The People’s Republic of China possesses the most sophisticated online censorship regime in the world today. It filters out content based on both substance and source, draining the public discourse of contentious political topics, while nudging netizens toward the walled gardens of domestic online platforms. It limits what people can know about the world around them and what they can communicate to others. It inculcates a habit of self-censorship that can become reflexive and unconscious.
ChinaFile will create a thoroughly-researched, evidence-based overview of the current state of censorship tactics, techniques, and procedures in China. We aim to offer a nuanced, comprehensive update to the outdated mental models many of us retain about censorship in China. The modular end product will include both high-level analysis as well as technical details, allowing readers—be they policymakers, journalists, researchers, or laypersons seeking to understand how censorship gets implemented in the P.R.C.—to engage with the material most germane to them.
