The Internet and other communication technologies have revolutionized journalism, transforming it into a media imperceptible to the journalism of forty years ago. The Internet has enabled millions of people all over the world to gain instant access to copious amounts of news, media, entertainment and general information in the blink of an eye. However, more importantly, it has empowered the common person to share their own personal account of the world with millions of other ordinary citizens grasping for some truth in the whirlwind of information they are bombarded with on a daily basis. The rise of citizen journalism is one of the hallmark achievements of the 21st century.
However, for this to be possible it is integral that the Internet is truly a source of free exchange, where all of the information including unpleasant particulars, are present online for the people to read and evaluate as they wish. I never before realized what a luxury it was to have access to any amount of information I wanted online, and then be able to blog, tweet, comment or post my own views about it without the government previewing and editing what they will. But then when I thought about it again, I realized it is not a luxury; It is a right. People all over the world should have the right to freedom of information and freedom of speech. Just as economists would say that free trade is imperative to world economic prosperity, I would say that the free flow of information is an equally important step to protect the freedom and basic rights of citizens internationally in our ever-globalizing world. However, a major issue remains that some of the emerging world leaders are trying to put a halt to this free flow of information; most potently China.
I recently read an article, posted below, regarding China's censorship barriers that last till this day. It is preposterous to think that an emerging superpower could still practice such arcane methods of trying to control and limit the freedoms of its citizens and that the world can stand by idly and watch and big world corporations can collaborate with the practice. In the midst of the Japanese nuclear crisis Chinese government propaganda officials banned independent reporting of possible radioactive contamination from Japan’s stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. This directive represented more that just a single instance of censorship, but rather represents a larger ideal of the Chinese government that the press and media should be used for their purposes rather than the purpose of the common people; the Chinese government do not consider the media an independent entity, but rather a larger arm of the government to target people and achieve their own aims. They justify this system to the world by claiming that it promotes "harmony" and "stability" within the country. However, the facts speak for themselves, the system of censorship is a clear violation of their own constitution that explicitly allows for freedom of speech and the press.
I am in shock that the world has not been up in arms, as they were when Mubarak shut down the Internet earlier this year. However, in China when Egyptian protesters spilled into Cairo’s Tahir Square in January 2011 to demand democracy and respect for human rights, China’s censors responded by blocking keyword searches of the word “Egypt.” The Chinese were not even allowed to know that others were in uproar about the denial of the same rights that were not extended to them and they took without questions. Not only does China's censorship policies infringe the human rights of the people of China by denying them access to information that could possibly reform their way of life and pave the way for a better future. But it also masks the many other human rights atrocities that could be going on in their country from the rest of the world. Consequently the rest of the world has chosen to turn the other cheek and accept China's facade about moving towards a more democratic nation. Even mainstream companies such as Facebook that we envision as a champion of free speech here in the USA have caved to the demands of the Chinese government and allow them to dictate the terms of censorship. The apparent willingness of countries to lower their standards on basic human dignities brings me to my next point: the importance of the emerging citizen journalists.
Unlike companies, government and current large media conglomerates citizen journalists are the sole entity that are able to work without the barrier of economic interests holding them back, and thus oftentimes can give a much more reliable picture of the conditions in the world. According to the readings, 72 percent of Americans agree that the major news organizations are biased in their coverage, often times only covering the stories that they think people want to hear, leaving out the important knock out news. For example, the organization that I am working with this summer GoodWeave International sent independent journalists to Nepal and India to uncover the true conditions of child laborers in these countries. What they found shocking, and it clearly needed to be shared with the world. Although, at first they attempted to go through the major news outlets they were severely disappointed with the reluctance they were met with the air the "faces of freedom" video that the independent journalist shot. This reluctance comes from the journalistic elitism of many of the news organizations, but GoodWeave was not deterred and instead posted the videos online for all to see, with an overwhelming response from the public. This situation exemplifies the triumph of the citizen journalist in the new age of information and the necessity that everyone report on what is going on around them and about causes that they believe in even if they are swept over and ignored by the mainstream media, this does not mean they will be ignored by the world. The new Internet age propagates information all over the world, and should be world-wide, free for all to receive and spread information so that citizen journalists can overcome government limitation, economic motivations and political bias to deliver the real truth to the world.
Link to Article:
I agree with you that everyone should have the right to freedom of speech and information and that China is no different. However, I do not think it is possible for the world to have the same reaction to Chinese censorship as it did for Mubarak in Egypt. There is really no way for the world, and the US specifically to do anything about Chinese censorship because China is an economic and military world power unlike Egypt. In Egypt, the public revolted, which led to Mubarak shutting down the internet, and the US only condemned it after great pressure from the rest of the world and when it looked like Mubarak had no way of staying in power. With China, there has been no popular revolt and the Chinese are extremely important to our own economic interests as well, unlike Egypt. So, in an ideal world we would be able to change China, but in reality it is impossible to do so. Freedom of speech and information will only come from the people of China rising up and demanding it themselves, not from an outside power.
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