1984: Self-Censorship: The Digital 'Newspeak' of Our Time

Bound and Gagged: The Politics of Banned Books

“We shall squeeze you empty, and then we shall fill you with ourselves.”

- 1984, by George Orwell

Have you read 1984, by George Orwell? If you have, you probably felt the discomfort of entering a world governed by pervasive surveillance and censorship. Orwell’s dystopia doesn’t just explore these topics—it immerses you in a society where language itself is manipulated. Orwell’s warning about the dangers of self-censorship has never felt more relevant.

In today’s digital age, self-censorship is our survival tactic. Platforms like TikTok and Meta have transformed into digital dictatorships, where words are erased, simplified, or altered, leading us to conform before the censorship even begins. As Orwell predicted, we now live in a world where “Newspeak” is reality, and it’s time we recognize the battle for free speech isn’t over—it’s happening right now.

How many of you have been afraid of posts and comments being taken down? How many of you downloaded an encrypted messenger since “Bowser locked Luigi up” as a domestic terrorist? How many TikTok or Meta refugees have gotten used to self censoring with things like, “unalive”, “grape”, or “blank google doc”? How many of you saw the final fuck-it-all videos on TikTok where people finally had a shot to speak their mind in the face of the ban?

In the book 1984, there’s this thing called “Newspeak”—it’s the official ‘Party Language’, designed to eliminate words that could inspire rebellion—if certain words are erased or simplified, people will no longer be able to think critically or subversively. By stripping away language, they controlled not just what people said, but what they could think.

Know anyone who only recognized, years later, they had been raped? Or suddenly discovered they were neurospicy? Or realized their relationship had been abusive this whole time—simply because someone had the vocabulary to identify it? Without a specific name or term, it can be difficult to recognize that an issue exists at all, and without knowing something exists, there can be no action to address it.

Something very similar to “Newspeak” is happening today on social media. Words like “lesbian” become “le Dollar bean”. “Israel” is replaced with “Isnotreal”. This builds a powerful culture of normalized self-censorship, where individuals agree to navigate around restrictions rather than advocating for their right to free speech and pushing back. We have not yet lost our First Amendment rights. Self-censorship is obeying in advance.

Don’t get me wrong—censorship in America isn’t new—it’s just evolved from overt actions like laws and book burnings, to today's subtle digital manipulation. Algorithms now quietly filter, suppress, and promote content, burying dissenting voices while amplifying certain narratives. Have you seen an unexpected person trip and fall on a Red Pill? Have you lost someone in your family to FOX News? Tech giants, with their towering monopolies, profit from ensuring that the stories of Black, Indigenous, queer, trans, immigrant and feminist communities remain invisible or misrepresented. Do not support their efforts by agreeing to live without your constitutional rights before they are even gone.

Orwell’s warning about self-censorship as a survival tactic isn’t a warning anymore—it’s our reality. Do not Obey in advance.

If we bury books like 1984, what in our current system suffers? Freedom of Speech? Transparency in politics? Normalization of Surveillance? What else? The list is long…

This conversation matters. Don’t let them hide the playbook. Share if: a) you felt paranoid after reading 1984, b) you think I sound paranoid out after telling you about 1984, c) you’re not paranoid/ you haven’t read it yet, or d) you are completely stable, have no issues, and are secretly a unicorn hiding from—ah hah! So you are paranoid after all! 

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