Humor And Graphics Show How China’s Great Firewall Works

Sep 022010
 

The great firewall of China is one of the most comprehensive and innovative online censorship mechanisms in the world.

But how does it work? When Australian officials suggested filtering some internet content a local current affairs/humor television program, The Hungry Beast, used graphics and humor to demonstrate  how people can be shut out from parts of the web. And the best example they could find was in China. 

So if you ever wanted a clear and funny explanation how its done then click on the play button below and all will be revealed courtesy of Australia’s public broadcaster the ABC.

South Korea Pulls Out The Big Guns In Twitter Battle With North Korea

Aug 272010
 

South Korea has invoked its harsh state security legislation to stop citizens accessing North Korea’s attempts to use twitter in the propaganda war between the divided nations.

 It started Aug. 12, when North Korea opened a Twitter account offering its own unique view on the world to those inclined to sign up. And sign up they did. Thousands of South Koreans tried to access the feed.

But this week the The South threatened jail to those of its citizens who felt inclined to tune into the North’s experiment with cyberspace. The North, in turn, engineered ways to bypass some of the censorship.

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From Bad Art to Social Media – North Korea Opens Twitter And YouTube Accounts

Aug 192010
 

North Korea’s propaganda is often promoted through poster art reminiscent of the China under Mao or Europe’s former communist bloc but now the reclusive regime is turning to social media to put forward their views.

The poster on the right is typical of North Korea’s communications. It shows a giant fist smashing a South Korean warship. It was published in the wake of the torpedoing of a South Korean mine sweeper earlier this year. 

 North Korea  denied sinking  the ship according to RFA reports but the regime  circulated the poster that appeared to brag about the incident in which 46 people died.

The caption reads: “We will smash you with a single blow if you attack!”.

But now according to media reports such information will be available online though not to the North Korean people who have virtually no internet access themselves and are banned from using twitter, YouTube and similar sites.

The North’s government-run Uriminzokkiri website posted an announcement last week saying it has a Twitter account and a YouTube channel. So far the content appears to just be the new technology version of the old style blunt and less than subtle traditional poster art. 

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Chinese Crackdown On Video Sharing Websites

Dec 082009
 

Chinese regulators ordered shut hundreds of video sharing websites in a new push to control Internet content, reports said Monday.

The AFP wire service quoted the China Business News as saying ”several well-known websites were either closed down or ordered to delete all links to downloaded films or TV series in the past week.”

Most content offered by peer-to-peer websites violates copyright and is not “above board”, the business daily said.

AFP said popular sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have been blocked in China as authorities try to tighten the flow of information, especially following unrest in Xinjiang this year and Tibet last year.