"Censorship and shadow banning are big topics in the social media space right now and Steem is a pioneer in developing a decentralized/alternative platform space."

That is a lot of bull. When it comes to censorship, Steemit is not much different and no better that any other forum platform. On Steemit, if any member with a higher reputation than the original poster decides that "he" does not like the post's contents for "any" reason, he simply down-votes it, and in so doing hides the post. That is censorship in the truest sense of the word, regardless of what some Steemit supporters may wish to call it.