WikiLeaks and the Censorship of News Media in the U.S.

• Asa HilmerssonRamapo College of New Jersey
•  PDF
Published
Jun 6, 2018

Abstract

Throughout history media have been censored or obscured in different ways which seem to fit the dominant ideology or ruling regime. As William Powers (1995) from The Washington Post said: “the Nazis were censored, Big Brother was a censor, and nightmare regimes such as China have censors.” Americans, however, have worked hard to believe that they live in a free world where every voice is heard. Constantly reminded of the existence of censorship around the world and in history, Americans rarely expect or look for it within their own society because, as Powers writes, “None of that [censorship] for us. This is America” (para. 3). This paper challenges this assumption through an examination the emergence of WikiLeaks -- and the censorship exercised against this organization within the United States. By looking at how WikiLeaks has been portrayed in American mainstream media compared to alternative media sources and analyzing the differences in coverage, the research for this paper suggests that the freedom of speech so cherished by Americans may be more of an illusion than generally accepted: that there are institutions with greater power which may carry more weight than the truth in making decisions that affect that public interest. These institutions also directly and indirectly control mainstream media sources and therefore can also decide who the public will see in a positive light and or more negatively. This paper will also distinguish if there are any similarities between the censorship of WikiLeaks to the censorship of “the nightmare regime” China. 

Faculty Mentor: Pat Keeton

http://metamorphosis.coplac.org/index.php/metamorphosis/article/view/108