Participatory Censorship in Authoritarian Regimes
Contrary to the conventional top-down view of government censorship, ordinary citizens in authoritarian regimes frequently participate in censorship by reporting online content. This study theorizes a bottom-up perspective of censorship in authoritarian regimes and analyzes its prevalence and consequences on public opinion toward censorship in the case of China. I argue that public participation increases support for censorship by diminishing the government's responsibility and strengthening citizens' perceived empowerment. Using an original survey in China, I show that more than half of the respondents have flagged content online and such participation is positively correlated with support for government censorship. I further conduct an experiment embedded in custom-engineered, simulated social media pages. Consistent with my theory, respondents that are encouraged to report simulated posts display significantly higher support for government censorship. My study highlights the role of ordinary citizens in facilitating authoritarian control and the normalization of repressive policies such as censorship
Year of publication: |
2022
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Authors: | Yang, Tony Zirui |
Publisher: |
[S.l.] : SSRN |
Subject: | Autoritarismus | Authoritarianism | Partizipation | Participation | Bürgerbeteiligung | Public participation | Meinungsfreiheit | Freedom of expression | Politisches System | Political system |
Saved in:
freely available
Extent: | 1 Online-Ressource (33 p) |
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Type of publication: | Book / Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Notes: | Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments August 8, 2022 erstellt |
Other identifiers: | 10.2139/ssrn.4167554 [DOI] |
Source: | ECONIS - Online Catalogue of the ZBW |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10014080223
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