Each year, Project Censored compiles a list of important news stories that go unreported, under-reported, or misreported by mainstream news outlets. These top-25 "censored" stories from the past year follow, and collectively they paint a much different picture of the world from what you'll find in daily newspapers and news broadcasts.
As Andy Lee Roth and Mickey Huff write in their introduction to the forthcoming Censored 2013: Dispatches From the Media Revolution – The Top 25 Censored Stories & Media Analysis of 2011-12, Project Censored "holds to account the corporate media who, all too often it seems, would rather be let alone than bothered when it comes to real, important news; and it celebrates the efforts of independent journalists who in 2011-2012 brought forward crucial news stories to stir us from complacency."
Censored 2013: Dispatches From the Media Revolution will be released October 30. In addition to the stories below, it includes expanded discussions of them in the context of five thematic "clusters"; a section exploring "narratives of power"; and international "censored" stories.
For more information on the book and Project Censored, visit ProjectCensored.org.
(1) Signs of an Emerging Police State
Since the passage of the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act, the United States has become increasingly monitored and militarized at the expense of civil liberties. The 2012 passage of the National Defense Authorization Act has allowed the military to detain indefinitely without trial any U.S. citizen that the government labels a terrorist or an accessory to terrorism, while President Barack Obama's signing of the National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order has authorized widespread federal and military control of the national economy and resources during "emergency and non-emergency conditions." Since 2010, the Department of Homeland Security's "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign has encouraged the public to report all suspicious activity to local authorities, even though actions that the DHS identifies as "suspicious" include the constitutionally protected right to criticize the government or engage in nonviolent protest. (Sources: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/03/fbi-memo-bend-suspend-law; http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter;http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/why_im_suing_barack_obama_20120116; http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/16/executive-order-national-defense-resources-preparedness; http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/12/31/statement-president-hr-1540)
(2) Oceans in Peril
We thought the sea was infinite and inexhaustible. It is not. The overall rise in ocean temperature has led to the largest movement of marine species in two million to three million years, according to scientists from the Climate Change & European Marine Ecosystems Research project. A February 2012 study of 14 protected and 18 unprotected ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea demonstrated that this previously healthy sea is now quickly being depleted of resources. An international team of scientists conducted the study over a period of three years and found that in well-enforced marine-reserve areas the fish populations were five to 10 times greater than the fish populations in unprotected areas. The work of these scientists encourages the establishment and maintenance of marine reserves. (Sources: http://www.onearth.org/article/the-end-of-a-myth;http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/8598597/Warming-oceans-cause-largest-movement-of-marine-species-in-two-million-years.html; http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/44102;http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0032742)
(3) Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Worse than Anticipated
Developing evidence from a number of independent sources suggests that the negative consequences of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster are far greater than first acknowledged or understood. An estimated 14,000 excess deaths in the United States are linked to the radioactive fallout in Japan, according to a December 2011 report published in the International Journal of Health Services. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency's radiation-detection network has serious drawbacks, including a lack of maintenance and equipment that is often improperly calibrated. (Sources: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/medical-journal-article--14000-us-deaths-tied-to-fukushima-reactor-disaster-fallout-135859288.html;http://straight.com/article-491941/vancouver/what-are-officials-hiding-about-fukushima?page=0%2C1;http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/21-0; http://pstuph.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/radnet-or-sadnet-the-epas-failed-radiation-detection-system; http://enformable.com/2011/11/march-23rd-2011-the-epa-took-radnet-down-because-they-were-getting-data-from-more-reliable-sources; http://fukushimaupdate.com/us-radiation-monitoring-may-have-been-handed-off-to-nuclear-industry-lobbyists; http://www.collapsenet.com/free-resources/collapsenet-public-access/item/723-fallout;http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2011/05/19/confirmed-epa-rigged-radnet-japan-nuclear-radiation-monitoring-equipment-report-levels-nuclear-fallout-22823)
(4) FBI Agents Responsible for Majority of Terrorist Plots in the United States
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has embarked on an unusual approach to ensure that the United States is secure from future terrorist attacks. The agency has developed a network of nearly 15,000 spies to infiltrate various communities in an attempt to uncover terrorist plots. However, these moles are actually assisting and encouraging people to commit crimes. Many informants receive cash rewards of up to $100,000 per case. (Sources: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/08/fbi-terrorist-informants;http://rt.com/usa/news/fbi-terror-report-plot-365-899/print)
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