Name: Alexander Koh

Class: 13S02

Date: 27 July 2013

With the development of the new media, a deluge of information is constantly being fed to us, not only that, due to its ubiquitous nature, it results in the world constantly facing a dilemma regarding censorship. While too much censorship results in removal of free speech, along with the lack of credibility of the media, too little censorship results in a free reign on the content being published, which may cause all hell to break loose. Censorship would be the suppression of unacceptable content from the media, which usually involves the government or the press itself. Censorship includes removal of contentious or offensive materials, along with photographs which may incite hatred between different groups or community. As such, it is my personal belief that censorship is necessary, especially in the epoch of the new media.

It is imperative that censorship is required, especially in this new media era. New media can come in many forms, such as that of blogs, websites and it has even promoted the development of citizen journalism, as new media allows for information to be transmitted very quickly, and is very interactive, it is a stark contrast to that of traditional or print media. Traditional or print media is usually managed by large media conglomerates, such as the Singapore Press Holdings, and usually has a set of rules or regulations for writers to follow when writing articles. While new media has allowed for the rapid transmission of information, it may result in certain detrimental effects, such as rouge journalist posting unreliable and inaccurate information, thereby undermining the professional journalist code of ethics for reporting news. Not only that, by making use of the new media, citizens easily post hate-inciting comments and write offensive articles, through the usage of blogs or videos. As such, this is where censorship comes in, especially in this new media era. By having
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Name: Alexander Koh

Class: 13S02

Date: 27 July 2013

watchdogs organizations such as the Media Development Authority (MDA) in Singapore, it allows for comments and articles which could offend others to be regulated and moderated. Therefore, censorship in such a case actually protects the interest of the general public and state of welfare of a country, since with censorship, it allows for healthy discussion, instead of inciting hate.

While some people who disagree with censorship of the new media may claim that censorship limits how much an individual is able to express himself, and that it eliminates freedom of speech and expression. With censorship, it result in people having their views stifled, with no methods of expressing themselves. This subsequently results in people becoming frustrated and being guarded of their views, since what they might wish to express, could be considered a taboo in the eyes of the censors. While this argument might be valid, however we should not forget that censorship usually only applies to extremist views which are not ideal and could be detrimental to our society. If such views were to be openly shared across the society, it could spark a outrage between different races, which might lead to civil unrest. There has also been cases where the new media has led to the worsening of certain issues, such as the Arab Spring movements, where the protests broke out due to the help it received from the social media. Therefore, censorship in such cases could actually help safeguard the well-being of a society due to moderation of views, rather than inciting hate, censorship aids in ensuring the societys peace and harmony.

Name: Alexander Koh

Class: 13S02

Date: 27 July 2013

In addition, terrorism which is spread by ideological beliefs could be spread by the new media, causing censorship to play a large role in stopping the spread of such ideology. The new media could serve as a hub for terrorists to spread propaganda messages which could help raise moral and expand the network of the terrorists contacts and supporters. Furthermore, many large terrorist organisation has made use of some form of the new media to spread their belief, such as Al-Qaedas media arm, As-Sahab, is among one of the most prominent. If no form of censorship takes place, it could result in the widespread and global catastrophe of war or constantly bombings taking place. Censorship cuts and clamps down hard on proliferation trends of terrorist affiliated sites which have been promulgated. Hence, it is a definite necessity in this case, since it not only keeps civil unrest in check, but also ensures a nations peace, along with international peace.

Furthermore, censorship is necessary because of how easily the general populace take what the media says as the truth. As much as we would like to believe that the general public take everything they hear from the media with a pinch of salt, it is fallacious to assume so. In most cases, not everyone might be able to take criticism to their personal beliefs, race or religion, it could result in racial or religious tensions arising between different groups or organisation. For instance, the cartoon of Prophet Mohammed featured in a Danish newspaper, which resulted in a worldwide protest. And yet, because people tend to believe everything which arises from the new media, without censorship to suppress offensive materials produced by the new

Name: Alexander Koh

Class: 13S02

Date: 27 July 2013

media, riots and violence could break loose. Therefore, it is in fact necessary for censorship to clamp down on what the media says.

Not only that, due to how easy it is for the new media to have information shared across the entire globe, at times, the viewpoints of the journalists which reside in their countries, could be considered as an expression of their countrys views. Therefore, it is imperative and crucial for the government to intervene and ensure that such journalists are kept in check, and do not exacerbate issues with regards to national peace. Just like how some decisions which might not be popular across a nation, the government should nevertheless place their countrys well -being over that of an individuals freedom of speech. Hence, the government should disallow dangerous viewpoints to be made in the new media, which is open for the entire world to interpret. Censorship also ensures that the governments grip on power, without censoring extremist criticism to the government reported by the new media, it could result in the governments rule being questioned. When a governments rule is questioned, it could result in civil wars or civil unrest, just like the recent Cambodians civil war. Without a firm control on their country, a government could begin to lose its power and authority, therefore it is imperative that censorship is present in the age of the new media, to ensure that the government does not lose their grip on their nation.

In conclusion, while the many detrimental effects of censorship is undeniable, we should never forget that censorship keeps extremist beliefs at bay, preventing the destabilisation and breaking down of a nation. In Medio Stat Virtus In moderation
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Name: Alexander Koh

Class: 13S02

Date: 27 July 2013

stands virtue the best way to act is not through the extremist mind, therefore we should strike a balance between censorship and freedom of speech. While the censorship stifles a persons personal view on a subject or topic, we should never forget that societal interest comes first. Hence, my personal opinion on the necessity of censorship in the age of the new media would be that it is arguably necessary.