my signing were librarians, and so many of them said the same thing: "I know exactly who I want to give this to!" Maia: "Thank you for helping readers find my book!" While working on the book, I was genuinely unsure if anyone outside of my family and close friends would read it. But the early support of librarians and two American Library Association awards helped sell two print runs in first year.
Since then, GENDER QUEER been published in 8 languages, with more on the way: Spanish, Czech, Polish, French, Italian, Norwegian, Portugese and Dutch.
It has also been the most banned book in the United States for the past two years. The American Library Association has tracked an astronomical increase in book challenges over the past few years. Most of these challenges are to books with diverse characters and LGBTQ themes. These challenges are coming unevenly across the US, in a pattern that mirrors the legislative attacks on LGBTQ people. The Brooklyn Public Library offered free eCards to anyone in the US aged 13-21, in an effort to make banned books more available to young readers. A teacher in Norman, Oklahoma gave her students the QR code for the free eCard and lost her job. Summer Boismeir is now working for the Brooklyn Public Library. Hoopla and Libby/Overdrive, apps used to access digital library books, are now banned in Mississippi to anyone under 18. Some libraries won’t allow anyone under 18 to get any kind of library card without parental permission. When librarians in Jamestown, Michigan refused to remove GENDER QUEER and several other books, the citizens of the town voted down the library’s funding in the fall 2022 election. Without funding, the library is due to close in mid-2024. My first event since covid hit was the American Library Association conference in June 2022 in Washington, DC. Once again, the librarians in my signing line all had similar stories for me: “Your book was challenged in our district" "It was returned to the shelf!" "It was removed from the shelf..." "It was moved to the adult section."
Over and over I said: "Thank you. Thank you for working so hard to keep my book in your library. I’m sorry you had to defend it, but thank you for trying, even if it didn't work." We are at a crossroads of freedom of speech and censorship. The future of libraries, both publicly funded and in schools, are at stake. This is massively impacting the daily lives of librarians, teachers, students, booksellers, and authors around the country. In May 2023, I read an article from the Washington Post analyzing nearly 1000 of the book challenges from the 2021-2022 school year. I was literally on route to a festival to talk about book bans when I read a startling statistic. 60% of the 1000 book challenges were submitted by just 11 people. One man alone was responsible for 92 challenges. These 11 people seem to have made submitting copy-cat book challenges their full-time hobby and their opinions are having an outsized ripple effect across the nation. WE NEED TO MAKE THE VOICES SUPPORTING DIVERSE BOOKS AND OPPOSING BOOK BANS EVEN LOUDER. If you are able too, show up for your library and school board meetings when book challenges are debated. Send supportive comments and emails about the Pride book display and Drag Queen story hours. If you see a display you like– for Banned Book Week, AAPI Month, Black History Month, Disability Awareness Month, Jewish holidays, Trans Day of Remembrance– compliment a librarian! Make sure they feel the love stronger than the hate <3
Maia Kobabe, 2023
The Nib
It's officially Banned Books Week, so now is as good a time as any to remind everyone that libraries still get frequent challenges to books on our shelves. Books continue to be challenged, banned, and even burned. I'm a librarian in a blue state, yet one of my neighboring libraries has recently been the target of book bannings and threats of violence (they had to shut down an all-ages LGBTQ event due to these threats too).
Please support your local libraries. If you want more books by queer and disabled authors and authors of color, TELL US. Give us recommendations. Check out books and ebooks when we get them in. Tell us when you write books too. We're here to make information and stories accessible.
P.S. And if you notice patrons or staff acting like assholes (particularly managers) please let someone know. Library government is weird, so a lot of libraries aren't union and also don't have any sort of HR. Trust me, if you frequently notice someone being a jerk, chances are good everyone else has to and has been stonewalled.
Anyway remember how some of the very same people who are mad that Scary Trans Woman Politician posted horny genshin impact art of fictional adults because "the art style is often used for lolita works depicting sexualized minors" are also in the same group that were mad that fire emblem's english localization changed Anna's lines to be significantly less sexually provocative because she's literally 11 and that means they weren't able to have their 11 year old wifu in english.
Tldr they're all a bunch of fucking hypocrites.
Tumblr, why the hell is my innocent Spongebob Fanart labeled like this?
Tumblr just censored one of my Sam and Max art pieces even though it’s just a silly joke. Pretty sure Sam and Max themselves wouldn’t be too happy about a situation like this either. They’d probably do unspeakable things to the narc that did it in the first place.
Censura Ailatan Engel • Flickr • IG • MM • 500px Flickr censuro mi cuenta, así que los que tengan cuentas Pro tal vez puedan ver mis publicaciones allí.
I've come up with an idea based on how certain sites like to censor people and how certain groups use emojis as code speak.
MAPs, groomers, and lolicons are not welcome in a lot of spaces obviously because they're bad. But if you want to call someone a pedo, certain sites might censor you. I've come up with an emoji combo for that.
🚲📁 =peddle file
"Don't talk to Jake, he peddles files."
"Please pirate that one anime. The mangaka was caught peddling files."
"Kathryn recently moved into our neighborhood. She's not supposed to be this close to a school. She's a 🚲📁"
This might not work for Tumblr but it works for like TikTok, Instagram, etc.