Like the current surface web isn't completely and utterly controlled. You don't need "big firewalls" and government-sponsored censorship to control information

Like the current surface web isn't completely and utterly controlled. You don't need "big firewalls" and government-sponsored censorship to control information. There are softer ways [0] to press for a narrative that's advantageous to you and ways that are way less visible [1]. Note the claim how supposedly none of the "interventions" happen in the English language, just like the NSA supposedly never spied on US citizens. That statement was rooted in the Smith-Mund Act, which has since then been reformed [2] and it's been an extremely noticeable shift in the English language online discourses. Just like language itself is a filter, anybody who only speaks English is dependent on trusting what English sources translate and tell them. While other-language sources often paint a very different, usually way less polarized, picture. [0] https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-09-29/the-cleaners-documentary-social-media-moderation-the-philippines/10300098 https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-09-29/the-cleaners-... [1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-op... [2] https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/07/14/u-s-repeals-propaganda-ban-spreads-government-made-news-to-americans/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/07/14/u-s-repeals-propaganda-...