---
title: The Context
sidebar_position: 10
---

Censorship has been a tool for controlling information and suppressing dissent throughout history. It is often employed
by authoritarian regimes to maintain power and control over their populations. The roots of censorship can be traced
back to ancient civilizations, where rulers sought to suppress dissenting voices and control the narrative surrounding
their reigns, through to recent history and the modern day:

- **Ancient Rome**: Emperor Augustus, who reigned from 27 BCE to 14 CE, implemented strict controls over literature to
  promote his image.[^1] From around 29 BC "the explosion in the number of Augustan portraits attests a concerted
  propaganda campaign aimed at dominating all aspects of civil, religious, economic and military life with Augustus's
  person."[^2]
- **Middle Ages**: The Catholic Church worked to suppress novel ideas, including heliocentrism, by banning books and
  punishing dissenters.[^3] The first _Index Librorum Prohibitorum_ was published in 1559 by the Sacred Congregation of
  the Roman Inquisition.[^4] The final index was published in 1948. While it was abolished in 1966, the official
  gazette of the Holy See published, from Pope Paul VI, that the index "retains its moral force despite its
  dissolution".

<figure style={{"text-align": "center"}}>
    <img src="/img/censorship/Index_Librorum_Prohibitorum.jpg" style={{"max-width": "100%", "max-height": "500px"}} />
    <figcaption style={{"font-weight": "bold"}}>
        The master title page of Index Librorum Prohibitorum (in Venice, 1564).
        Credit: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Index_Librorum_Prohibitorum_1.jpg">Wikipedia</a>.
    </figcaption>
</figure>

- **Russian Empire**: Censorship was systematically developed by the tsars late in the eighteenth century, partly as a
  frightened response to the excesses of the French Revolution. From 1976 the government set up censorship committees to
  determine which foreign books may be allowed to enter the country.[^5]
- **Nazi Germany**: The Nazi party used extreme measures to control information, including media monopolisation. During
  the first weeks of 1933, the Nazi regime deployed the radio, press, and newsreels to stoke fears of a pending
  "Communist uprising". By 1944, the newspapers that remained operated in strict compliance with government press laws
  and published material only in accordance with directives issued by the Ministry of Propaganda.[^6]
- **Arab Spring**: During the Arab Spring, from 2010 to 2012, governments across the Middle East employed extensive
  censorship measures to suppress dissent and control the narrative surrounding protests.[^7] For instance, the Egyptian
  government initially blocked access to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and later cut off all
  internet access nationwide to stifle communication among protesters.[^8]

The [Open Observatory of Network Interference](https://ooni.org/) (OONI) is dedicated to measuring internet censorship
and promoting transparency in online communications. Their 2024 report on Russia[^9] highlights the systematic
suppression of independent media between September 2023 and September 2024. Key findings indicate a significant increase
in censorship efforts, including widespread blocking of news websites and the restriction of access to independent
journalism, reflecting a growing trend of media control aimed at stifling dissent and limiting public discourse.

[Reporters Without Borders](https://rsf.org/en) (RSF) is an organization focused on defending press freedom globally.
The 2025 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) indicates that economic fragility has emerged as the primary threat to press
freedom, affecting numerous countries.[^10] The report highlights a significant increase in censorship and violence
against journalists, particularly in regions facing economic instability, which has further compromised the ability of
the media to operate independently and effectively.

<figure style={{"text-align": "center"}}>
    <img src="/img/censorship/wpfi_2025.png" style={{"max-width": "100%", "max-height": "500px"}} />
    <figcaption style={{"font-weight": "bold"}}>
        In 2025, the conditions for journalism are poor in half the world’s countries.
        Credit: <a href="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/22640582/">Reporters Without Borders</a>.
    </figcaption>
</figure>

[^1]: Rudich, V. (2006). Navigating the Uncertain: Literature and Censorship in the Early Roman Empire. _Arion: A
Journal of Humanities and the Classics_, _14_(1), 7–28. http://www.jstor.org/stable/29737288

[^2]: Walker, S., & Burnett, A. (1981). _The image of Augustus_. British Museum Publications. ISBN 978-0-7141-1270-1.

[^3]: Fabio Blasutto, David de la Croix, Catholic Censorship and the Demise of Knowledge Production in Early Modern
Italy, _The Economic Journal_, Volume 133, Issue 656, November 2023, Pages
2899–2924, [https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/uead053](https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/uead053)

[^4]: Brown, H. F. (1907). _Studies in the history of Venice_ (p. 70). New York, NY: E.P. Dutton and Company.

[^5]: Rogers, A. R. (1973). Censorship and Libraries in the Soviet Union. _Journal of Library History, Philosophy, and
Comparative Librarianship_, _8_(1), 22–29. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25540391

[^6]: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "The Press in the Third
Reich". https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-press-in-the-third-reich. Accessed on 19th May 2025.

[^7]: Al Jazeera. (2021, January 27). _The social media myth about the Arab
Spring_. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/1/27/the-social-media-myth-about-the-arab-spring. Accessed 19th May 2025.

[^8]: Time for the People. (2020, December 17). _What happened to the internet since the Arab
Spring?_ https://timep.org/2020/12/17/from-free-space-to-a-tool-of-oppression-what-happened-to-the-internet-since-the-arab-spring/.
Accessed 19th May 2025.

[^9]: Open Observatory of Network Interference. (2024). _The systematic suppression of independent media in
Russia_. https://ooni.org/post/2024-russia-report/. Accessed on 19th May 2025.

[^10]: Reporters Without Borders. (2025). _RSF World Press Freedom Index 2025: Economic fragility a leading threat to
press freedom_. https://rsf.org/en/rsf-world-press-freedom-index-2025-economic-fragility-leading-threat-press-freedom.
Accessed 19th May 2025.
