Weibo.com, one of the biggest chinese social media sites starts censoring #IWantFreedomOfSpeech

Yep, as ironic as this sounds, this is the world we're living in right now and why decentralized platforms will become more and more needed in the near future.

Some of the keypoints according to a CNBC article pointed at it having started after Li Wenliang, who was one of the whistleblowers of the coronavirus having died early Friday from the virus. When he tried to warn others about it he was reprimanded by Wuhan police for spreading "illegal and false" information.

The two most popular hashtags on Weibo were about Dr. Li's health and the users were in uproar since they were already fed up with the virus being spread and not handled in time in the first place. Most of the comments were paying respect and condolences to the deceased but some more frustrated users who were already tired of the heavy censorship on the platform started the hashtag #IWantFreedomOfSpeech which quickly got censored. According to the video in the CNBC link above there's hundreds of millions of posts being posted about this incident on Weibo, the moderators must have their hands full.

There's a post right now on trending by @johnvibes talking about what occurred before the death of the doctor and how the platform was going back and forth on their narrative and what they were and weren't censoring. It's a mess.

A screenshot of a search of the hashtag mentioned above on the social media site after the death of the doctor bringing no results.

It seems obvious though why censorship resistance is needed and also why most current centralized platforms, China included, will never opt for true censorship resistance. We here like to complain about downvotes turning our comments into "hidden" ones but compared to real censorship, shadow banning and flat out banning and kicking out users from the platforms and the consequences that may have on someone's life, income and the work they've put into it for years - we really need to take a step back and really think of what the real difference is here.

Btw, did you know Steemit.com is blocked in China?

Now obviously not everything needs to be censorship resistant, the Steem blockchain only stores text and with it links to images, videos, etc but until blockchain tech catches up to truly decentralizing images or should I say video as that's the one with the highest requirement, it will be enough for front-ends to be able to mute and hide content that the majority don't have a problem with being censored. I'm sure I don't need to spell out here what kind of content that might be, and as for the users having uploaded the content in the first place it's up to the hosting companies to delete it and take legal actions against said users. Although as we know even in the current internet we are using it is not that difficult to maintain truly anonymous if you want and if the activity you are involved with requires it.

This is something that is important right now though, you may look at the negatives of it and say that a lot of abusers that do upload illegal things should face the consequences and be able to be traced, and many would agree with you, but on the other hand if this is possible it will mean someone somewhere will want to track you for things you stand for and say in a political or another stance that is not illegal. Here as well, much like when comparing the use of anonymous cryptocurrencies such as Monero and what it enables there will always be people spreading fear saying that it is only used for illegal activity, but my opinion is that the other activity, mainly for your own security might outweigh the illegal things it is used for. Especially during times like these where the enemy is not just those using the currencies to keep their illegal activities hidden, but the government and country you reside in can quickly become your enemy depending on your beliefs and opinions expressed online. Once that happens, if all your value lays in the hands of others, which unless you're holding gold or crypto it usually is, can quickly be taken away or frozen before you can read this sentence to the end.

We're at a sensitive place in time and on the brink of technological dystopia. Even if you don't think cryptocurrencies may have any value or have an important role in this upcoming war. Not diversifying even a little just in case would not be a wise decision, at least before it may be too late to do so - and with that I don't mean the markets having pumped too high but while you still have control over your assets.

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