Could I be a victim of censorship?

[NihiloZero]

(tl;dr -- How could censorship be coordinated in the modern age, who would the targets be, and how could such attacks on freedom be adequately identified and defended against?)

I'm a bit leery about posting this as many people will never believe that anything like systematic censorship could ever occur in the USA. But history shows that such things have happened in the past and I can't help but to keep an eye out for such instances in the present. I'll detail the basis of my worries momentarily, but I'd like humbly present my modest credentials as a potential target before that.

With my nom de plume, Nihilo Zero (which I use ubiquitously), I generally write about matters of environmental degradation, state oppression, and corporate malfeasance. And while I know this isn't the most unique thing in the world, I've had top ranked articles (in terms of google search result positions) for "G20 Protest," and "RNC Protest," while those events were occurring. I defend the protests and even put the rowdiest elements in a positive juxtaposition with the highly destructive system overall. I also write obligatory pieces against the wars and the prison-industrial complex. I try to push the envelope and try to encourage general revolutionary activity (believe it or not).

Recently, I wrote a piece entitled "The Oil Spill Disaster & Fundamental Flaws of the Overall System" (which plays a central role in my current concerns). And again... while this is not exceptionally unique (in itself) for a blogging hobbyist and armchair activist, I want to point out my long-term consistency in terms of subject matter.

So, now, I'm not asking you here to agree with my politics, or even to believe that they are fundamentally challenging the system. However... is it possible to entertain the thought that some of those in power may feel differently and consequently even use their power for petty purposes of censorship? It seems to me that anyone who would doubt the pettiness, corruption, and abuse of power by the government is actually deluding themselves -- and they obviously don't have a good grasp of history. And at what point would any particular government agencies abuse their potential power of censorship (if they thought they could get away with it and/or that nobody would even care)? How would anyone even find out, and how could they prove it if such things started to occur -- perhaps these are the key questions.

My first mild concern popped up when I was trying to post my most recent article to google groups (which I do, out of old habit, for both historical posterity and for another backlink to my blog). While it seemed to have processed my post without a hitch, after some time my article never actually appeared on any of the five forums I was trying to post on. These were not moderated groups and I did not attempt to cross-post to too many. I was informed that my post was successfully submitted, but it never actually appeared.

OK, fine... maybe a glitch in the system just needed me to try posting again a few times which, admittedly, I was not inclined to do. But that is only one recent curiosity in regard to the topic at hand.

Today... I did a google search (admitted vanity, perhaps) for "oil spill anarchist" (for which I was achieving the top result just a couple days ago). But this time... none of the previously top links appeared even in the top 100 search results -- and my personal blog post was relegated to the middle of the second page of search results. Now, I don't want to make too much of this, but my article about the oil spill has been keeping it's spot as the headline on news.infoshop.org for five days now (something I consider an honor and a privilege). This article was understandably ranking very high for the search query I made. But even if it could be expected for various reasons to drop from the top search result, why would it drop out of the top 100 so suddenly? And, similarly, the same article appearing at Anarchistnews.org & on Indybay.org also dropped out altogether from the top 100 results -- and Indybay is even a site which is crawled for features to appear in Google News.

OK... so maybe Google Groups got buggy all of a sudden for some reason. And perhaps my articles appearing on preeminent anarchist sites lost rank with age (a few days) across the board. But why would my tiny blog still show up in the search results at all (for "oil spill anarchist") if my article on these relative powerhouses no longer appears?! Maybe it's all for good reason, or maybe Google simply doesn't like my articles. Fine. Ok. Whatever.

But now my Twitter account is also bugging out on me! When I look at my @NihiloZero messages, retweets and mentions which I formerly saw are no longer appearing. And it seems unlikely that several people would un-tweet me simultaneously -- even on the off-chance that I posted something which several people suddenly found questionable. I often get a fair number of retweets and I'm fairly consistent with the subject matter about which I regularly tweet.

I know individually that these things don't mean much, and even taken together as a whole... any claim of censorship might be dubiously premature. And I'm NOT saying definitively that I am certain of any systematic censorship. But I am wondering how possible it is to somehow be blacklisted, to some degree, on modern information networks. I'm wondering how likely it is, how it could be revealed, and what could be done about it if discovered?

These issues may not be of much importance to many proles, but others may recognize that potential attacks on freedom need to be frequently examined and defended against. With all the other forms of corruption occurring today, and with other freedoms under attack, I'd ask you to consider why the first amendment concerning free speech would be an exception and how attacks on that freedom might be coordinated.

I'd also like you to consider who it is that might be most likely censored. I'd suggest that it is not the mainstream academics who are really only stating the obvious (i.e. War bad. Pollution bad. Corporations corrupt.) Those academics are A) not really challenging the system, and B) would be more difficult to censor even if that was desired. And again, while I'm not asking you to actually even agree with my politics... I'd simply point out that, in the 20th century, it was often the obscure anarchists whom the government targeted first and foremost. This was true under the Bolsheviks, during the Spanish civil war, and during the early rise of the Nazi party. So anyone who would ignore this reality does so, potentially, at their own risk.

Nihilo Zero

[MineralMan]

1. Yes. There is a vast conspiracy dedicated to removing everything

you write from the internet. They have not made it to your blog, but they will. It's only a matter of days. They are coming as I speak to take down your blog and end your ability to post.

It's a nefarious conspiracy, indeed. It's everywhere. They will hunt down every anarchistic word you write, delete everything, then go after your eco-feminist statements with the same zeal.

Uh...wait...your blog is still up. What a miracle. Somehow, you have escaped the deleting hordes of those in the conspiracy against you. It is a revolution of anarchy that has saved you. And just in time, too.

:rofl:

[NihiloZero]

4. Do you think anyone is ever censored in America?

In what ways do you think this happens? To whom? And why?

As for the blog and my articles on other sites still appearing... what good is that if they don't show up or if they are pushed to the bottom of the list for reasons beyond relevance?

[MineralMan]

5. Everything is transitory, my anarchist friend.

It is all here today, and gone tomorrow. As are we all. It's a big planet and, without an organization, your output will disappear into the vast ocean of other ideas. It's all gone in a blur. Nobody has to censor you. What you write will disappear on its own. Thus has it always been.

Anarchists of the World! Unite & Organize!

[NihiloZero]

6. So we shouldn't worry about censorship because we are all but dust in the wind?

I don't doubt that my words will fade, sooner rather than later in terms of geological time. Nor do I doubt that censorship of one such as myself might be unnecessary. But what I'm questioning is whether or not those with the ability to censor would be so petty as to ever try and censor anyone for any reason. I don't dispute that they don't need to censor me... but the government and their corporate partners engage in petty wasteful actions all the time.

So I'm trying to figure out how they might try and whom they might try against. And I'm also wondering how such action could be detected and resisted?

If you want to dismiss these questions as irrelevant in the big picture of the universe or for some sort spiritual reason... that may even apply to yourself ever posting on a site like democraticunderground.

[MineralMan]

8. Correct.

The thing about nihilism is:

Nothing begets nothing.
If you wish for nothing, you get nothing.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

We are dust in the wind. As for my own expectations, I do not expect nothing. I expect to make a certain, small impact on the world around me, and have done so.

I am not a nihilist, nor am I an anarchist. I am an activist, who knows that working with others in an organized way actually gets things done. Slowly. Partially, sometimes, but things get done.

You're not being censored by anyone. You just haven't mastered the tricks needed to keep your ideas high on search engine and other listings. Each day, millions of things are posted on the internet. Those things cover the entire range of human thought. Each day, the things written the day before begin their inexorable slide into oblivion, to be lost in the vast collection of writings on the internet.

To expect more is to be hopelessly optimistic. And optimism isn't one of the characteristics of nihilism, as far as I know.

What I do know is that if you write very well, write enough, and use some strategy, your writing can survive for quite some time on the internet. It's not easy. But it's possible. However, almost everything I write or you write will not meet those criteria and will slide into the abyss sooner, rather than later.

Good luck to you. Or do nihilists believe in luck?

[awoke_in_2003]

7. he has not escaped...

we just put him on the back burner for now :)

[POAS]

2. Down the old memory hole! n/t

[proteus_lives]

3. The PTB are determined to destroy you.....

Soon, one of your disciples will betray to the soldiers and you'll be led away.

:tinfoilhat: