CENSORSHIP Ms Bentil 1

Censorship  The control of information and ideas that are circulated within a country.  It is also defined as an attempt to restrict the types of materials and information that are disseminated to the public. Ms Bentil 2

 Various types of censorship exist even in modern times.  Legislations have been adopted in various countries to limit access to certain kinds of information.  On the other hand, it must be accepted that in some cases, censorship is very necessary. Ms Bentil 3

Types of censorship  Types of censorship include the following: 1. Religious censorship 2. Political censorship 3. Moral censorship 4. Censorship of violence and crime Ms Bentil 4

1. Religious censorship  Banning materials that provide negative information on certain religious groups that are likely to cause confusion in the country.  Excommunication or religious censorship has been in existence since the 4 th century. Ms Bentil5

 The Roman Catholic Church issued a statement forbidding members from possessing non catholic materials.  Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses was banned in all muslim countries.  Religious censorship has continued to the present day. Ms Bentil 6

2. Political Censorship  Censorship can take the form of banning or restricting the circulation of materials that provide negative propaganda on the ruling government.  Political censorship is prevalent in all countries even in the western world. Ms Bentil 7

 UK – Animal Farm by George Orwell was banned  Former USSR (now Russia) – Books on democracy were banned  In Africa, there have been some cases of political censorship. Ms Bentil 8

 When Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown, most of his books were burnt.  Political censorship has gone to the extent of persecuting individuals through: Imprisonment Death Expulsion from society Ms Bentil9

 Some journalists have been arrested.  Closing down of radio stations  Banning newspapers and other journals.  However, some political censorship is necessary to ensure peace and state security. Ms Bentil 10

3. Moral Censorship  It involves restricting materials relating to obscenity, profanity, pornography and indecency.  It has become very important in this technological age.  Moral censorship involves musical recording, video recordings as well as books and newspapers. Ms Bentil 11

 A country has the right to ban any material that falls into these categories.  Moral censorship aims at preventing the exposure of obscene materials to adolescents and children. Ms Bentil 12

4. Censorship of crime and violence  In some countries, attempts have been made to restrict the circulation of some books, films and magazines that show too much crime and violence.  This is because of the negative influence that these films and other media have on the society. Ms Bentil 13

Problems with censorship 1. Information professionals are expected to provide materials for everybody in the society.  This law restricts the provision of certain materials for some people. Ms Bentil 14

2. Some countries have taken advantage of the law by prohibiting materials which may not necessarily fall under the law. 3. According to the UN Declaration, there should be freedom of access to information by all. However, the censorship law prevents this freedom. Ms Bentil 15