Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Author warns about 'epidemic of self-censorship'
In a BCC lecture on freedom of speech, author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warns of the "epidemic of self-censorship" which could lead to "the death of curiosity, the death of learning and the death of creativity.”
She said literature was increasingly viewed "through ideological rather than artistic lenses” and pointed out the role of sensitivity readers, “people whose job it is to cleanse unpublished manuscripts of potentially offensive words…[which] negates the very idea of literature."
As for canceling through personal online targeting and harassment? “It is unconscionable barbarism,” she says. “It is a virtual vigilante action whose aim is not just to silence the person who has spoken, but to create a vengeful atmosphere that deters others from speaking."
