Censorship for rewriting history

#里茲螞蟻批判性思考寫作專欄 #Alex專欄 #外師每週精選閱讀 
 
When examining biased media and government propaganda, it is also essential to consider whether or not the news service itself is a government mouthpiece, and also what degree of free press exists, if any, in the nation being reported on. Blanket censorship of the media is just as powerful a tool as propaganda in controlling the narrative to attempt to rewrite history in the way the government wants it to be retold. Thus, it is common to see both propaganda and censorship combined when used to cover up government ineptitude, corruption and malfeasance.

From “disappearing” citizen journalists to casting doubt over the origins of COVID-19, this article catalogues just some of the extensive efforts that the Chinese government went to, and are still struggling to carry out, while trying to save face in the eyes of their own people after their initial attempts to suppress all information about the virus failed. Now that they have been exposed trying to deceive everyone, downplaying that the virus was dangerous, and even attempting to discredit the people who wanted to warn the world about it, it is bizarre that the Chinese government continue to double down on their disinformation campaign. As a result, they are fighting a losing battle against the international backlash that has inevitably resulted now that (at last count) almost a hundred million people have been infected and almost two million people have died worldwide because of the virus from Wuhan, not to mention economies and whole countries being forced to shut down, plus the untold financial and psychological damage still being done.

Luckily, as the authors demonstrate, many citizens are not completely blind to the inaccuracies, hypocrisies and contradictions that are so pervasive in most propaganda and censorship efforts. Who knows how many have had the wool pulled over their eyes though? The case of the citizen journalist Li Zehua is particularly revealing, because it appears to demonstrate a common tactic used by the Chinese government of forcing confessions, often in conjunction with a public show trial, in an effort to convince other citizens that people who do not toe the party line will be forced to repent for their sins against the state. Thankfully, much of the world is free, open and honest enough to be able to remember what actually happened to the unfortunate victims of this horrendous man-made disaster.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-55355401
 
===我是分隔線===
 
💡這個專欄目的是訓練同學聰明閱讀。
 
上面的貼文內容是我們的實力派外師Alex，針對每週一篇英文文章閱讀後，親自寫出的批判性思考文（不是copy & paste的東西啊）。旨在讓同學知道如何用不同的角度來讀文章。你可以選擇先讀Alex寫的批判文，也可以選擇先讀本次的英文文章連結，但最好兩處都要閱讀才能達到最好的效果。
 
這是個訓練批判性思考的好機會，希望同學不要被文字牽著鼻子走，在閱讀時可以多思考。大家可以善用這個寶貴的資源～
 
舊文連結：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/alex-column
 
Alex是我們的御用老師，每週都會幫梅姨、托托、慕華上英文課。目前星期一晚上有開一班 #里茲螞蟻外師應用英文課程 ，程度高級，充滿知識性與深度。有開放單次付費上課。若你想學習用英文來深度探討各項主題，check it out！
 
Alex老師的應用英文課：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/applied-english.html