After five days in detention, Turkish cartoonist Musa Kart and eight of his colleagues at Cumhuriyet newspaper were formally arrested and charged with supporting Kurdish militants and the Gulenist movement on Saturday. They are expected to remain in jail until…
Category: International
Turkish Cartoonist Musa Kart Arrested with Newspaper Colleagues
Political cartoonist Musa Kart was among more than a dozen staff members arrested in yet another raid on a Turkish media outlet yesterday, the latest development in a government crackdown on the press following a failed coup attempt by some…
Breast Cancer Self-Exam Video Censored on Facebook
Even health education isn’t safe from Facebook’s arbitrary nudity policy. The Swedish Cancer Society, Cancerfonden, ran into trouble with the social media giant earlier this month when they posted an animated breast cancer awareness video. It was taken down due to…
Thai Authorities Crack Down on Royal Critics Online and Abroad
Thai authorities are scrambling to quash any perceived insult to their late King Bhumibol Adulyadej following his death on October 13, going so far as to scrub unfavorable results from Google services including the main search engine and YouTube. They…
Serbian Cartoonist Suspects Government Pressure Led to Contract Cancellation
A longtime editorial cartoonist for the Serbian daily newspaper Politika is airing his suspicion that the recent cancellation of his contract came about under pressure from Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic or other government officials. After a statement of denial from…
Burmese Artists Explore Freedom of Expression
Although 2012 saw the abolition of pre-publication censorship in Burma, many still feel the influence of the decades-long political climate that silenced artists and closed bookstores. A recent set of interviews by DVB demonstrates that a new wave of Burmese artists aren’t…
Zunar Barred from Leaving Malaysia
The Malaysian government’s censorship campaign against political cartoonist Zunar entered a new phase today: when he attempted to catch a flight to Singapore for a public forum, he discovered that he’s been barred from leaving the country on direct orders…
Even Dictionaries Aren’t Safe From Censorship in China
The absurd lengths required to maintain censorship were once again illustrated this week, this time by numerous Chinese consumers who noted that their government routinely “edits” English-language dictionaries before they’re sold, specifically by covering up or otherwise eliding the entry…
Singapore Bookstore Chain Pulls Webcomic After Parent Complaint
In response to a single complaint on Facebook, a Singapore-based bookstore chain has reportedly removed collected editions of the Malaysian webcomic Bro, Don’t Like That La, Bro by Ernest Ng from its stores. Even though the books bear a self-imposed…
Kurdish Children’s Network Latest Victim of Turkey Media Crackdown
A TV network that airs cartoons and children’s shows in Kurdish is among the latest group of media outlets shut down by the Turkish government, causing consternation and outrage among viewers. Zarok TV (Kid TV) was the only Kurdish-language children’s…