Paul Lazarsfeld and Wagner Thielens Jr. surveyed almost 2,500 professors right in the middle of the Red Scare on whether or not they were self-censoring in light of the political climate. Nine percent of professors said they were, which by historical standards is really quite bad. Today, in 2023, that number is almost 90%.

Greg Lukianoff
September 25, 2023
The new Red Scare taking over America’s college campuses

And what was the self-censor rate in the USSR? My guess is 99.9% or higher. It is what communists do. They have to do this because the system is so broken it can only exist upon lies. The truth must be censored to avoid the abandonment and/or destruction of the communist organization.

A good rule of thumb is that the more acceptable censorship, the more the society depends upon lies to exist.