Attention, censorship!

Censorship is the rallying cry of the moment: A poem removed from a facade? Censorship! A painting taken out of a museum? Censorship! A speaker disinvited from a university? Censorship! But is that really the case? Many people today feel they can no longer express their opinions openly. They wonder whether Facebook and Google are exercising their control more rigidly than some states, whether art must be politically correct, and how much freedom can be granted to the enemies of freedom. A heated debate has erupted, with much confusion. Classical censorship is blending with new forms, polemical outcries from the right with speech bans from the left. Literary scholar Nikola Rossbach analyzes the controversial discussion surrounding what can be said and reveals the underlying mechanisms of our society. At the same time, she calls for a debate on censorship that goes beyond mere polemics.