| As someone who has to deal with this sort of censorship employed "against me" online by the dictator, who wants no one to criticize his actions, the government and everyone subservient to his whims, it doesn't even sound like 1984 anymore.
Big brother was supposed to be an exercise in what "not to do" or am I thinking wrongly? Instead, these people are using it as a playbook of what to do next. The HN crowd will not really understand how "misuse of social media" means criticism of government that has landed thousands in jail with no recourse. You are treated the same as a terrorist who might have blown a plane or committed mass murder or a rapist. I have always tried use a different handle online, avoid services that require a phone number, I dont post my photo or have a YouTube channel / whatsapp/telegram. Just the day before, in a crowded street in the middle of a city capital with a population of 1 mil+, the army organised a sudden "cordon" when EVERY CIVILIAN was forced to stand in a queue, remove any "traditional winter clothing" that might hide a weapon and stand in line for over 2 hours while each person was frisked and made to prove their identity (ID cards, etc) while the whole thing was recorded by them. Whatsapp/Facebook Admins are ordered to report to the police to get their groups "registered" or else face criminal prosecution. I dont want sympathies. No kashmiri does. Just the idea that the attrocities committed by India and Pakistan need to be put out and known because these people sugarcoat their versions so brilliantly. I have a cartoonist friend who is regularly banned from social media because pages get "forced to delete content" and all because he draws stuff critical of government. I see no light at the end of the tunnel for India or Pakistan also for that matter. They simply have dug their own graves |