Watch Video which demonstrates censorship.
My Belief:
Big media has long been frightened of ceding their grip over public opinion to the information-rich internet. They’ve begun mitigating the risk is by making stars out of a very small number of web sites willing to censor anti-establishment views. The strategy hopes most of the public will not see dissenting opinions through the glare of their stars. This approach is evident in the language you hear on the evening news. Where they once said things like “internet search,” “video sharing websites” and in general, “on the internet,” they now say “Google,” “YouTube,” and “on MySpace.” So long as the masses read from a small number of sources, so long as the owners of those sources are cozy with the establishment, public opinion can continue to be manipulated. Popular websites never mentioned include Wikipedia and Craigslist, even though they offer communities as vast as those of the media darlings.
I realize this is a fairly conspiratorial view of the world. I don’t think it happens in a sinister way- no dark, smoke-filled rooms. If it happens, it’s more casual. To them, promoting “friendly” websites is analogous to putting one’s best foot forward -as described in the New Yorker article referenced in this earlier post.
