For a while now Hollywood has been careful not to offend China's communist government, not wanting to be shut off from the country's 1.3 billion consumers. But in the former British-controlled Hong Kong, filmmakers have been more than happy to poke at the mainland nation.
Beijing, however, is now beefing up its censorship of the film industry, cracking down on criticism, banning certain movies and jailing pro-democracy activists.
Christian apologist-author Alex McFarland says if it all sounds kind of familiar, look no further than Big Social.
“While many in America would be quick to criticize the censorship in China, and rightly so,” he observes, “that very same censorship, American citizens and especially conservative Christians are subjected to every day of the week.”
For example, new national security laws track with Facebook’s updated community standards. In Hong Kong, you can't make films about Tiananmen Square. Over here, try tweeting about hydroxychloroquine or a stolen election.
In a June 7 story, One News Now reported that Facebook has shut down the radio show of author Eric Metaxas over discussing election fraud and the COVID-19 vaccine.
McFarland says he is waiting for the day when Christians and conservatives have real alternatives to Big Social.
“I just wish people would find new platforms,” he tells One News Now, “and abandon Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and all of the ones that are the egregious censors."
