Cultura vS Censura

Imagine this: it’s the day before the National elections. The air is electric with anticipation, and polling shows it to be an extremely close race. No matter who wins, protests are likely  and  you worry about the potential for violence. Things feel so divided these days, and people are so angry. You reach for your cell phone, to remind your mother to remember to vote and to be sure to stay safe. However, Whatsapp has stopped working and your messages aren’t going through. You think it’s perhaps a network problem, so you check another messaging service. It’s not working either. You can’t access the main news sites you use and you think… could they really be cutting off access to the internet???! How can I do my job? How can I get the news and important information? How do I talk to my mother? 

This is the reality for millions of people who live in countries where the Government has shut down the internet as a mechanism for control. In 2022 alone, Access Now recorded 187 internet shutdowns in 35 countries. These shutdowns take many forms- they can target an entire country, specific regions or municipalities. They can take out entire networks or they can block certain popular social media platforms and communication services. Governments can even deliberately slow the speeds of the internet so that it just looks like you have a bad connection. 

Governments shut down the internet during elections, protests, unrest and conflict.  Sometimes they even shut off the internet in an entire region to prevent cheating on exams. They often claim shutdowns are used to stop the spread of hate speech, curtail violence, or prevent disinformation- however, there is no proof that shutdowns are effective to control these problems. In fact, lack of information often exacerbates violence, uncertainty and rumor. These shutdowns often happen during moments when the Government seeks to avoid international scrutiny about human rights violations and problems with election integrity. In India alone, last year there were 84 times the government shutdown the internet. In Ethiopia, the people who live in the Tigray region have endured an entire communications blackout for more than two years, unable to communicate at all with anyone outside. 

Enter ‘CULTURE VS. CENSORSHIP —here we seek to bring you more than facts and figures about internet censorship. We want you to think about what it might feel like, in a political moment of chaos or uncertainty, to be cut off from the internet. We’re so accustomed to constant connections with our devices and our networks, it might be hard to imagine what you would do in this scenario: what would an internet shutdown mean for your community and your country? What kinds of feelings of fear, uncertainty and anger you might feel? We also want to showcase the art and collaborations between creatives and activists that demonstrates the courage and determination of individuals and communities who refuse to be silenced and continue to fight back to #keepiton. 

This show features works from four very different countries- India, Tanzania, Bangladesh, and Senegal- that have experienced very different kinds of internet shutdowns. India has been the country with the highest number of internet shutdowns for five years, with censorship concentrated in certain regions and few shutdowns in other parts of the country- widening existing divides. Tanzania experienced its first internet shutdown around the Presidential elections in 2020, and now people wonder if the new President will use shutdowns as well during the next elections. Bangladesh has experienced at least 17 shutdowns since 2012, and access has been deprived in refugee camps, during protests, and moments of instability or violence. Senegal, considered one of the most stable democracies in Africa, has seen recent worrying signs of creeping authoritarianism and experienced its first short internet shutdown in 2021 around protests against the arrest of a main opposition leader. 

Internews’ OPTIMA project has worked with civil society organizations in each of these countries to better understand what activists and journalists need to prepare for, prevent, and resist shutdowns. As part of this project, we wanted to understand the communication challenges when it comes to pushing back against shutdowns and to better understand how we could build public awareness and engage new communities through creative formats to talk about internet shutdowns. This show features some of these works- including paintings, illustrations, comics, music videos, street performances, and guerilla art-activism campaigns. We encourage you to explore these works and ask questions.