censorship

China Censors Totally Awesome Communist Officials Orgy Picture Scandal

Adrian Chen · 08/15/12 02:29PM

Weibo, China's popular Twitter clone, has been in the midst of a summer political scandal that puts Weinergate to shame. Scores of photos of a six-person orgy went viral on Weibo last week, along with rumors that the participants are high-ranking Communist officials. Censors were quick to swoop in, unsurprisingly.

Chinese Stock Market Gives Giant Fuck You to Censors On Anniversary of Tiananmen Square

Adrian Chen · 06/04/12 10:28AM

You know that thing where you're really trying to avoid thinking of an ex but the universe mysteriously conspires to remind you of them at every moment? That happened to the Chinese government today, except with violent repression. The Chinese stock market fell 64.89 points today, the 23rd anniversary of the military crackdown on student protests in Tiananmen Square on June 4th, 1989. 6/4/89. Whoops.

The Reign of the PG-13 Rating: Sanitized, Safe, and Worth Shitloads of Money

Rich Juzwiak · 03/27/12 04:30PM

It's a great time for PG-13. Seven out of the nine films nominated for Best Picture at this year's Oscars were rated PG-13. Eight of the Top 10 grossing films of last year in the U.S. sported that rating. It's become something of a badge of honor: This Means War was edited to qualify (not that it made a difference in its paltry box office take), The Expendables sequel is being tailored to be a PG-13 "barbeque of grand scale ass bashing [that] will not leave anyone hungry" (according to Sly Stallone) and high-profile outrage met the MPAA's decision to slap Lee Hirsch's documentary Bully with an R instead.

David Fincher to India: The Anal Rape Stays in the Picture

Louis Peitzman · 01/28/12 02:51PM


Barring a glossy Bollywood remake — which, honestly, could be kind of fun — India will not be releasing The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. According to The Hollywood Reporter, India's Central Board of Film Certification demanded some pretty big content cuts. To which David Fincher said, "No fucking way." (I doubt he used that language, but when rejecting censorship, it's always fun to throw in an extra swear.)

Twitter Blackout Protest Means Fewer Tweets About Brunch

Louis Peitzman · 01/28/12 09:00AM


If your Twitter timeline is looking a little quieter this morning, it could be as a result of a day-long protest against Twitter's recent announcement that they would be blocking certain tweets in different countries. As it turns out, the concept of free speech and expression differs from nation to nation, and Twitter would rather not facilitate any illegal activity.

How to Photoshop Your Way to a $425,000 Payoff

Lauri Apple · 12/17/11 02:00PM

Former University of Northern Colorado student Tom Mink (right) (ha, just kidding—left!) just received a $425,000 settlement from a bunch of Colorado cities for improperly searching his home and confiscating his computer after he'd created "Junius Puke," the Photoshop at right of UNC finance professor Junius Peake.

The Government's Horrifying Censorship of a Music Blog

Ryan Tate · 12/08/11 06:39PM

More than a year ago, the music blog Dajaz1.com was shut down for supposedly abetting online piracy. The feds gave no warning, no due process, no trial, and kept all supposed court orders under seal. But that's not the even the most fucked up part.

Here's Steve Jobs' Biological Dad, Defending iPhones From Syrian Oppression

Lauri Apple · 12/03/11 12:45PM

Steve Jobs "didn't like what [he] learned" about Abdulfattah John Jandali, his Syrian-American biological dad, and therefore never reestablished a relationship with Jandali before his death in October. But that absence of connection hasn't stopped Jandali from defending his son's products—and, in a sense, his legacy—from the oppressive Syrian government, which has banned iPhones to keep people from filming killings and other atrocities being committed by local authorities.

Facebook Removes Pro-Rape Pages, Kicking and Screaming

Adrian Chen · 11/09/11 04:21PM

Facebook has finally decided to delete gross pro-rape pages that violated its terms of service. All it took was two months, tens of thousands of petition signatures, dozens of negative articles and a massive twitter campaign.