Censorship's Grave

Observations, Tools, and Tips for Taking the Internet Back from Autocracies

By: Philip Collier

Narrated by: Philip G Collier

Length: 4 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Three Quarters of Humanity

Freedom of expression is a cherished right in free societies. However, it has not been recognized and protected by governments until fairly recently in history. In fact, almost three quarters of all people now live in countries where free speech (and access to speech of others) continues to be restricted.

A Slow Death of Censorship

Since creation of the internet, autocracies have been gradually losing the ability to censor speech, and have resorted to using disinformation and propaganda in acts of information warfare. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and encrypted overlay networks, such as The onion router (Tor) and Invisible Internet Project (I2P), have been very effective against internet censorship.

Recent versions of those anti-censorship tools are so effective as to make internet censorship trivially easy to evade.

The Rise of Propaganda

However, breaking free of a national censorship bubble with Tor or VPNs does not end the problem of information warfare. A more recent development is that countries with broad freedoms of expression, who's media is sought by people escaping censorship, are being flooded with disinformation. Autocracies are attacking democracies with disinformation of many kinds. The new challenge is to find and consume truthful media without falling prey to conspiracies and propaganda traps. A great many people are losing interest in what is true.

Looking Outward and Inward

Censorship's Grave looks at modern methods of circumventing censorship and counteracting effects of information warfare. It argues that autocrats are losing the battle of censorship in an information age they no longer control. Unfortunately, the new information age contains a spectrum of arguments - from truth to blatant lies.

The book was written by an author who has traveled extensively in countries with restricted media and used circumvention tools in all of them. It conveys a warning to not trade one disinfo system for another one.

©2023 Philip G Collier (P)2023 Philip G Collier