The American government and social media companies are censoring the Internet, under the guise of combating “fake news” and “Russian meddling.” The real aim is to suppress and criminalize the growth of domestic opposition to the policies of the ruling class.
The first three months of 2018 have seen an immense escalation of class conflict around the world. In the United States, the West Virginia teachers strike is being followed by demands from teachers in other cities and states for strike action. Protests of student youth against school shootings have expressed widespread hostility to war and social inequality.
In the media, there are increasingly explicit calls for urgent measures to suppress “radicalizing” and “divisive” views. Google’s move last April to manipulate its search results to blacklist left-wing, socialist and antiwar sites has been followed by changes to Facebook’s news feed aimed at prioritizing “authoritative content.”
The World Socialist Web Site has been a principal target of the government and corporate censors. As it marks the 20th anniversary of continual daily publication, the WSWS is leading the fight against the greatest attack on free speech since the Second World War.