What do you think?
Rate this book
The New Censorship: How the War on the Media is Taking Us Down
'Riveting' - Arash Azizi, The Atlantic
'Exceptional' - Michael Hauser-Tov, Haaretz
'Profound, compelling, and fascinating' - Emily Maitlis, The News Agents
'A must-read' - Jane Martinson, The Guardian
'A necessary and unflinching exposé' - Luke Kemp, researcher at University of Cambridge
As we find ourselves in a time of democratic decay all over the world, with relentless attempts to undermine truth and facts and unprecedented technological tools to spread disinformation and incite violence, brave journalism is needed more than ever.
In The New Censorship esteemed academic, former journalist and activist Ayala Panievsky focuses on the unfortunate and unexpected mechanisms through which today's media has inadvertently amplified the anti-democratic movement that looms over our societies. From the birth of 'the strategic bias' to weaponising liberal norms against liberal democracy, the populist right has found a way to exercise a more effective and socially acceptable type of silencing and manipulation. Instead of banning stories, they spread flows of disinformation, which take hours and days to debunk. Instead of silencing, they shout louder. Instead of blue-pencilling, they employ fake users, bots, and outrageous smear campaigns to dominate the conversation. Heavy-handed censorship is unnecessary when one can manipulate people to censor themselves, or simply stop listening.
Based on cutting-edge empirical research, personal experience in newsrooms and parliament corridors and a decade of living under populism in power in Israel, Panievsky will not only explain how we got here but also lay out what we all could (and should) do to restart the conversation and protect our right to know.
'Exceptional' - Michael Hauser-Tov, Haaretz
'Profound, compelling, and fascinating' - Emily Maitlis, The News Agents
'A must-read' - Jane Martinson, The Guardian
'A necessary and unflinching exposé' - Luke Kemp, researcher at University of Cambridge
As we find ourselves in a time of democratic decay all over the world, with relentless attempts to undermine truth and facts and unprecedented technological tools to spread disinformation and incite violence, brave journalism is needed more than ever.
In The New Censorship esteemed academic, former journalist and activist Ayala Panievsky focuses on the unfortunate and unexpected mechanisms through which today's media has inadvertently amplified the anti-democratic movement that looms over our societies. From the birth of 'the strategic bias' to weaponising liberal norms against liberal democracy, the populist right has found a way to exercise a more effective and socially acceptable type of silencing and manipulation. Instead of banning stories, they spread flows of disinformation, which take hours and days to debunk. Instead of silencing, they shout louder. Instead of blue-pencilling, they employ fake users, bots, and outrageous smear campaigns to dominate the conversation. Heavy-handed censorship is unnecessary when one can manipulate people to censor themselves, or simply stop listening.
Based on cutting-edge empirical research, personal experience in newsrooms and parliament corridors and a decade of living under populism in power in Israel, Panievsky will not only explain how we got here but also lay out what we all could (and should) do to restart the conversation and protect our right to know.
- GenresNonfiction
241 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 4, 2025
5 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 20, 2026
Agreed, we're at war; how do we fight it?
Panievsky is very good at identifying the problems facing the media right now. She's particularly insightful on how the studied neutrality of the legacy press is hopeless in the face of the populist upstarts. Mere facts are no longer enough to combat the liars, they just switch to another lie, so you're never going to hoist them on their own petard.
When it comes to a battle plan she's a lot less sure-footed. The final section skirts over some interesting theories on what we can all do to save the free press, but is ultimately is a bit of a mish mash of trenchant observations and easier-said-than-done sloganeering like 'find new ways of belonging' and 'reject anti-media media.' There's another entire book to be developed out of this final chapter. I was already convinced of the why we need to save 'relevant, courageous and truthful journalism.' but i'm still as lost as anyone on the how.
Panievsky is very good at identifying the problems facing the media right now. She's particularly insightful on how the studied neutrality of the legacy press is hopeless in the face of the populist upstarts. Mere facts are no longer enough to combat the liars, they just switch to another lie, so you're never going to hoist them on their own petard.
When it comes to a battle plan she's a lot less sure-footed. The final section skirts over some interesting theories on what we can all do to save the free press, but is ultimately is a bit of a mish mash of trenchant observations and easier-said-than-done sloganeering like 'find new ways of belonging' and 'reject anti-media media.' There's another entire book to be developed out of this final chapter. I was already convinced of the why we need to save 'relevant, courageous and truthful journalism.' but i'm still as lost as anyone on the how.
November 6, 2025
As someone who reads a lot about media and censorship, I had higher hopes for this book than it delivered. It's more of an overview of recent developments in journalism and media than I was expecting - useful information, but information I already knew.
The only new quotes and angles come from interview with various journalists and presenters who are kept anonymous for their safety. A sensible decision in the current media climate. Except to justify their expertise and their knowledge, they are summarised by their years in the industry and a broad description of their platform, so it wouldn't take much to narrow down who they are. Rather defeats the purpose.
I would recommend this an an introduction to modern censorship and journalism; it's fairly short, and written with an easy to digest voice. The focus is on anecdotes rather than slogs of numbers (although numerical data is still used) to provide a clear summary of recent changes in broadcasting and information sharing.
The only new quotes and angles come from interview with various journalists and presenters who are kept anonymous for their safety. A sensible decision in the current media climate. Except to justify their expertise and their knowledge, they are summarised by their years in the industry and a broad description of their platform, so it wouldn't take much to narrow down who they are. Rather defeats the purpose.
I would recommend this an an introduction to modern censorship and journalism; it's fairly short, and written with an easy to digest voice. The focus is on anecdotes rather than slogs of numbers (although numerical data is still used) to provide a clear summary of recent changes in broadcasting and information sharing.
March 16, 2026
Impact statement of the decay of democracy from the perspective of the journalist profession - plus the role the media itself played at giving demagogues and neo-fascists a platform with an audience.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews