In the current highly charged political climate, there are allegations that some Mods and Seun are colluding with a party to the detriment of the other by censoring contents of posts. In a different thread, Seun said:

I want change as much as anyone else. I would have voted for Ribadu last time if he had any chance of winning. What do I hate, then? I hate the manipulation of our platform using propaganda, lies, and bullying by people who have been paid to promote one party over the other.

His argument certainly has merits and he believes he's doing it for the greater good. My guess is that time will tell whether or not he's right. To me, Nairaland is but one source of information and is wholly a private endeavor and as such, he can do whatever he thinks is best for Nairaland.

However, in general, should the government be censoring the media? Are we better off having viable opposition parties? Should we censor dissenting opinions because they do not align with our own? Is there anything that we can learn from the other side?

Here are some pros and cons I found on a website:

Pros
1. Censorship does not mean restraining the expression of people, in fact it is imposed to protect them.
2. Censorship of pornographic material prevents the minds of children from becoming corrupt.
3. Religious conflicts are avoided by the censorship of material deemed insulting or offensive to a particular religious community.
4. Censorship is necessary to preserve the secrets of a nation.
5. It is useful in hiding sensitive military information, which could be used by an enemy state.
6. Scenes of people consuming alcohol or smoking influence people to copy them. Hence, censoring such scenes serves a useful purpose.
7. People may copy dangerous stunts shown on TV or movies. Censorship proves necessary here.
8. Books may be used to portray wrong information about individuals or groups that could incite violence against them. Censorship would definitely prove helpful here.
9. It can be used to prevent politically motivated propaganda.
10. It protects the privacy of people.
11. Plagiarism is prevented.
12. Abusive scenes in movies may offend some people. Censorship prevents that.
13. It protects indigenous cultures from the bad influence of foreign cultures.
14. It prevents the public display of disrespect to any particular individual or community.
15. It prevents companies from spreading inaccurate or grossly exaggerated claims about their products.
16. It prevents spreading of racism.
17. It promotes political correctness.
18. Terrorists are prevented from learning about dangerous technology like the atom bomb.
19. Children are prevented from learning things that could harm them and others.
20. It prevents the ill effects of globalization affecting societies.
21. It shields the morals of society.
22. It restrains vulgarity and obscenity.
23. The surfeit of violence in movies and TV is restricted by it.
24. It prevents violence by stopping the broadcast of events, which might trigger it.
25. During an emergency like a terrorist attack, it helps in controlling panic and rumors throughout the nation. This was observed in India in 2008 when terrorists attacked The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai.



Cons
1. Censorship denies access to vital information.
2. If sex-related topics are completely censored it becomes difficult to teach children and teenagers about the dangers of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV/AIDS.
3. Dictators use censorship to promote a flattering image of themselves and for removing any information that goes against them.
4. Freedom of speech is compromised.
5. Religious fundamentalists like the Taliban use them to coerce the population.
6. It encroaches upon the freedom of the press.
7. It prevents the free flow of ideas.
8. It may intrude on the privacy of a person.
9. Withholding of information only leads to ignorance in the society.
10. Censoring of information may lead to a wrong image perceived by the public.
11. It is generally associated with dictatorship.
12. Censorship in books, plays and movies may compromise their entertainment value.
13. Censorship has been misused in the past.
14. It is a force against globalization.
15. It works against creativity.
16. If you hide something from people they will become extra curious about it.
17. It has no place in a truly democratic society.
18. It gives rise to and hides abuse of human rights.
19. It is used to control people.
20. There can be different standards of morals among different societies quite different from the imposed ones by the censorship.
21. It may be used to block legitimate criticism.
22. Governments should not control people. It should be the other way round.
23. Political parties around the world use media censorship for their own benefit. It stifles the opposition, broadcasting only a particular point of view.
24. People have a right to know.
25. Media giants push their own agenda under the pretext of censorship.
26. Censorship is just like a double-edge sword. If used properly, it serves as a valuable weapon. However, it can also be misused. Censorship may have many technical and legal repercussions. Governments and other regulatory institutions must learn to use it judiciously. An absence of censorship might not be a perfect notion, however, it also doesn't mean that the government uses it for its own personal gain by suppressing dissent. Hence, censorship should not be treated as a taboo.

Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-censorship.html


Personally, I think having viable opposition or dissenting views makes us better informed. What are your views?

Here’s an anecdote why censorship is bad: I was for subsidy removal when it was first proposed because it made sense to divert whatever was used to subsidize fuel to other programs that could directly reach the populace instead of enriching the “cabals”.

Well, in the typical Nigerian fashion, news started trickling out about whether or not there’s subsidy, phantom ships, senate hearings, Farouk Lawan’s cap, etc. It soon became clear to me that in Nigeria, when you think you have all the facts, you’re probably barely scratching the surface. It is best to be open-minded and entertain views different from your own because you might just learn of a fact or two that will change your views.

Personally, I do not want my information censored. If someone is filtering my information, it means (1) they want to control what I think, (2) they think they know better, or (3) they think I’m incapable of making up my own mind. Give me access to all the information including misinformation and let me decide whether or not I want to believe it. Misinformation can only serve as truth when the true information is censored; otherwise, someone will speak up that the info is wrong.