"The recent upsurge in censorship is a global phenomenon taking many forms across the media spectrum as well as in schools, universities and public spaces. Physical assaults against and legal restrictions on journalists, writers, intellectuals, scholars, artists and students are on the rise in a number of countries. Writers and scholars have been jailed. Publications and websites have been closed. Political elites and their allies have seized control over academic institutions of all kinds. Whole topics-queer sexuality, gender identity, critical race theory, state violence and militarism, government corruption, financial crimes, environmental degradation-have been excluded from public discourse either by governing elites or powerful corporations. Censorship, Digital Media and the Global Crackdown on Freedom of Expression gathers a series of experts to document, analyze and evaluate the contemporary phenomenon of censorship in digital spaces as well as in print, visual and legacy media. It details the many places and situations where freedom of speech and expression are currently under attack, both on and off-line, in the United States and around the world. It examines the methods and tactics of censorship used by governments, businesses and pressure groups to shut down expression they disdain. We argue that censorship and the loss of free speech is part of a growing anti-democratic movement with grave implications for civil society, human rights and global democracy. Ultimately, with the suppression of dialogue and discourse, fact and documentation, witness and evaluation, the world becomes a much more dangerous place, driven by misinformation and false narratives in counties subject to human rights abuses, and much more. With the incarceration of journalist and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as the world watches, exposing government corruption and brutality has become far more dangerous. Journalists continue to be penalized, incarcerated and killed. From the simple dissemination of information to the suppression of educational materials, and the prosecution of individuals for speech and expression, public discourse has become far more dangerous. For example, in Eastern Europe, the banning of programs in Gender Studies has criminalized education, and in Russia women face prison for disseminating images of body positivity that include drawings of vaginas. In Hungary, artists and playwrights are under attack. Dictators around the globe have shut down, monopolized and otherwise instituted measures to control information, as they lie and mislead their own citizens. India, Egypt, Brazil and Turkey are notable for their attacks on universities, the internet, the news media, social media and civil liberties. This volume also addressed the ways in which critical media literacy and activists can respond to the global crackdown. It investigates the complications brought about by media convergence in the 21st century. We argue that allowing high-tech surveillance and censorship of the internet carries with it far too many negative consequences for freedom of expression and that in many cases, measures attempting to halt fake news as currently formulated will lead inevitably to more censorship. We propose policy alternatives; from economic restructuring of media, to global agreements that cover freedom of the press, to educational strategies aimed at creating a vibrant public citizenry able to take on the challenges of preserving global freedom of expression"-- Provided by publisher.