Don’t Delete Art (DDA) in Freemuse’s 2024 State of Artistic Freedom Report: Reflecting on Online Art Censorship During ‘A Year Scarred by Conflict’

Don’t Delete Art (DDA) is a global movement to advocate against the unlawful censorship of art on the internet. The group recently participated in the Freemuse 2024 State of Artistic Freedom Report, which was themed ‘A Year Scarred by Conflict.’ Within the report, DDA’s essay outlines how in 2023, their censorship reporting form has seen a 59 percent increase in respondents compared to 2022. A majority of these cases were depictions of nude human bodies, however there has also been a significant rise in the censorship of socio-political content. There have also been cases where artworks critical of hate speech were removed as algorithms mistook them for hate speech itself. Hence, DDA’s efforts to help artists overcome censorship of their crucial works is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

Cover of The Freemuse 2024 State of Artistic Freedom Report. Image courtesy of Don’t Delete Art’s website.

As the report’s theme, ‘A Year Scarred by Conflict,’ suggests, the report looks at how art censorship online has been prevalent at the face of humanitarian crises such as the occupation of Gaza and the invasion of Ukraine. Without doubts, these are critical issues that require everyone’s hands on deck, including those of artists. Artists play an especially critical role, as their works can help to advocate for these causes, empowering people directly affected, and inspiring bystanders to take action.

Don’t Delete Art in a museum in Madrid, Spain. Image courtesy of @dontdelete.art/Instagram.

The Freemuse 2024 State of Artistic Freedom Report has also launched a series of recommendations aimed at governments, civil society, corporate bodies, and other relevant stakeholders. These types of efforts do not go unnoticed. In 2023, the group’s efforts have already pushed Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, to be more transparent of their artwork censorship policies to individual users.

Don’t Delete Art at a landmark in London, United Kingdom. Image courtesy of @dontdelete.art/Instagram.

This has given artists more tools, such as Instagram’s “Recommendation Guidelines” and “Account Status” to understand what exactly has gotten them “shadow banned.” Shadow banning is a phenomenon where artists would suddenly receive little to no engagement from followers and non-followers alike as the platform had single-handedly decided that their content had violated their terms of service.

Don’t Delete Art on a street in Europe. Image courtesy of @dontdelete.art/Instagram.

Still, their work is nowhere near done. Other platforms such as X, PayPal, and Shopify are yet to address their artwork censorship policies. Even Meta’s address has not been comprehensive enough, with issues such as hashtag exclusion yet to be touched upon. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also issued a separate report where they found that Meta had been carrying out a global censorship of all Pro-Palestinian content, including artworks.

The efforts of Don’t Delete Art (DDA) within the Freemuse 2024 State of Artistic Freedom Report highlight the crucial role artists play in addressing and challenging online censorship, especially in times of global conflict. As the world faces humanitarian crises, from Gaza to Ukraine, the power of art to advocate for justice and inspire action becomes ever more vital. The work of DDA reminds everyone that the fight for artistic expression is a fight for human rights and that every voice, especially those of artists, is essential in shaping a just and equitable world.

Find out more about their essay in the Freemuse 2024 State of Artistic Freedom Report and other initiatives by Don’t Delete Art (DDA) on their website www.dontdelete.art or Instagram