How Book Bans Control Information and Why They Backfire

"In a new documentary The Librarians, public librarians are positioned as first responders in the fight for democracy and the First Amendment, despite facing crowds of angry protesters protesting what they see as "obscenity" in books. Alongside educators, librarians find themselves on the front lines of a culture war, facing complaints at school board meetings and harassment that threatens their jobs."

"In terms of book bans, what we see now are partisan groups compiling "do not buy" lists of books and attempting to convince schools and libraries to ban such books entirely. Crowds have been gathering at school board meetings and harassing participants. Parents are shown excerpts from books out of context. Books with depictions of sexuality or racism are condemned as "pornographic", a description intended to provoke fear amidst attempts to control the flow of ideas under the guise of morality."

"In my work as a cult researcher, I developed a model that describes how cults manipulate their followers and what high-control situations look like. The current wave of attempted book bans falls squarely under the category of "information control", a major feature of cult manipulation;, the same authoritarian dynamics within cults are now playing out in public institutions."

Public librarians and educators face protests, harassment, and job threats while resisting efforts to remove books labeled obscene. Partisan groups create 'do not buy' lists and pressure schools and libraries to ban titles, often showing excerpts out of context and condemning depictions of sexuality or racism as pornographic. Such tactics constitute information control, a hallmark of authoritarian and cult-like dynamics that withhold ideas and push approved narratives. Many targeted books do not meet legal definitions of obscenity. The resulting moral panics damage individuals, undermine democratic norms, and deny children the right to learn about complex topics in safe educational settings.

Read at Psychology Today