Self censorship

Self-censorship exists under all dictatorships whether of one man, an oligarchy or a party. It exists wherever reprisals against freedom of speech are enacted, however subtly, and it can therefore be found in organizations of all types and in social relationships. Populations may be so terrorized by repressive actions of governments that they censor themselves voluntarily. Self-censorship may be exercised in all manner of expression: by writers, artists and scientists, and by editors, artistic producers, publishers, teachers and administrators. For example, a woman may be forced to exercise self-censorship by the insistence on dominance by the male. In the international community, a country dependent on foreign aid may be prevented from speaking out on bilateral or global issues.  Private conversation may be hypocritical or guarded, or may evince genuine approbation of government policies; but dissent and criticism will never be expressed. Media self-censorship denies the public the chance of gaining objective knowledge of conditions in time to act on that knowledge. Self-censorship can be reinforced by a graduated series of penalties for perseverance in dissent. Under the most despotic regimes, unjustified and arbitrary violence may be unleashed against those expressing themselves freely or incautiously.

During the COVID pandemic, false narratives and regulatory clamp-downs resulted in medical professionals fearing the loss of their licenses for expressing non-establishment views, self-censorship among scientists to avoid career destruction, suppression of critical public health discussions and the mis-labeling of millions of social media posts as misinformation.