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In December 2023, independent journalists and human rights activists prepared a prognosis of what awaits Russia in the near future. According to participants in the Network Freedoms project, Russian citizens should expect total censorship on the Internet. The Russian authorities will begin to recognize popular public pages on social networks as extremist and will introduce penalties for subscribing to those channels. The mention of undesirable organizations and foreign agents will also face penalties (olod.media, December 7, 2023). According to human rights activists, in place of YouTube and Telegram, the country will introduce an analogue of the Chinese service WeChat, and access to the network will be possible only with a Russian passport and special visa. The state will monitor all user activity on the Internet. Repression against Russian citizens who have left the country will only increase. For those wishing to leave, exit visas may be introduced, as was the case in the Soviet Union (olod.media, December 7, 2023). These predictions reflect the Kremlins increased paranoia of widespread instability at home as Russian forces continue to suffer heavy losses in Ukraine and domestic discontent is growing.

Much of what these commentators predicted has begun to occur in Russia. This past summer, Moscow started to amend the law On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection. The measure bans the dissemination of information about ways to bypass government blocks, and sites on which such information appears may be blocked (Mmdc.ru, August 14, 2023; Government of Russia, November 14, 2023). Recently, government officials began discussing options for tightening the circulation of SIM cards. In particular, some proposals called for Russian operators to activate SIM cards only after checking the subscribers passport data with the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Kommersant.ru, November 23, 2023).

Other official measures taken at the end of last year highlight the Kremlins plan to increase repression at home. The number of political prisoners is growing rapidly, now comprising nearly 3,000 people (Ovd.info, November 13). Independent journalists note that the Russian Ministry of Justice and Roskomnadzor are issuing significant fines to foreign agents and manufacturing criminal charges against them. According to current Russian laws, three administrative violations are sufficient to charge a person criminally for failure to fulfill the duties of a foreign agent (Roskomnadzor, July 14, 2022; Zona.media, December 5, 2023). The first criminal case on these grounds was initiated against the editor of the Tatar-Bashkir service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Alsu Kurmasheva, after her arrest in October (Russian service, October 19, 2023; (Kommersant.ru, December 5, 2023). The Responsibility for Aiding Foreign Agents in Violation of the Law Act was introduced this past summer. The law criminalizes any action or inaction (conscious or unconscious) that enables a foreign agent to violate the restrictions imposed upon them (Mmdc.ru, August 4, 2023). Additionally, beginning December 11, those Russian citizens prohibited from leaving the country are required to surrender their passports. The new measure also applies to conscripts (Official Publication of Legal Acts of the Russian Federation, November 22, 2023; Svoboda.org, December 11, 2023).

Some Russian officials have increasingly turned to threats against those citizens who already left the country. For example, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin continues to threaten Russians who have left the country and supposedly want victory for the Kyiv regime that Magadan awaits them upon returnthat is, exile to a labor colony (Belsat.eu, October 10, 2023). Volodin has also voiced his support for the confiscation of the property of those who have left discrediting the country (Izvestiya, February 6, 2023).

Other semi-official sources continue to feign that all is well at home and that the Russian population is consolidating around the war effort. The Telegram channel Nezygar (), connected to the Russian government, joyously reports that the potential for the consolidation of Russian society based on the special military operation (SVO) and opposition to the collective West has not been exhausted.

Such declarations ring false due to the apparent apolitical stance of most Russians. Pro-Kremlin analysts draw this conclusion from the latest Levada Center survey data, in which 40 percent of Russians have had to collect money or items for SVO participants and their families over the past 12 months (Telegram.me/russia2, December 11, 2023). Commentators loyal to the Kremlin have remained silent on the development that, according to the same survey, the number of Russians favoring peaceful negotiations in November increased once again: 57 percent of respondents support peace talks, while 36 percent favor continuing the war. The share of those opposed to ending the war, even if Vladimir Putin himself decides to end it, decreased to 19 percent (Levada.ru, December 8, 2023).

The usual conformism of Russians and the desire to reflect the image of a respectable citizen may explain this combination of seemingly contradictory indicators. Help SVO participants has become a societal standard, a unique marker of loyalty to the state. Senators and other officials demand such behavior, and all state media publish reports on assistance to the military (Lenta.ru, October 1, 2023; RIA Novosti, December 13, 2023). Some propagandists have even created a special Telegram channel, Dobro-Inform, that reports on how Russians assist SVO troops (Gpkorkino.ru, November 3, 2023; Telegram.me/DobroInform, accessed January 9).

Fear of becoming an unreliable citizen or even outright traitor dictates the necessity that most Russians prove their loyalty to Moscow. Such conduct makes it possible for the Russian people to create the illusion that they, too, can influence the situation at the front, move closer to victory, and avoid the consequences of defeat, as occurs in the case of denunciation (see EDM, May 3, 2023).

Even Russian sociologists loyal to the Kremlin indirectly recognize the motives for suppressing public anxieties. When citing data on strong support for Putin in future elections, some admit that this can partially be explained by the tense domestic situation stemming from the heightened anxiety of the Russian people to prove they are proud of their community (Kommersant.ru, December 8).

Most Russian citizens will try to demonstrate their loyalty to Moscow in the new year. Even if the predictions come true and domestic repressions grow, many will likely adhere to the new restrictions for fear of retribution in opposing the Putin regime. The possibility of protests depends in large part on how religious and other radical elements can lobby for norms that grossly interfere in the lives of ordinary Russians, such as the ban on abortion or censorship of entertainment content (Meduza, December 4,10, 2023). Social stability will likely be further disrupted in 2024 and may lead to more widespread discontent, especially if the Kremlin dares to declare a new wave of mobilization.

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The New Year Brings Greater Censorship and Repression in Russia - Jamestown - The Jamestown Foundation

Jeffrey Wright is generating Oscar buzz for his role in Cord Jeffersons American Fiction, which sees the actor playing a highly educated Black intellectual who finds mainstream success when he dumbs down his own writing to align it with white audiences vision of the Black experience. The film, which won the Peoples Choice Award at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, has been praised by many as an evisceration of the boxes in which Black artists and writers are often placed.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly to promote the film, Wright recalled an experience when his own ability to express himself was hindered in a similar way. After filming Ang Lees 1999 Western Ride with the Devil, in which he played a former slave who fights guerrilla warfare battles in the American Civil War alongside the man who bought his freedom, Wright was asked to overdub a scene where his character repeatedly says a racial slur. Although the cut was intended for airplane and cable TV releases with stricter censorship rules, the actor said that he refused because he felt that the use of the word was artistically significant.

In this scene in which he has this, kind of the apex of his awakening and his need to emancipate himself, he says, Being that mans friend was no more than being his n. And I will never again be anyones n,' Wright said. And its such a self-empowering statement and understanding of the word.

But after he refused, Wright said that another actor was hired to dub the line over in his place. He explained that he still views the experience as an example of the way the entertainment industry has worked to protect peoples ability to live in ignorance about sensitive topics.

I said, Nah. Thats not happening. And they found some other actor to come in and do that one word, apparently, he said So that the airplane folk would be comfy in the darkness of their own ignorance around the language of race.

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Jeffrey Wright Was Dubbed Over After He Refused to Censor the N-Word in 'Ride with the Devil': 'Nah, That's Not ... - IndieWire

Librarians, individuals, and grassroots organizations are on the offensive against censorship attempts.

'Its an Act of Resistance:' Groups Ramp Up Efforts in the Fight to Stop Book Bans | USA Today Across the country, national and local groups have launched projects to counter efforts to ban or restrict books, many written by authors of color or focused on issues like racism, gender identity, and sexuality.

Librarians, Who Lost Jobs for Not Banning Books, Are Fighting Back | NPR Librarians in at least three states are asking the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to intervene after they were fired for refusing to ban books.

Sister-Friend of Angelou, Baldwin, and Morrison Champions Their Books | The Washington Post At 90, Eleanor Traylor isnt done fighting for Black literature. Not even close.

New Information on the Great Barrington, MA, Gender Queer Search | The Berkshire Eagle Bodycam footage inside the middle school classroom shows the Great Barrington police officer say that he could 'search every room and ask every teacher' for the book.

This Arlington, Virginia, Librarian is Pushing Back Against Book Bans| The Washington Post Library directors typically arent on the front lines of testy national debates, but with the backing of the county board, and a solid-blue constituency, Diane Kresh has given a full-throated voice to fight against book bans.

Dozens of PennsylvaniaSchool Districts Have Changed Book Policies since 2019, Analysis Shows | Philly Burbs Roughly a fifth of Pennsylvania school districtsat least 90 of themhave adopted or revised their policies on library books and other instructional materials since 2019, the beginning of the political firestorm around classroom literature, according to an analysis by the USA TODAY Network.

Minnesota District School Board Opens Possibility for Book Removal | Crow River Media Books could be removed from district libraries if the Hutchinson (MN) School Board adopts a policy change currently under review. The proposed policy would allow parents or guardians to request the removal of a book from a school library. The request would be reviewed by staff and administrators, butthe final decision forremoval would restwith the board.

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Fighting Back Against Book Bans: 'It's an Act of Resistance.' | Censorship News - News Letter Journal

Whether reporting from the Middle East, the United States, or anywhere else across the globe, every CNN journalist covering Israel and Palestine must submit their work for review by the news organizations bureau in Jerusalem prior to publication, under a long-standing CNN policy. While CNN says the policy is meant to ensure accuracy in reporting on a polarizing subject, it means that much of the networks recent coverage of the war in Gaza and its reverberations around the world has been shaped by journalists who operate under the shadow of the countrys military censor.

Like all foreign news organizations operating in Israel, CNNs Jerusalem bureau is subject to the rules of the Israel Defense Forcess censor, which dictates subjects that are off-limits for news organizations to cover, and censors articles it deems unfit or unsafe to print. As The Intercept reported last month, the military censor recently restricted eight subjects, including security cabinet meetings, information about hostages, and reporting on weapons captured by fighters in Gaza. In order to obtain a press pass in Israel, foreign reporters must sign a document agreeing to abide by the dictates of the censor.

CNNs practice of routing coverage through the Jerusalem bureau does not mean that the military censor directly reviews every story. Still, the policy stands in contrast to other major news outlets, which in the past have run sensitive stories through desks outside of Israel to avoid the pressure of the censor. On top of the official and unspoken rules for reporting from Israel, CNN recently issued directives to its staff on specific language to use and avoid when reporting on violence in the Gaza Strip. The network also hired a former soldier from the IDFs Military Spokesperson Unit to serve as a reporter at the onset of the war.

The policy of running stories about Israel or the Palestinians past the Jerusalem bureau has been in place for years, a CNN spokesperson told The Intercept in an email. It is simply down to the fact that there are many unique and complex local nuances that warrant extra scrutiny to make sure our reporting is as precise and accurate as possible.

The spokesperson added that the protocol has no impact on our (minimal) interactions with the Israeli Military Censor and we do not share copy with them (or any government body) in advance.We will seek comment from Israeli and other relevant officials before publishing stories, but this is just good journalistic practice.

One member of CNNs staff who spoke to The Intercept on the condition of anonymity for fear of professional reprisal said that the internal review policy has had a demonstrable impact on coverage of the Gaza war. Every single Israel-Palestine-related line for reporting must seek approval from the [Jerusalem] bureau or, when the bureau is not staffed, from a select few handpicked by the bureau and senior management from which lines are most often edited with a very specific nuance that favors Israeli narratives.

A shaky arrangement has long existed between the IDF censor and the domestic and foreign press, forcing journalists to frequently self-censor their reporting for fear of running afoul of prohibited subjects, losing their press credentials, and potentially being forced to offer public apology. CNN, like other American broadcasters, has repeatedly agreed to submit footage recorded in Gaza to the military censor prior to airing it in exchange for limited access to the strip, drawing criticism from those who say the censor is providing a filtered view of events unfolding on the ground.

When you have a protocol that routes all stories through one checkpoint, youre interested in control, and the question is who is controlling the story? Jim Naureckas, editor of the watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting, told The Intercept.

CNNs team in Jerusalem are the people closest to the Israeli government, Naureckas added. In a situation where a government has been credibly accused of singling out journalists for violent attacks in order to suppress information, to give that government a heightened role in deciding what is news and what isnt news is really disturbing.

While CNN has used its standing to obtain raw footage of human suffering inside Gaza, it has also pushed out near-daily updates delivered directly from the IDF to its American and international viewers and embedded reporters alongside Israel soldiers fighting in the war.

Early in the war, on October 26, CNNs News Standards and Practices division sent an email to staff outlining how they should write about the war.

Hamas controls the government in Gaza and we should describe the Ministry of Health as Hamas-controlled whenever we are referring to casualty statistics or other claims related to the present conflict. If the underlying statistics have been derived from the ministry of Health in Gaza, we should note that fact and that this part of the Ministry is Hamas-controlled even if the statistics are released by the West Bank part of the ministry or elsewhere.

The email goes on to acknowledge CNNs responsibility to cover the human cost of the war but couches that responsibility in the need to cover the broader current geopolitical and historical context of the story while continuing to remind our audiences of the immediate cause of this current conflict, namely the Hamas attack and mass murder and kidnap of Israeli civilians.

Intense Israeli army activity in Gaza seen from Kibbutz Beeri as Israeli attacks continue in Beeri, Israel, on Jan. 4, 2024.

The email further instructed reporters and editors to make it clear to our audiences whether either or both sides have provided verifiable evidence to support their claims.

In a separate directive dated November 2, Senior Director of News Standards and Practices David Lindsey cautioned reporters from relaying statements from Hamas. As the Israel-Gaza war continues, Hamas representatives are engaging in inflammatory rhetoric and propaganda. Most of it has been said many times before and is not newsworthy. We should be careful not to give it a platform. He added, though, that if a senior Hamas official makes a claim or threat that is editorially relevant, such as changing their messaging or trying to rewrite events, we can use it if its accompanied by greater context.

The language of the directives mirror similar orders from CNN management at the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, when Chair Walter Isaacson ordered foreign correspondents at the network to play down civilian deaths and remind readers that the violence they were witnessing was a direct result of the attacks on September 11.

Also in October, CNN hired a former IDF soldier to contribute writing and reporting to CNNs war coverage. Tamar Michaeliss first byline appears on October 17, 10 days after Hamass attack on southern Israel. Since then, her name has appeared on dozens of stories citing the IDF spokesperson and relaying information about the IDFs operations in the Gaza Strip. At least one story bearing only her byline is little more than a direct statement released from the IDF.

According to her Facebook profile, Tamar Michaelis served in the IDFs Spokesperson Unit, a division of the Israeli military charged with carrying out positive PR both domestically and abroad. (Last year, the Spokesperson Unit was forced to issue a public apology for conducting psychological operations, or psyops, against Israeli civilians.) Michaelis recently locked her profile, which does not indicate the dates of her service in the IDF, and she did not respond to a request for comment.

Tamar Michaelis worked with CNN on a freelance basis for a few months last year, and worked in the same way as any freelancer, within our normal guidelines, the CNN spokesperson wrote.

Read our complete coverage

CNNs Gaza war coverage, regardless of where it originates, has been subject to the news organizations internal review process for reporting on Israel and Palestine. According to an email reviewed by The Intercept, CNN expanded its review team over the summer as the highly controversial overhaul of Israels judicial system moved through Israels Parliament to include a handful of editors outside of Israel, in an effort to streamline the process.

In a July email to CNN staff, Jerusalem Bureau Chief Richard Greene wrote that the policy exists because everything we write or broadcast about Israel or the Palestinians is scrutinized by partisans on all sides. The Jerusalem bureau aims to be a safety net so we dont use imprecise language or words that may sound impartial but can have coded meanings here.

But because the protocol could slow down the publication process, Greene wrote, we have created (wait for it..)

The Jerusalem SecondEyes alias!

The CNN spokesperson told The Intercept that Jerusalem SecondEyes was created to make this process as swift as possible as well as bring more expert eyes to staff it across the day, particularly when Jerusalem is dark. The spokesperson did not respond to a question about whether CNN has a similar review process in place for other coverage areas.

The CNN staff member described how the policy works in practice.War-crime and genocide are taboo words, the person said.Israeli bombings in Gaza will be reported as blasts attributed to nobody, until the Israeli military weighs in to either accept or deny responsibility. Quotes and information provided by Israeli army and government officials tend to be approved quickly, while those from Palestinians tend to be heavily scrutinized and slowly processed.

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CNN Runs Gaza Coverage Past Jerusalem Team Operating Under Shadow of IDF Censor - The Intercept

Press Releases | January 04, 2024

(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for failing to respond to an October 11, 2023, FOIA for all records regarding Judicial Watch and its President Tom Fitton held by DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:24-cv-00003).

The request specifically asked that the search for responsive records include email accounts of CISA officials publicly implicated in censorship operations.

On November 6, 2023, the House Judiciary Committee released a report detailing how the Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Global Engagement Center (GEC, within the State Department) coordinated with Stanford University and other entities to create the Election Integrity Partnership to censor Americans speech in the lead-up to the 2020 election. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton is listed as a target of this censorship operation.

Judicial Watch and I have been censored again and again by government and Big Tech, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. That we had to file a federal lawsuit to get basic information about this targeting is another sure sign that CISA has been up to no good.

Judicial Watch has been in the forefront of uncovering government efforts to censor free speech and suppress opposition.

On November 9, 2023, Judicial Watch reported that CISA records show government involvement in the EIP [Election Integrity Partnership] pressure on Google, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, Reddit and other platforms to censor disinformation.

In October 2023, Judicial Watch sued the Department of Justice (DOJ) for records of any payments made by the FBI to Twitter (now known as X). The payments were disclosed in internal Twitter documents (the Twitter Files) made available by Elon Musk to journalists.

Also in October, Judicial Watch sued the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) for records concerning censorship of social media users.

In April 2023, Judicial Watch filed two lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal agencies for communications between the agencies and Facebook and Twitter regarding the governments involvement in content moderation and censorship on the social media platforms.

In a separate lawsuit file in June 2023, Judicial Watch sued DHS for all records of communications tied to the Election Integrity Partnership. Based on representations from the EIP (see here and here), the federal government, social media companies, the EIP, the Center for Internet Security (a non-profit organization funded partly by DHS and the Defense Department) and numerous other leftist groups communicated privately via the Jira software platform developed by Atlassian.

In February 2023, Judicial Watch sued the U.S. Department Homeland Security (DHS) for records showing cooperation between the Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency (CISA) and social media platforms to censor and suppress free speech.

Judicial Watch in January 2023 sued the DOJ for records of communications between the FBI and social media sites regarding foreign influence in elections, as well as the Hunter Biden laptop story.

In September 2022, Judicial Watch sued the Secretary of State of the State of California for having YouTube censor a Judicial Watch election integrity video.

In May 2022, YouTube censored a Judicial Watch video about Biden corruption and election integrity issues in the 2020 election. The video, titled Impeach? Biden Corruption Threatens National Security, was falsely determined to be election misinformation and removed by YouTube, and Judicial Watchs YouTube account was suspended for a week. The video featured an interview of Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. Judicial Watch continues to post its video content on its Rumble channel (https://rumble.com/vz7aof-fitton-impeach-biden-corruption-threatens-national-security.html).

In July 2021, Judicial Watch uncovered records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which revealed that Facebook coordinated closely with the CDC to control the Covid narrative and misinformation and that over $3.5 million in free advertising given to the CDC by social media companies.

In May 2021, Judicial Watch revealed documents showing that Iowa state officials pressured social media companies Twitter and Facebook to censor posts about the 2020 election.

In April 2021, Judicial Watch published documents revealing how California state officials pressured social media companies (Twitter, Facebook, Google (YouTube)) to censor posts about the 2020 election.

Judicial Watch has produced a four-part documentary, Censored and Controlled, that details the coordinated effort by the FBI and other government agencies and Big Tech to censor and suppress information on topics such as Hunter Bidens laptop, Covid-19, and election debates.

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Judicial Watch Sues Biden Censorship Agency for Records Targeting Judicial Watch and Its President Tom Fitton - Judicial Watch