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What is Censorship? Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain individuals, groups or government officials find objectionable or dangerous. (Hawthorne, 1997) Why Use Censorship Censors try to use the power of the state to impose their view of what is truthful and appropriate, or offensive and objectionable, on everyone else. Censors pressure public institutions, like the media, to suppress and remove from public access information they judge inappropriate or dangerous, so that no one else has the chance to read or view the material and make up their own minds about it. The censor wants to prejudge materials for everyone. (Hawthorne, 1997) In regards to the war in Iraq, censorship may be used to misrepresent the real situation by censoring the reality to mislead people, sometimes to make foes look like friends. Media Censorship in Iraq Does the media have a hidden agenda? Why do the media censor what it censors? There are many reasons for this, in an article titled “Murdoch's war on truth in war reporting” (Kingston, 2003). The article covers several aspects of the topic censorship in media in regards to the Iraqi war. 'Murdoch’s war on truth in war reporting' (Kingston, 2003) uncovers dirty tricks by Murdoch to win support of the US government. It shows how the government and people with power can exaggerate the truth and make people believe what they want to believe. An example of this power was the article, “KILLING ROOM – Coalition forces reveal Saddam’s torture terror”, this is from the front page of The Daily Telegraph (Kingston, 2003). The lines within the article contained “The depraved brutality of Saddam’s regime was revealed British allies uncovered an enormous charnel house containing the remains of hundreds of Saddam’s torture victims” (Kingston, 2003).
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