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All the papers that matter live off their advertisements, and the advertisers exercise an indirect censorship over news.
George Orwell
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Advertisements influence news media, leading to potential censorship of important information.

In this quote, George Orwell highlights the concern that the financial dependency of news outlets on advertisers can shape the content they produce. This relationship fosters a form of indirect censorship, where advertisers can manipulate the narrative by controlling which stories are deemed important or worthy of coverage, ultimately affecting public awareness and knowledge.

Themes

AdvertisingCensorshipMediaNewsInfluence

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about media bias, one might quote Orwell to illustrate the impact of advertising on news coverage.

More from George Orwell

If one harbours anywhere in one's mind a nationalistic loyalty or hatred, certain facts, although in a sense known to be true, are inadmissible.
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Political writing in our time consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together like the pieces of a child's Meccano set. It is the unavoidable result of self-censorship. To write in plain, vigorous language one has to think fearlessly, and if one thinks fearlessly one cannot be politically orthodox.
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Not to expose your true feelings to an adult seems to be instinctive from the age of seven or eight onwards.
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As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents.
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It is fatal to look hungry. It makes people want to kick you.
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