The South Park Example of Government Censorship in the United States Media

It is not every day that people in the United States experience the form of censorship when it comes to the media. The United States is a country with a very liberal country that allows freedom of the press and freedom of speech. However, there was an occasional instance where the United States and some of the media outlets had to make the tough decision to censor one of the most popular TV shows or to risk the potential for international crisis.

The television show South Park was scheduled to show a sketch of Family Guy. During this small part of South Park one of the people from the show Family Guy would open the door and be greeted by the prophet Mohammed. To United States this may not seem like such a big deal but in the Middle East this is. According to the religion Islam is strictly prohibited from depicting the Prophet Mohammed. It is believed that by allowing the show South Park it could enrage the already sensitive situation over in the Middle East.

The creators of South Park were asked by the television station that aired their show to please consider blurring out the image of the prophet Mohammed. However, the creators of the show believe that this was a form of government censorship and did not go along with it. Instead they submitted the episode with their own picture of the prophet Mohammed.

Considering the type of situation that a picture of Mohammed would cause the White House requested that the television station not air the episode. The television station gave the creators of South Park the opportunity to choose between showing another person, blurring out the image or having their whole entire show pulled. Eventually in the end the creators of South Park decided to air a black screen that declared government censorship at its finest.

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