by Joseph Jankowski
March 28, 2016
from
PlanetFreeWill Website
Joseph Jankowski is
a contributor for
Planet Free
Will.com.
His works have been
published by recognizable alternative news sites like
GlobalResearch.ca, ActivistPost.com and Intellihub.com. |
A new study has found that the knowledge of widespread government
surveillance causes people to self-censor dissenting opinions
online.
The study (Under
Surveillance - Examining Facebook's Spiral of Silence Effects in the
Wake of NSA Internet Monitoring), published in
Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, studied the effects
on the speech of its subjects after they had been reminded of
government surveillance.
Frighteningly, the majority of participants reacted by suppressing
opinions that they perceived to be unpopular.
From the
Washington Post:
The "spiral
of silence" is a well-researched phenomenon in which
people suppress unpopular opinions to fit in and avoid social
isolation.
It has been looked at in the context
of
social media and the
echo-chamber effect, in which we tailor our opinions to fit the
online activity of our
Facebook and Twitter friends.
But this study adds a new layer by
explicitly examining how government surveillance affects
self-censorship.
Participants in the study were first surveyed about their
political beliefs, personality traits and online activity, to
create a psychological profile for each person.
A random sample group was then
subtly reminded of government surveillance, followed by everyone
in the study being shown a neutral, fictional headline stating
that U.S. airstrikes had targeted the Islamic State in Iraq.
Subjects were then asked a series of
questions about their attitudes toward the hypothetical news
event, such as how they think most Americans would feel about it
and whether they would publicly voice their opinion on the
topic.
The majority of those primed with
surveillance information were less likely to speak out about
their more nonconformist ideas, including those assessed as less
likely to self-censor based on their psychological profile.
Elizabeth Stoycheff, lead
researcher of the study, finds the results very disturbing.
"So many people I've talked with say
they don't care about online surveillance because they don't
break any laws and don't have anything to hide. And I find these
rationales deeply troubling," she told the Washington Post.
According to Stoycheff, it is those who
hold the "nothing to hide" belief that are most likely to
self-censor.
"The fact that the 'nothing to hide'
individuals experience a significant chilling effect speaks to
how online privacy is much bigger than the mere lawfulness of
one's actions.
It's about a fundamental human right
to have control over one's self-presentation and image, in
private, and now, in search histories and metadata," Stoycheff
said.
"It concerns me that surveillance seems to be enabling a culture
of self-censorship because it further disenfranchises minority
groups. And it is difficult to protect and extend the rights of
these vulnerable populations when their voices aren't part of
the discussion. Democracy thrives on a diversity of ideas, and
self-censorship starves it," she continued.
"Shifting this discussion so
Americans understand that civil liberties are just as
fundamental to the country's long-term well-being as thwarting
very rare terrorist attacks is a necessary move."
What this study shows is that
government surveillance is the lubricant covering the slope that
leads down to tyranny.
Its chilling effect is only going to
result in a more rapid depletion of liberty.
If the American people are too afraid to speak their minds, and
express what their guts are telling them is right, how can the
liberties the Bill of Rights and Constitution seek to protect exist
within society?
I do not want to live in
a world
where everything I do and say
is recorded.
That is not something
I am willing to support
or live under.
Edward Snowden
|