Censorship war: How political polarization is threatened by children's literature

Censorship war: How political polarization is threatened by children's literature

A worrying trend in the United States has recently become apparent: political polarization influences the protection of children from inappropriate content in literature and film. Researchers at Cornell University report that the censorship of political content has increased significantly. While the focus used to be mainly due to the prevention of violent and sexual content, the priorities of the censorship authorities have shifted.

It is particularly questionable that both the supporters of the left and right -wing political content perceive as a threat. Michael Macy, a sociologist, compares the situation with a "weapon in cultural struggle". The American Library Association documented almost 1,300 censorship requests in 2022 - the highest number in over two decades. Preliminary data for 2023 indicate that the trend continues to increase.

Censorship and their consequences

In recent years, censorship in the field of children's literature has changed significantly. Left -wing critics reveal progressive books as racist, sexist or homophobic, while right -wing literary works attack, promote diversity or violate heteronormativity. Both sides are surprisingly agreed on their support for the censorship of children's books that do not match their values.

The issue of censorship is further fueled by the increase in social media. These platforms have now become a catalyst for radicalization processes. According to experts, digital communication channels are crucial for the distribution of extremist content and promoting radicalization, especially among young people. A close connection between online and offline events is often observed, so that a clear separation is hardly possible.

Radicalization in the digital age

The Internet has proven to be a breeding ground for spreading extremist ideologies. Extremist actors cleverly use digital platforms to spread their messages and win new supporters. Videos, songs and social media content are popular formats to convey ideological content. The difficulty is that young people often cannot distinguish between entertainment and extremist propaganda.

This could say that the Internet not only simplifies the spread of information, but also accelerates radicalization processes by enabling users to consume content without consuming any filter systems. A large number of young users have already had experience with hate comments. This not only has a negative impact on social cohesion, but also leads to polarization within society.

In addition, large platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Tiktok have to moderate their content in order to contain extremist communication. Nevertheless, there are differences in moderation, and many smaller, alternative platforms allow the unhindered spread of extremist content. These dynamics show how important active and responsible action is in digital space to protect the youth from dangerous ideologies.

The challenges in the regulation of online hate speech are considerable. Regulations such as the network enforcement law (NetzDG) ​​in Germany and the EU-wide regulations such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) were introduced to counteract this. However, many critics fear that such regulations could undermine the right to freedom of expression. The balance between protection and freedom must be found like a narrow line.

In a world in which digital communication and political extremism are often interwoven, the question remains: How can we protect children and young people as best as possible and at the same time respect their freedom to express expression? The answers to this are diverse and require a dialogue between society, educational institutions and digital platforms.