China Is Censoring Coronavirus Stories. These Citizens Are Fighting Back. | NYT News

"My purpose is to ensure that all information does not disappear or be deleted." They are willing to talk about government censorship of

news

coverage of the new

coronavirus

. They asked to remain anonymous because their actions could put them or their families at risk. But these people are part of this wave of

citizens

who fight against censorship and are working hard to spread information in a country where information censorship is so strict. Accounts or messages like this that call for freedom of expression are quickly removed from the Internet. Or videos like this one, showing people frustrated with life under quarantine, were posted online and deleted shortly after.

But, at least for now, this situation is changing. Every day,

citizens

save and publish this information that governments do not want to be made public. "I started collecting hundreds of screenshots. Later, because the epidemic outbreak was very serious, I thought it was very important to retain this information or collect it systematically. Experts said that they had never seen such a large-scale online movement ". to resist government censorship. "At first I did it myself. Now we are about a hundred people and we constantly translate

news

articles and social media posts that are constantly deleted. Social networks like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have long been gone." Banned in China, but competent.

People on the Internet use technology that allows them to republish censored content on these platforms without being monitored by authorities. They have created image archives, preserving videos like this one showing an overwhelmed hospital, and have also republished personal videos shared by people: some using somewhat unexpected platforms, including Github, a site typically used by programmers. Another taboo that Chinese citizens are defying? They openly demand freedom of expression. And this was caused by the death of Dr. Li Wenliang. He was the original whistleblower who warned about the virus and was officially punished for it. He died from the new

coronavirus

in early February.

On the night of his death, the hashtag "I want freedom of speech" began trending on the Chinese social media site Weibo. Then the government quickly began to censor. "The resulting censorship woke us up and made us feel that the government actually prioritized censorship and the suppression of free speech, rather than admitting the mistakes they made in reprimanding Dr. Lee. Dr. Lee has become a icon in the fight for freedom of expression". Online censorship and the race for citizenship. So who wins? For now, citizens can stay ahead of the authorities' censorship. But new government crackdowns may test this online resilience.