"The Battle Over Books:" Nationwide trend of book censorship … – ABC 57 News
'); if(!WVM.IS_STREAMING){ $videoEl.append('' + '' + ''); } setTimeout(function(){ $('.mute-overlay').on('touchstart click', function(e){ if(e.handled === false) return; e.stopPropagation(); e.preventDefault(); e.handled = true; player.muted(false); //console.log("volumee " + WVM.activePlayer.volume()); $(this).hide(); $(this).css('display', 'none'); var currentTime = player.currentTime(); if(currentTime 0){ if(deviceName == 'desktop'){ WVM.VIDEO_TOP = $('#media-container-' + videoId).offset().top; }else{ WVM.VIDEO_TOP = $('#media-container-' + videoId).offset().top - $('.next-dropdown-accordion').height(); } if(deviceName == 'desktop'){ WVM.VIDEO_HEIGHT = $('#html5-video-' + videoId).outerHeight(); }else{ WVM.VIDEO_HEIGHT = $('#html5-video-' + videoId).outerHeight(); } WVM.CONTAINER_HEIGHT = $('#media-container-' + videoId).height(); //console.log("container height: " + WVM.CONTAINER_HEIGHT); $(window).on( "resize", function() { if(deviceName == 'desktop'){ WVM.VIDEO_TOP = $('#media-container-' + videoId).offset().top; }else{ WVM.VIDEO_TOP = $('#media-container-' + videoId).offset().top - $('.next-dropdown-accordion').height(); } if(deviceName == 'desktop'){ WVM.VIDEO_HEIGHT = $('#html5-video-' + videoId).outerHeight(); }else{ WVM.VIDEO_HEIGHT = $('#html5-video-' + videoId).outerHeight(); } WVM.CONTAINER_HEIGHT = $('#media-container-' + videoId).height(); console.log("container height: " + WVM.CONTAINER_HEIGHT); }); //console.log("VIDEOTOP: " + WVM.VIDEO_TOP); //console.log("VIDEOHEIGHT: " + WVM.VIDEO_HEIGHT); $(window).on( "scroll", function() { if(!WVM.IS_FLOATING){ if(deviceName == 'desktop'){ WVM.CONTAINER_HEIGHT = $('#media-container-' + videoId).height(); }else{ WVM.CONTAINER_HEIGHT = $('#media-container-' + videoId + " .hlsvideo-wrapper").height() + $('#media-container-' + videoId + " .now-playing-container").height(); } } //var top = $('#media-container-' + videoId).offset().top; var offset = WVM.VIDEO_TOP + (WVM.VIDEO_HEIGHT / 2); var offsetBack = WVM.VIDEO_TOP; var changed = false; //console.log("VIDEOTOP: " + WVM.VIDEO_TOP); //console.log("VIDEOHEIGHT: " + WVM.VIDEO_HEIGHT); //console.log("scrolltop " + $(window).scrollTop()); //only float if playing var isPlaying = WVM['player_state' + videoId]['IS_PLAYING'] || WVM['player_state' + videoId]['AD_IS_PLAYING']; if(isPlaying){ $('.vjs-loading-spinner').hide(); } var offsetFloatAd = 99999999; if(deviceName == 'desktop' && $('#float_anchor').length > 0){ offsetFloatAd = $('#float_anchor').offset().top - WVM.VIDEO_HEIGHT; //console.log("float anchor offset top " + offsetFloatAd); } if($(window).scrollTop() > offset && isPlaying && !WVM['player_state' + videoId]['CANCEL_FLOATING']){ $('#media-placeholder-' + videoId).height(WVM.CONTAINER_HEIGHT); $('#media-placeholder-' + videoId).css('display', 'block'); if(!WVM.IS_FLOATING){ changed = true; } WVM.IS_FLOATING = true; $('#media-container-' + videoId).addClass('floating-video'); var sWidth = window.innerWidth || document.documentElement.clientWidth; var sHeight = window.innerHeight || document.documentElement.clientHeight; if(sWidth > 900 && WADS.IS_STICKING){ $('#media-container-' + videoId).addClass('desktop-ad-is-sticky'); } else if(WADS.IS_STICKING){ if(!TOP_AD_VIEWED){ $('#media-container-' + videoId).addClass('mobile-ad-is-sticky'); }else{ $('#media-container-' + videoId).addClass('mobile-ad-is-sticky-noad'); } } else if(!WADS.IS_STICKING){ if(!TOP_AD_VIEWED){ $('#media-container-' + videoId).removeClass('desktop-ad-is-sticky'); }else{ $('#media-container-' + videoId).addClass('desktop-ad-is-sticky-noad'); } } //set right var sWidth = window.innerWidth || document.documentElement.clientWidth; var sHeight = window.innerHeight || document.documentElement.clientHeight; if(deviceName == 'desktop' || sWidth > 900){ var leftPos2 = $('aside').get(0).getBoundingClientRect().left; var leftPos = $('aside').offset().left ; $('#media-container-' + videoId).css('left', leftPos + "px"); var newWidth = Math.floor(sWidth / 3.5); $('#media-container-' + videoId).css('width', newWidth + "px"); } else{ $('#media-container-' + videoId).css('width', "100% !important"); $('#media-container-' + videoId + ' .now-playing-container').css('display', 'block'); $('#media-container-' + videoId + ' .next-dropdown-accordion').css('display', 'block'); } //floating-video $('#media-container-' + videoId + " " + '.page-carousel-wrapper').hide(); setTimeout(function(){ var hWrapper = $('.floating-video .hlsvideo-wrapper').height(); var npWidth = $('.floating-video .now-playing-container').height(); var ndWidth = $('.floating-video .next-dropdown-header').height() + 20; var scrollerHeight = sHeight - (hWrapper + npWidth + ndWidth); scrollerHeight = 180; //scrollerHeight = parseInt(scrollerHeight * 0.5); if(WVM.device_name == 'desktop'){ $('#media-container-' + videoId + " " + " .mobile-list-videos").height(scrollerHeight); } }, 100); }else if($(window).scrollTop() 0){ var container = document.querySelector('#page-carousel-' + fullVideoId); imagesLoaded( container, function() { var screenWidth = window.innerWidth || document.documentElement.clientWidth; if(screenWidth > 850){ WVM.IS_DESKTOP = true; $('#page-carousel-' + fullVideoId + ' .page-carousel-lg-slides').css('display', 'block'); WVM['player_settings' + fullVideoId].slider = $('#page-carousel-' + fullVideoId).bxSlider({ maxSlides: 4, minSlides: 4, slideWidth: 305, infiniteLoop: false, hideControlOnEnd: true, useCSS: true, pager: false, slideMargin: 15, moveSlides: 1, nextText: '', prevText: '' }); }else{ WVM.IS_DESKTOP = false; $('.page-carousel-wrapper').css('display', 'block'); } }); } }; WVM.setupToggleButton = function(fullVideoId, player){ if($('.nextplay-switch-' + fullVideoId).length > 0){ new DG.OnOffSwitchAuto({ cls:'.nextplay-switch-' + fullVideoId, height: 24, trackColorOn:'#F9F9F9', trackColorOff:'#222', textColorOn: '#222', textColorOff: '#222', textOn:'On', textOff:'Off', listener:function(name, checked){ var theVal = 1; if(!checked){ theVal = 0; } $.ajax({ url: '/ajax/update_autoplay_video/', data: { autoplay_on: theVal }, type: 'POST', dataType: 'json', success: function(data) { WVM['player_settings' + fullVideoId]['autoplay'] = checked; }, error : function(){ console.log("Error loading video"); } }); } }); } }; WVM.setupAccordionButton = function(fullVideoId){ var deviceName = 'desktop'; $('#next-dropdown-accordion-button-' + fullVideoId).on('click', function(){ if($(this).find('i').hasClass('fa-chevron-up')){ //hide $(this).find('i').removeClass('fa-chevron-up'); $(this).find('i').addClass('fa-chevron-down'); if(deviceName == "desktop" && !$('#media-container-' + fullVideoId).hasClass('floating-video')){ $('#media-container-' + fullVideoId + " " + '.page-carousel-wrapper').slideUp(); $('#media-container-' + fullVideoId + " " + '.mobile-list-wrapper').hide(); }else{ $('#media-container-' + fullVideoId + " " + '.mobile-list-wrapper').slideUp(); $('#media-container-' + fullVideoId + " " + '.page-carousel-wrapper').hide(); } var currVideoId = WVM['player_state' + fullVideoId]['VIDEO_ID']; var nextVideoId = WVM.getNextPlaylistIndex(currVideoId); //playerId, mediaId, fieldName var myTitle = WVM.getPlaylistData(fullVideoId, nextVideoId, 'noprefixtitle'); //alert("Getting title " + myTitle); $('#video-slider-nexttitle' + fullVideoId).css('display', 'inline'); $('#video-slider-nexttitle' + fullVideoId).html(myTitle); }else{ //expand $(this).find('i').addClass('fa-chevron-up'); $(this).find('i').removeClass('fa-chevron-down'); $('#media-container-' + fullVideoId + " " + '.mobile-list-wrapper').css('display', 'block'); if(deviceName == "desktop" && !$('#media-container-' + fullVideoId).hasClass('floating-video')){ $('#media-container-' + fullVideoId + " " + '.page-carousel-wrapper').css('display', 'block'); $('#media-container-' + fullVideoId + " " + '.page-carousel-wrapper').slideDown(); $('#media-container-' + fullVideoId + " " + '.mobile-list-wrapper').hide(); if(!WVM.player_state211129['CAROUSEL_INIT']){ WVM.setupCarousel(fullVideoId); } }else{ $('#media-container-' + fullVideoId + " " + '.mobile-list-wrapper').slideDown(); $('#media-container-' + fullVideoId + " " + '.page-carousel-wrapper').hide(); if(!$('#media-container-' + fullVideoId).hasClass('floating-video')){ if(!WVM.player_state211129['CAROUSEL_INIT']){ WVM.setupCarousel(fullVideoId); } } } $('#video-slider-nexttitle' + fullVideoId).css('display', 'none'); } }); var currVideoId = WVM['player_state' + fullVideoId]['VIDEO_ID']; //console.log("current Video " + currVideoId); var nextVideoId = WVM.getNextPlaylistIndex(currVideoId); var myTitle = WVM.getPlaylistData(fullVideoId, nextVideoId, 'noprefixtitle'); //console.log("setting title " + myTitle); $('#video-slider-nexttitle' + fullVideoId).css('display', 'inline'); $('#video-slider-nexttitle' + fullVideoId).html(myTitle); }; WVM.sendbeacon = function(action, nonInteraction, value, eventLabel) { var eventCategory = 'Video'; if (window.ga) { //console.log("sending action: " + action + " val: " + value + " label " + eventLabel); ga('send', 'event', { 'eventCategory': eventCategory, 'eventAction': action, 'eventLabel': eventLabel, 'eventValue': value, 'nonInteraction': nonInteraction }); } }; WVM.getNextPlaylistIndex = function(mediaId, returnArrayIndex){ var currId = null; if(mediaId == null){ return null; } for(var x =0; x 20){ if(fullDuration > 1 && ((fullDuration - fullCurrent) > 1) && !$('.vjs-loading-spinner').hasClass('badspinner')){ console.log("hiding spinner"); $('.vjs-loading-spinner').addClass('badspinner'); } } var duration_time = Math.floor(this.duration()); //this is a hack because the end video event is not firing... var current_time = Math.floor(this.currentTime()); if ( current_time > 0 && ( fullCurrent >= (fullDuration - 10) )){ var currId = playerState.VIDEO_ID; var newMediaId = WVM.getNextPlaylistIndex(currId); //if(playerSettings.autoplay_next && newMediaId){ if(newMediaId){ if('desktop' == "iphone" && playerState.AD_ERROR){ console.log("skipped timeupdate end"); }else{ WVM.load_video(newMediaId, true, playerState.ORIGINAL_ID); } } } if(!playerState.START_SENT){ WVM.sendbeacon('start', true, playerState.VIDEO_ID, playerState.VIDEO_TITLE); playerState.START_SENT = true; } var currentTime, duration, percent, percentPlayed, _i; currentTime = Math.round(this.currentTime()); duration = Math.round(this.duration()); percentPlayed = Math.round(currentTime / duration * 100); for (percent = _i = 0; _i = percent && __indexOf.call(playerState['PERCENTS_TRACKED'], percent) 0) { playerState['PERCENTS_TRACKED'].push(percent); } } } }); //player.off('ended'); player.on('ended', function(){ console.log("ended"); playerState.IS_PLAYING = false; WVM.sendbeacon("complete", true, playerState.VIDEO_ID, playerState.VIDEO_TITLE); var currId = playerState.VIDEO_ID; var newMediaId = WVM.getNextPlaylistIndex(currId); //if(playerSettings.autoplay_next && newMediaId){ if(newMediaId){ WVM.load_video(newMediaId, true, playerState.ORIGINAL_ID); }else{ console.log("Playlist complete (no more videos)"); } }); //player.off('adserror'); player.on('adserror', function(e){ //$('#ima-ad-container').remove(); WVM.lastAdRequest = new Date().getTime() / 1000; console.log(e); console.log("ads error"); var errMessage = e['data']['AdError']['l']; playerState.AD_IS_PLAYING = false; playerState.IS_PLAYING = false; // && errMessage == 'The VAST response document is empty.' if(!playerState.AD_ERROR){ var dTime = new Date().getTime(); WVM.firstPrerollTagUrl = WVM.getFirstPrerollUrl(); console.log("calling backup ad tag url: " + WVM.firstPrerollTagUrl); WVM.activePlayer.ima.changeAdTag(WVM.firstPrerollTagUrl + "?" + dTime); WVM.activePlayer.ima.requestAds(); //WVM.activePlayer.src({ // src: masterSrc, // type: 'video/mp4' //}); //WVM.firstPrerollTagUrl = ""; } playerState.AD_ERROR = true; }); //player.off('error'); player.on('error', function(event) { if (player.error().code === 4) { player.error(null); // clear out the old error player.options().sources.shift(); // drop the highest precedence source console.log("now doing src"); console.log(player.options().sources[0]); player.src(player.options().sources[0]); // retry return; } }); //player.off('volumechange'); player.on('volumechange', function(event) { console.log(event); var theHeight = $('#media-container-' + playerState.ORIGINAL_ID + ' .vjs-volume-level').css('height'); var cssVolume = 0; if(theHeight){ cssVolume = parseInt(theHeight.replace('%', '')); } var theVolume = player.volume(); if(theVolume > 0.0 || cssVolume > 0){ $('#media-container-' + playerState.ORIGINAL_ID + ' .mute-overlay').css('display', 'none'); }else{ $('#media-container-' + playerState.ORIGINAL_ID + ' .mute-overlay').css('display', 'block'); } }); WVM.reinitRawEvents(playerState.ORIGINAL_ID); setInterval(function(){ WVM.reinitRawEvents(playerState.ORIGINAL_ID); }, 2000); } if(!WVM.rawCompleteEvent){ WVM.rawCompleteEvent = function(e){ var playerState = WVM['player_state211129']; console.log("firing raw event due to all other events failing"); var currId = playerState.VIDEO_ID; var newMediaId = WVM.getNextPlaylistIndex(currId); //if(playerSettings.autoplay_next && newMediaId){ if(newMediaId){ WVM.load_video(newMediaId, true, playerState.ORIGINAL_ID); } }; } if(!WVM.rawTimeupdateEvent){ WVM.rawTimeupdateEvent = function(e){ var playerState = WVM['player_state211129']; var rawVideoElem = document.getElementById('html5-video-' + playerState['ORIGINAL_ID'] + '_html5_api'); var fullCurrent = rawVideoElem.currentTime * 1000; var fullDuration = rawVideoElem.duration * 1000; var current_time = Math.floor(rawVideoElem.currentTime); console.log("raw timeupdate: " + fullCurrent + " out of " + fullDuration); if ( current_time > 0 && ( fullCurrent >= (fullDuration - 50) )){ var currId = playerState.VIDEO_ID; var newMediaId = WVM.getNextPlaylistIndex(currId); if(newMediaId){ console.log("loading new video from rawtimeupdate"); WVM.load_video(newMediaId, true, playerState.ORIGINAL_ID); } } if(!$('.vjs-loading-spinner').hasClass('badspinner')){ $('.vjs-loading-spinner').addClass('badspinner') } }; } WVM.reinitRawEvents = function(playerId){ var playerState = WVM['player_state' + playerId]; var rawVideoElem = document.getElementById('html5-video-' + WVM['player_state' + playerId]['ORIGINAL_ID'] + '_html5_api'); //COMPLETE EENT if( WVM['player_state' + playerId].COMPLETE_EVENT){ rawVideoElem.removeEventListener('ended', WVM.rawCompleteEvent, false); } rawVideoElem.addEventListener('ended', WVM.rawCompleteEvent, false); //TIME UPDATE EVENT if( WVM['player_state' + playerId].TIMEUPDATE_EVENT){ rawVideoElem.removeEventListener('ended', WVM.rawTimeupdateEvent, false); } rawVideoElem.addEventListener('ended', WVM.rawTimeupdateEvent, false); WVM['player_state' + playerId].COMPLETE_EVENT = true; WVM['player_state' + playerId].TIMEUPDATE_EVENT = true; };
Are political action committees turning public schools into political battlegrounds?
There's growing support from some local school board members with ties to these national committees to suspend, and in some cases, ban books with sexual or violent scenes and regulate what's taught in classrooms.
This is happening most notably in Berrien County, where a group called "We The Parents" is helping elect school board members that enforce what they call "traditional American values of faith, family, and freedom."
The group has been most successful in the Brandywine school district in Niles where last year, four candidates were elected to a seven-member board.
The growing movement to censor books in schools is a nationwide issue and is directly linked to political pressure. School districts are removing books from libraries at a record pace, according to Pen America. During the 2021-22 school year, 138 school districts in 32 states banned more than 2,500 books.
Jen Unger, a Brandywine Parent, is concerned about what the trend means for her young children.
"I want my children to be able to go into those libraries and look at any books that they want, Unger said."
Unger is a parent of three first-grade students at Merritt Elementary in Niles.
She's struggling with the idea that her kids won't be able to access books that she believes are important to their educational development in the future.
In February, Brandywine school board voted to suspend the addition of any sexually explicit or violent books from entering the middle and high school libraries. They also moved to create an 'Explicit Material Book Review Committee' to evaluate the books already in the school library.
Tiffany: "So, do you think the school board is acting in the best interest of the community?"
Jen: "I do not. I think they're acting in their best interest and not on what's going to be the best for the students and then the staff at the schools that they're supposed to be serving."
This is all part of a bigger picture issue, with school board races across the country becoming more political and more parents wanting a say in their children's education.
The 20-22 school board elections at Brandywine Community Schools brought four new faces to serve the district, all of whom are supported by We The Parents, a parental rights group financially backed by the 1776 Project, a conservative political action committee or PAC.
The committee formed back in 2021 to push back against the New York Times' 1619 Project, which provides free lesson plans that center U.S. history around slavery and its lasting impacts.
The super PAC received $3,00,000 in donations in 2022, according to Open Secrets, a nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy.
In Michigan alone, Transparency USA, a group tracking money in state politics, shows over $56,000 in contributions went to "We The Parents last year.
The group supported almost 30 school board candidates across 10 different schools in Berrien County but they were most successful in Brandywine.
"It seems that they have a more political agenda than focusing on the needs of the students of our district," Unger said about the recently elected We The Parents backed school board members.
On November 9th, 2022, after Board President Thomas Payne, Secretary Angela Seastrom, and Trustees Michelanne Mccombs and Elaine Mckee won their elections, The 1776 Project PAC tweeted, "We just flipped the Brandywine school board from liberal to conservative."
Unger voted for all four We The Parents backed school board members and it's something she says she now regrets.
"I just didn't do my part as a parent and as a taxpayer to make sure I knew what I was voting for," Unger said.
The We The Parents group touts a mission of recruiting, equipping and retaining a new generation of school board candidates that are grounded in the traditional American values of faith, family, and freedom.
At face value, Unger says it sounded like a good option but after taking a closer look at the group's push to "remove all forms of sexual, racial, political and gender indoctrination" from schools, she's realizing she disagrees with them.
"If you recognize the name, and you're not necessarily even doing some homework or have children in the district, I think you're just voting for by popular knowing their name, versus what they're running for," Unger said.
The big question is why are books that have been in school libraries for centuries getting challenged now?
Interview requests sent to We The Parents and the 1776 Project PAC went unanswered.
ABC57 also did not get a response for an interview request from Brandywine School Board President Thomas Payne, until showing up in person.
When requesting an interview with Payne at the March 27 board meeting he said, "Not tonight. But I will email you back and I'll my put phone number on there and then we can potentially set up a time. I'm really not doing interviews but let me think about it."
Payne did send an email the next day, but ABC57 was unable to set up an interview. A final email asking for at least a statement, went unanswered.
Former Brandywine School Board President Dennis Hinsey did agree to an interview request. He served on the school board for 16-years, until Payne was voted into the role last year.
I held every position from trustee to Secretary Treasurer, Vice President and most recently President up to December 31," Hinsey said.
Hinsey isn't surprised that the incumbents on the Brandywine school board were voted out in 2022.
With PACs pouring money into school board races, its fairly easy to flip control of who governs a school and for much less than it would cost to elect someone to the house or senate.
The 1776 Project PACs website shows theyve endorsed candidates all over the country, even impacting bigger school board races like in Miami-Dade County in Florida where over 300,000 students are enrolled.
Being a part of a political action committee is there's money funneled in all over the country to help advertise," Hinsey said. "And knowing that there were mailers going to homes, there was text messages, there was sponsored social media post, that all costs a lot of money, that the average person just trying to help his school or her school, they just won't do it. So, they had, you know, huge signs. It was basically name recognition.
Winning local school board races can impact education on a national scale as were seeing now with the push to censor books in schools with several states passing new laws.
In Indiana, lawmakers passed a bill in February to ban books harmful to minors in school libraries.
In Michigan, House Bill 4136 was also introduced in February. Called the library privacy act," it doesnt ban specific books, but calls for books with obscenities to be kept in age-restricted areas of a library.
Pen America, a left-leaning organization dedicated to promoting free speech and journalism, says 40% of book bans in the last year have been connected to political pressure or legislation designed to restrict and reshape teaching.
Hinsey thinks the push to ban books has become a talking point for politicians and it's not a real issue.
I went back and there was some push back last fall when I was President and we double checked, and I double checked, that in the last almost 20 years, there has never been a challenge from a parent for a challenge from anywhere about a book in the library [at Brandywine]," Hinsey said. We're not talking about kindergarteners, what do you consider sexually explicit? A National Geographic? You know, I mean, that's such a broad line. And we want kids, students to be able to maybe see something that they could be uncomfortable with, and ask, and because if we don't let them, they're going to find it. They're going to they're gonna learn about it one way or the other.
In the Brandywine school district, Hinsey explains that parents have always had the right to be involved in their childs education. He sees it as creating problems that dont exist.
The director of the American Library Associations Office for Intellectual Freedom, Deborah Caldwell-Stone, echoes that sentiment.
I can't think of a single public library for example that doesn't have a reconsideration policy in place that allows someone to raise a concern and talk about it with a librarian," Caldwell-Stone said.
The American Library Association is the oldest and largest non-partisan organization dedicated to library services in the world. Censorship challenges in school libraries are something Caldwell-Stone says can be detrimental to a childs educational success.
"When young people are allowed to read freely, they gain something from that and they're better citizens, they are better prepared to enter College, be effective parts of the military force, or join the workforce. And so, when we narrow their opportunity to learn, when we treat education as indoctrination rather than an opportunity to expand horizons, we can see the real impact on young lives," Caldwell-Stone said.
Caldwell-stone believes that book banning is the most widespread form of censorship in the united states and, arguably, the most dangerous form too.
She says banning books can have major impacts on children, and society as a whole, by creating gaps in knowledge for young learners and undermining efforts to teach students to think for themselves.
We've seen quadrupling of the reports of censorship in school libraries in public libraries in the last year," Deborah Caldwell-Stone said. Ive done this work for 20 years and I've never seen numbers like this in the past and we're just really deeply concerned about the impact on young people's education, their ability to read widely about the world in general about their lives in particular and what it means for our democracy to have government agencies trying to tell individuals and tell families what they can and can't read.
According to the American Library Association, the number one most banned book in the last decade was "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
"Captain Underpants" (series) by Dav Pilkey is actually the second most banned book in America.
"Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher ranks third, and "Looking For Alaska" by John Green is the fourth most banned book.
"Looking for Alaska" was recently challenged in the Coloma, Michigan school district. So far, no specific books have been banned locally, but the conversation over potential censorship in school libraries is ongoing.
You can read the full list of the most frequently challenged books here.
Go here to read the rest:
"The Battle Over Books:" Nationwide trend of book censorship ... - ABC 57 News
- This is censorship: Former Millsaps professor files lawsuit following unprecedented termination - Mississippi Today - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- Wheres the GOP outrage over the Trump administrations Big Tech censorship? - MSNBC News - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- U.S. Museums Band Together to Fight Funding Cuts and Censorship Threats - The New York Times - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- Act now: Condemn IUs censorship of student media - FIRE | Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- LETTER FROM THE EDITORS: IU has now fully cut IDS print. What more is there to say? - Indiana Daily Student - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- City College students see firsthand the power of censorship at Banned Books Week event - City Times - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- Sen. Ted Cruz plans to introduce bill codifying protections against government censorship: WSJ - CBS News - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- Losing three years of your life to litigation abuse isnt funny - Index on Censorship - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- Indiana University fires student media director after he refused directive to censor newspaper - Fox 59 - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- How the Disney boycott beat the FCCs censorship push - Waging Nonviolence - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- IU Fires Student Media Director After He Refused to Censor IDS - WFHB - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- ACLJ Calls on Congress and the White House to Confront the Systematic Censorship of Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers - American Center for Law and Justice - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- LETTER FROM THE EDITORS: IU fires student media director after he refused to censor the IDS - Indiana Daily Student - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Algorithmic Censorship Changes the Way We Talk - Reason Magazine - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Opinion | As a professor, Ive seen woke and MAGA censorship. Which is worse? - The Washington Post - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- The Pentagons Censorship Ultimatum and the War on Truth - Yahoo - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Against State Censorship: The Right To Learn Divisive Concepts - And Response - Chattanoogan.com Breaking News - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- California Governor Gavin Newsom censors Trump's NECK in jibe at president over TIME magazine cover he loathes - Daily Mail - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Metal theft bill update - LAist - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Harvard Must Choose Engagement Over Censorship - The Harvard Crimson - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Authors break down why George Orwell's '1984' feels closer to real life than ever before - USA Today - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Why public users of ChatGPT face censorship while unregulated institutions are allowed to exploit AI - Milwaukee Independent - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Loutit champions the right to read through October - Grand Haven Tribune - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- French artist cries foul over censorship of nude mural near Patpong - Nation Thailand - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Political censorship of art exhibition at Californias Pepperdine University - World Socialist Web Site - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Were in a terrifying time of media hate and the new censorship this is what you need to know - Stylist - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Pregnancy centers fight California censorship of abortion pill reversal drug - Pregnancy Help News - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Letter to the Editor: Who will Clemson censor next? - thetigercu.com - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Banned Books Week is drawing to a close but censorship attempts arent - Times of San Diego - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Flemming Rose Reflects on the State of Free Speech, 20 Years After the Muhammad Cartoon Controversy - Cato Institute - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Former Prosecutor Sasun Condemns University Censorship of Conservative Speech - - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Voices: Im a professor. Censorship is threatening academic freedom. - The Salt Lake Tribune - October 13th, 2025 [October 13th, 2025]
- The Arts in Crisis: Leaders in arts and education discuss ramifications of funding cuts and threats of censorship - NewJerseyStage.com - October 13th, 2025 [October 13th, 2025]
- Tribune Editorial: Are administrators of Utah schools and colleges afraid to allow free speech? - The Salt Lake Tribune - October 13th, 2025 [October 13th, 2025]
- Censorship Is So 1984: Annual Banned Books Week Celebrates the Right to Read - Shepherd Express - October 13th, 2025 [October 13th, 2025]
- Network football broadcasts are their Trump card against censorship - Cleveland.com - October 13th, 2025 [October 13th, 2025]
- Barbara Benish on "ArtMill" and creativity under censorship - WAMC - October 13th, 2025 [October 13th, 2025]
- Films with vulgarity get clearance, those reflecting reality face censorship hurdles: Javed Akhtar - Deccan Herald - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- An exhibition in New York City takes on censorship in the art world - The Art Newspaper - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Trump is complicating the GOPs anti-censorship campaign - The Washington Post - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Stewardship or Censorship at the FCC - The Regulatory Review - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Help Us Investigate Book Bans and Educational Censorship Around America - 404 Media - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Vapes of Wrath: Fighting E-Cigarette Censorship at the Oregon Supreme Court - Goldwater Institute - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Large, bipartisan majorities oppose government censorship of talk show hosts, media companies, survey finds - Boston University - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Glenn Loury Begins Open Inquiry Week With A Conversation On Self Censorship - Hoover Institution - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- They didnt even read the book: How childrens authors are being canceled over Palestine - The Guardian - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Hawaii library system bans displays that refer to 'Banned Books Week,' rebrands to 'Freedom to Read' - ictnews.org - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Senator Ted Cruz to introduce bill curbing government censorship - TheDesk.net - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- As censorship rises, is there a future for truly political, truth-telling art? - The Art Newspaper - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Banned books week: censorship is so 1984 - The Baker Orange - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Stephen King emerges as most banned author in U.S. schools as conservative states push censorship - Milwaukee Independent - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Censorship: PRHs Banned Wagon Goes to Washington - Publishing Perspectives - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Library director fired over LGBTQ+ books gets $700,000 from county - The Washington Post - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Teachers and Students Share Anti-Censorship Strategies in New Book - Publishers Weekly - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Book Bans Continue to Threaten the Wellbeing of Authors - Electric Literature - October 11th, 2025 [October 11th, 2025]
- Exclusive | Ted Cruz Wants to Make It Easier to Sue the Government for Censorship - The Wall Street Journal - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- Senator Schmitt Chairs Commerce Committee Hearing on Government Censorship, Need to Protect Free Speech - U.S. Senate (.gov) - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- Ted Cruz revives push to make it easier to sue the government for censorship amid Kimmel return - Fox News - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- Ted Cruz aims to make it easier to sue government over censorship: Report - Straight Arrow News - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- Raskin and Schatz Defend the American Freedom to Read and Call to End Nearly 23,000 MAGA Book Bans in the Nations Schools - raskin.house.gov - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- Sen. Ted Cruz to Introduce Bill Making It Easier to Sue Over Government Censorship - TVTechnology - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- George Takei, 2025 Honorary Chair of Banned Books Week, Shares Which Book Impacted Him - People.com - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- The problem with censorship and discourse at Duke - The Duke Chronicle - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- FCCs Kimmel Threat to Surface at Cruz-Led Censorship Hearing - Bloomberg Government News - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- The 'C' word: Banned Books Week highlights censorship across America - The Rome News-Tribune - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- Cruz to introduce bill protecting citizens from government censorship - Washington Examiner - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- It's Banned Books Week. Here are some books that faced challenges in Wisconsin last year - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- Reading into Banned Books Week: Why censorship hurts our communities - Los Angeles Loyolan - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- Nahant library turns the page on censorship - Itemlive - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- Fight Censorship By Reading a Newspaper or a Book - Flagpole - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- Its Banned Books Week. Want to find out about censorship in your backyard? Join the FOIAs tour - MuckRock - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- What are book bans? Here's everything you need to know amid Banned Books Week 2025 - Bergen Record - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- University in Utah canceled conference focused on censorship over DEI concerns - The College Fix - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- Inside-net: Russia is dismantling free internet connections - Global Voices Advox - October 7th, 2025 [October 7th, 2025]
- Banned Books Week 2025: Censorship is so 1984. Read for Your Rights. - Washoe Life (.gov) - October 7th, 2025 [October 7th, 2025]
- Pessimism, the Federal Government, and Classroom Censorship - edchoice.org - October 7th, 2025 [October 7th, 2025]
- Banned Wagon Comes to D.C., Promotes Save Our Stories - The Washington Informer - October 7th, 2025 [October 7th, 2025]
- Activision says 'Arc Raiders' censorship in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 lobbies was unintentional and will be fixed - PC Gamer - October 7th, 2025 [October 7th, 2025]
- Censorship by neglect leaves us all in the dark - Black Hills Pioneer - October 7th, 2025 [October 7th, 2025]
- The Soapbox | Accountability is not censorship: Why the Board is right to rein in Levasseur - Manchester Ink Link - October 7th, 2025 [October 7th, 2025]