Gay stories, excessive romance, unscientific fantasy, and narratives that glorify the pre-Communist republican era are reportedly among 20 genres of fiction to be banned or subject to further censorship in China, according to what appears to be new measures emanating from Chinese authorities.

Photos of what appears to be a new directive issued by the National Radio and Television Administration have been widely circulated on Chinese social media platforms Weibo and WeChat over the past few days. However, social media posts containing similar photos from last year are also to be found on the internet. The date and authenticity of the new directives cannot be independently verified.

The directives appear to provide clear instructions on what can and cannot be shown in 20 genres of TV and web drama show. Youth drama, for example, should avoid puppy love, crime, and violence. Romantic dramas should avoid intimacy, but be bold about clashes and conflicts. Fantasy stories will be subject to particular attention and must be told from a scientific perspective.

Time travel stories must be explained with scientific theories and characters involved must be positive and cannot change the course of history. Gay stories are banned and should be replaced with friendship among characters of the same sex.

Dramas that glorify the republican government or warlords in the republican era are to be strictly censored. And crime thrillers will be subject to censorship by the police department. Plots must not reveal how the crimes are solved, though analysis of criminal psychology is allowed. Criminals must be punished. Police cannot be portrayed negatively.

Social media posts containing these pictures have sparked heated discussions online in China. Puppy love, violence and crime in youth dramas have already been banned, but does it mean they do not exist in reality?, one post on WeChat questioned. If the directives are real, then there are no stories left to tell in Chinas film and television.

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Chinese TV Regulators Appear to Increase Story Supervision - Variety

British universities have been accused of censorship for agreeing to complywith Chinese internet censorship to offer remote courses to international students.

The courses are offered throughsoftware that allows Chinese students who would normally study in the UK to continue their studies remotely.

However, the software has to comply with strict Chinese internet firewalls. This means students are limited to only course material that has been approved by Beijing.

The software is developed by JISC, a digital learning not-for-profit. The pilot programme involves Kings College London, Queen Mary, York University and Southampton University.

JISCs software, which has been built with Chinese technology giant Alibaba, provides course materials to students in China. A spokesperson said traffic has to travel through three international gateways and will only provide access to learning materials that are part of the curriculum specified by the UK institution.

These are placed on an allow list of course materials. The spokesperson added none of these links have been blocked.

A Universities UK spokesperson said academic freedom was of utmost importance adding it was not aware of any alteration to course content to comply with local laws.

The BBC first reported universities would by complying with Chinese internet rules.

China sceptics warned Britains universities could be conducting self-censorship by only allowing access to certain course approved materials to comply with local internet law.

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UK universities accused of censorship by complying with China - Telegraph.co.uk

Amid claims of social media platforms stifling free speech, a new challenger called Parler is drawing attention for its anti-censorship stance.

Last week, Harpers Magazine published an open letter signed by 150 academics, writers and activists concerning perceived threats to the future of free speech.

The letter, signed by Noam Chomsky, Francis Fukuyama, Gloria Steinem and J.K. Rowling, among others, reads:

The free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted.

Debates surroundings free speech and censorship have taken centre stage in recent months. In May, Twitter started adding fact-check labels to tweets from Donald Trump.

More recently, Reddit permanently removed its largest community of Trump supporters.

In this climate, Parler presents itself as a non-biased, free speech driven alternative to Twitter. Heres what you should know about the US-based startup.

Read more: Is cancel culture silencing open debate? There are risks to shutting down opinions we disagree with

Parler reports more than 1.5 million users and is growing in popularity, especially as Twitter and other social media giants crackdown on misinformation and violent content.

Parler is very similar to Twitter in appearance and function, albeit clunkier. Like Twitter, Parler users can follow others and engage with public figures, news sources and other users.

Public posts are called parleys rather than tweets and can contain up to 1,000 characters.

Users can search for hashtags, make comments, echo posts (similar to a retweet) and vote (similar to a like) on posts. Theres also a direct private messaging feature, just like Twitter.

Given this likeness, what actually is unique about Parler?

Parlers main selling point is its claim it embraces freedom of speech and has minimal moderation. If you can say it on the street of New York, you can say it on Parler, founder John Matze explains.

This branding effort capitalises on allegations competitors such as Twitter and Facebook unfairly censor content and discriminate against right-wing political speech.

While other platforms often employ fact checkers, or third-party editorial boards, Parler claims to moderate content based on American Federal Communications Commission guidelines and Supreme Court rulings.

So if someone shared demonstrably false information on Parler, Matze said it would be up to other users to fact-check them organically.

And although Parler is still dwarfed by Twitter (330 million users) and Facebook (2.6 billion users) the platforms anti-censorship stance continues to attract users turned off by the regulations of larger social media platforms.

When Twitter recently hid tweets from Trump for glorifying violence, this partly prompted the Trump campaign to consider moving to a platform such as Parler.

Matze also claims Parler protects users privacy by not tracking or sharing their data.

Companies such as Twitter and Facebook have denied they are silencing conservative voices, pointing to blanket policies against hate speech and content inciting violence.

Parlers free speech has resulted in various American Republicans, including Senator Ted Cruz, promoting the platform.

Many conservative influencers such as Katie Hopkins, Lara Loomer and Alex Jones have sought refuge on Parler after being banned from other platforms.

Although it brands itself as a bipartisan safe space, Parler is mostly used by right-wing media, politicians and commentators.

Moreover, a closer look at its user agreement suggests it moderates content the same way as any platform, maybe even more.

The company states:

Parler may remove any content and terminate your access to the Services at any time and for any reason or no reason.

Parlers community guidelines prohibit a range of content including spam, terrorism, unsolicited ads, defamation, blackmail, bribery and criminal behaviour.

Although there are no explicit rules against hate speech, there are policies against fighting words and threats of harm. This includes a threat of or advocating for violation against an individual or group.

There are rules against content that is obscene, sexual or lacks serious literary, artistic, political and scientific value. For example, visuals of genitalia, female nipples, or faecal matter are barred from Parler.

Meanwhile, Twitter allows consensually produced adult content if its marked as sensitive. It also has no policy against the visual display of excrement.

As a private company, Parler can remove whatever content it wants. Some users have already been banned for breaking rules.

Whats more, in spite of claims it does not share user data, Parlers privacy policy states data collected can be used for advertising and marketing.

Read more: Friday essay: Twitter and the way of the hashtag

Given its limited user base, Parler has yet to become the open town square it aspires to be.

The platform is in its infancy and its user base is much less representative than larger social media platforms.

Despite Matze saying left-leaning users tied to the Black Lives Matter movement were joining Parler to challenge conservatives, Parler lacks the diverse audience needed for any real debate.

Matze also said he doesnt want Parler to be an echo chamber for conservative voices. In fact, he is offering a US$20,000 progressive bounty for an openly liberal pundit with 50,000 followers on Twitter or Facebook to join.

Clearly, the platform has a long way to go before it bursts its conservative bubble.

Read more: Don't (just) blame echo chambers. Conspiracy theorists actively seek out their online communities

Read more from the original source:

Parler: the Twitter 'alternative' isn't the free speech haven it claims to be - The Conversation AU

BANGKOK In Conflicted Visions Again, six artists are gathered to give one message: urging the viewers to question the state of freedom in Thailand.

The exhibition, held at WTF Gallery and Caf, is a tour on issues considered by many to be sensitive in Thai society issues that the media is often discouraged from asking bold questions about from censorship of discussions about the Royal Family to the mysterious disappearances of anti-monarchy activists.

Inside the gallery, there is a TV showing nothing except an English text saying, program will resume shortly, the same words used in real life to black out foreign news broadcasts that may touch on the monarchy.

I think its strange. It makes me feel that they want to hide the truth, artist Manit Sriwanichpoom said. It makes issues about the monarchy sound scary.

Another installation, called Thailands New Normal, questioned the balance of public safety and civil liberties during the coronavirus pandemic, an era that the government and its regime of revered doctors can impose any policy on the public without any debates.

Do you want health or freedom seems to be the choice given to the public by the authorities, without anything in the middle, said Prakit Kobkjwattana, the artist responsible for the piece.

I think this new normal thing is a coup, Prakit said. Do I really have to really choose?

Abduction and murders of anti-monarchy activists who fled overseas is discussed at Iconoclastor Stickers & Military Track Down, by Pisitakun Kuantalaeng.

Images of political dissidents who disappeared in neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia are represented as colorful stickers at the exhibit. It seems to imply someone out there is making a collection of those individuals.

The latest victim in the string of unexplained disappearance was Wanchalearm Satsaksit, seen smiling in his yellow sticker here. The bespectacled activist was kidnapped on June 4 in front of his residence in Phnom Penh, where he had lived in exile since 2014.

Although the tone of the exhibition may slant toward anti-government activism, curator Somrak Sila said the artists were picked from different political factions. Somrak said she did it once just before the May 2014 coup, and she succeeded again.

She lamented that Thailands political division over the past decade means many artists have refused to participate in productive and civil debate, not to mention holding a joint art exhibit. The gallery wants to show its time to move beyond colors and sides.

It no longer works for them to mud sling one another. The approach should be changed, Somrak said. If we do not unite, we cant fight the powers that be.

Conflicted Visions Again exhibition runs until August 23. It opens everyday except Monday from 4pm to 10pm at WTF Gallery and Caf, Sukhumvit 51. Call 02-662-6246 for details.

Read more:

Art Exhibit Hits Back at Censorship, Abductions of Dissidents - Khaosod English

Disney has recently surprised fans by posting a cup without censorship wonder the film X-Men: Days of Future Past on its streaming service popular, Disney +.

The film, although not on the same level as the average of its image of Quentin Tarantino or Martin Scorsese, there are a number of things that are not particularly adapted to the eyes and ears of children. It is, for example, a scene in which the actor of Wolverine from Hugh Jackman shows part of her naked body, as well as at least a use-case for the pump-F.

If this court was transmitted to another streaming service, it would hardly be news. However, because Disney is proud of its identity, of the family of the brand, this decision has surprised many people. One of them was the actor of Deadpool Ryan Reynolds who, commenting on one of the posts Instagram of Jackman, has expressed the hope that their own movies in the vulgar Merc with a Mouth would be the next step.

Of course, the two Dead Pool and Deadpool 2 are more graphic, violent, and sometimes obscene that even the entries in the most obscure of the X Men it remains to be seen if the desire of Reynolds will be granted.

Click to enlarge

In terms of Disney, they seem to be permanently out of your comfort zone recently, especially due to the strict censorship that has been imposed in the past. When the company has acquired the film Splashfor example , it hired a team of artists CGI to cover the buttocks of a character with his hair. In the same way, Disney has leaked a couple of pumps F log Hamilton.

The study has also censored many productions, the leaders who have made changes to the animation films of the golden age Aladdin, The Lion king and The Little Mermaid.

Do you think X-Men: Days of Future Past it is worth to censor to begin with? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Cape Town - Another explosive report has thrown UCT into turmoil amid claims of censorship, bullying and threats by the vice-chancellor, Mamokgethi Phakeng, and her executive to muzzle the university Ombud Zetu Makamandela-Mguqulwa.

According to the report, UCT is a campus tormented by fear, with 663 individuals coming forward with complaints about issues related to the university, while 37 related to the alleged abusive conduct of the vice-chancellor (VC) where people felt bullied, silenced, undermined, rebuked and/or treated unfairly.

Makamandela-Mguqulwa told the Sunday Independent that the Office of the Ombud was established in 2010 to provide a safe space where people could air concerns and discuss ways of addressing them. While she has found university leadership receptive to the work, which has had a transformative impact on campus, the mood has changed, and she feels let down by the university council under chairperson Sipho Pityana, which had not acted on the report since March 14.

I report to the council, not the vice-chancellor, but she went to court in her personal capacity to try and stop me from releasing my report to them, said Makamandela-Mguqulwa.

She said the report, which she put up on the ombuds website to ensure transparency, highlights issues around governance by the vice-chancellor up to the council and the roles they play.

If my report is anything to go by, they have failed me. It was working well in the past, well in a sense there have always been some disagreements, but we found ways to resolve them internally during the leadership of former vice-chancellor Dr Max Price, who retired two years ago, without having to attract external interest.

As ombud, I was appointed to highlight what was not working. The office is meant to unearth critical issues and I was led to understand that my work would involve scrutinising even the highest at university.

She said her office operates according to the principles of the International Ombudsman Association, of which she is Africa chairperson.

My role was to shine a light to what does not work, which is what Im paid for. I find it ironic, going back and forth about the report, earlier this year I was invited to Mexico to talk about the senate and the need to report and what to report, yet the council did not act on the report, she said.

This is her second-last report as ombud at UCT before her term ends in December, and Makamandela-Mguqulwa, who has been asked by Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande to assist other institutions set up similar offices, said it is not a good news report for the period July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019.

Two weeks ago, Phakeng took to Twitter to celebrate two years as vice-chancellor.

But the report lifts the lid on a repressive atmosphere on campus in which different views or criticism are not tolerated, including resentment towards the once receptive atmosphere directed towards the ombud.

The scrutiny and feedback no longer seemed welcome, at least from the highest office at UCT.

In this reporting period, it seemed I was not to be trusted. Instead, my office seems to be seen by the VC herself as supporting transgressions and advocating for wrongdoing, she said.

Makamandela-Mguqulwa said a number of work-related complaints reached her office about professional interactions with the VC where people felt bullied, silenced, undermined, rebuked and/or treated unfairly.

Their pain was visible. Some affected bystanders came to express fear and told me how they were impacted by different incidents.

She said according to a quote, UCT Values states: To refrain from speech or conduct that demeans or humiliates others but many of the UCT-based visitors told her that this was not their experience with Phakeng.

They reported that she used words that were experienced as combative and violent - such as fighting in a ring and that she, as the VC, would ultimately win while the other is destined to lose. Knowing this was unfolding, I became increasingly concerned about a number of things, including the bullying policy that the university has not yet finalised, and the myriad UCT communications that speak about UCT being a community, the report said.

Of concern, she said was an occurrence that took place late 2019 and outside this reporting period, but which reflects the executives seeming aim to silence, erase my office or change its mandate.

Drawing from the Terms of Reference of the office, the job description and how the work should be done, I explained my role at UCT. It became apparent the executive did not understand the role of the ombud, that they had not been reading the reports, or they wanted to recreate the role in a manner that did not interfere with academic decisions. I am the first to respect the autonomy of academics to do their work, but when personal motivations lead to unfair processes and outcomes, people complain, and I have to respond.

Negative remarks from the VC about my office concern me. I wonder how these views might impact the universitys capacity to deliver on fair outcomes where her office is involved as well as potential watering down of my effectiveness and the gains of the office over the years, she said.

The task of the ombud is to be a resource for dispute resolution, to protect the interests and rights of the members of the university community from injustices and inefficiencies, delays and complication or unfair application of the rules, interpersonal conflicts and help explain university policies, where appropriate.

In a statement on Sunday morning, the university said the Ombud's report and the issues raised are receiving the attention of the UCT Council.

"This matter was handled by the previous Council, whose term ended on 30 June 2020. The newly constituted Council will be meeting this weekend and will continue the work of the previous Council, including dealing with this matter.

"The matter is a confidential one and it is therefore not appropriate for confidential matters to be discussed outside of the Council processes in the public space. The executive of UCT deeply respect the confidentiality of this process and will also not comment.

"The UCT Council will apply its mind on the matter and will do so holding the interest of the institution and those that work in it at the centre of all of its deliberations," the statement said.

The report is available at here.

Sunday Independent

Excerpt from:

Claims of censorship and bullying at UCT as another explosive report surfaces - IOL