icon-background-square
New
New
Year 10

Should the media ever be censored?

I can describe what censorship is and explain its positives and negatives.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 10

Should the media ever be censored?

I can describe what censorship is and explain its positives and negatives.

warning

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Sometimes media is censored due to potentially causing offence, sensitive content, or harmful content.
  2. Inconvenience censorship also happens where certain information might need to be restricted.
  3. Censorship can also happen to support democracy and uphold democratic values.
  4. There are global differences in censorship, for example, China has very strict censorship.

Keywords

  • Censorship - the control of information or ideas within a society

  • Media - television, radio, printed and new media which can reach a large number of people

  • Inconvenient - causing difficulty, trouble, or discomfort, often by disrupting plans or making things less easy

Common misconception

Censorship is always bad (this might be linked to students' understanding of free press and human rights).

Censorship sometimes needs to happen to reduce offence, upset and harm.

Provide pupils with a side-by-side comparison of a real news headline and its censored version from a country with heavy media control.
speech-bubble
Teacher tip

Equipment

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of sexual violence
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Loading...

6 Questions

Q1.
What is misinformation?
Correct answer: false or misleading information shared by mistake, without intent to deceive
false information shared deliberately to mislead or harm
true information used out of context to mislead or harm
Q2.
What is disinformation?
true information used out of context to mislead or harm
Correct answer: false information shared deliberately to mislead or harm
false or misleading information shared by mistake, without intent to deceive
Q3.
What is malinformation?
false information shared deliberately to mislead or harm
false or misleading information shared by mistake, without intent to deceive
Correct answer: true information used out of context to mislead or harm
Q4.
Rules or laws to control or guide behaviour for society's benefit is called ...
retaliation
Correct answer: regulation
manifestation
retribution
Q5.
Free press is when the media isn't controlled by the ...
Correct Answer: Government, Parliament
Q6.
Which statement is true?
Correct answer: The media can print what they want, as long as it follows codes of practice.
The media can print what they want, as long as they don't offend anyone.
The media can print what they want, as long as they check it with the police.
The media can print what they want, as long as it's pro-government.

6 Questions

Q1.
Information that could offend people is classed as what?
sensitive information
Correct answer: offensive information
harmful information
Q2.
Information that, if released, could cause upset and emotional harm is known as what?
super information
secretive information
Correct answer: sensitive information
Q3.
A search engine blocking extremist content is an example of what?
censorship of sensitive information
Correct answer: censorship of harmful information
censorship of offensive information
Q4.
The media's right to publish must be balanced against what individual right?
Correct Answer: Individual right to privacy, Right to privacy, Individual's right to privacy, Privacy, People's rights
Q5.
Which is an example of self-regulatory guidelines that media follow?
Independent Press Censorship Organisation (IPCO)
Dependent Press Standards Organisation (DPSO)
Independent Media Standards Organisation (IMSO)
Correct answer: Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)
Q6.
Which country has very different censorship rules when compared to the UK?
Correct Answer: China, North Korea