Letters to the editor: Censorship campaigns mock the freedom of the press

Media interference by the EU and the Irish government prevents people from making informed decisions about the Ukraine conflict

The ownership of the site on which the new National Maternity Hospital is to be built is causing much controversy.

In the United States, there is a great deal of consternation over the formation of the Disinformation Governance Board by the Biden administration. As a nod to the ministry in George Orwell’s novel 1984, which spread one-sided propaganda that lied to its citizens, it has already been dubbed the ‘Ministry of Truth’. As well as the wailing and gnashing of teeth of woke, liberal, Democratic-supporting employees of Twitter over Elon Musk’s takeover and CNN’s shift to a factual news channel rather than a mouthpiece for the left, it’s impossible not to laugh at the sad state of US media.

But we should not congratulate ourselves so quickly. Our own government and the EU have engaged in a censorship campaign that mocks the freedom of the press and the intelligence of its citizens. I refer to the blocking of Russia Today News on search engines and the banning of Russia Today News from the airwaves. A consequence of this has also been the UK sanctioning Irish journalist Bryan McDonald for his work at Russia Today’s Russia desk.