Researchers slowly discover censorship doesn’t work

Nobody said wholesale censorship on internet platforms used by billions of people would be easy, and this is something that is now becoming apparent, almost six months into giant social media networks' attempts to tightly control information, and the narrative around the coronavirus pandemic.

But censorship of this magnitude is not seen as a problem in itself; a major headache emerging now for Twitter, Facebook, and others, is that it doesn't actually work. Instead, banning content that has already gained wide exposure means its reach could grow almost exponentially, as the ban itself becomes a news story.

Reports are now recognizing this, treating it as a novel phenomenon (though it's unclear why - censorship is nothing new, and it's well documented that in the pre-internet era authoritarian regimes banned print books and they would quickly become a hot commodity.)

Be that as it may, researchers and analysts quoted are not merely acknowledging the difficulty in effectively suppressing “misinformation,” such as a recent banned video showing the America's Frontline Doctors group promoting the use of the drug hydroxychloroquine.

…