Jemimah Steinfeld
@jemimahsteinfeld.bsky.social
CEO @indexoncensorship.org and journalist. Chat mostly human rights, free speech, politics, climate & China.
Sometimes in Guardian, BBC, Independent, Prospect, Times, CNN etc.
Author of book on sex & youth in China.
Sometimes in Guardian, BBC, Independent, Prospect, Times, CNN etc.
Author of book on sex & youth in China.
Pinned
Death by a thousand cuts in Hong Kong - Index on Censorship
It’s been five years since the National Security Law was passed: how much has freedom of expression deteriorated in China’s special administrative region since then?
www.indexoncensorship.org
It’s been five years since the passage of the NSL in Hong Kong. Some hoped it might have been symbolic & rarely used. It was not. Dissent has mostly vanished. Thousands are in prison. We owe it to them to fight for the freedoms that they too fought for.
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/06/deat...
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/06/deat...
A minimum of 60,000 killed in three weeks in Sudan & very little outrage. Have we entered a new normal where we accept such things? Compare & contrast to Darfur circa 2004.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
RSF massacres left Sudanese city ‘a slaughterhouse’, satellite images show
Up to 150,000 residents of El Fasher are missing since North Darfur capital fell to paramilitary Rapid Support Forces
www.theguardian.com
December 9, 2025 at 8:12 PM
A minimum of 60,000 killed in three weeks in Sudan & very little outrage. Have we entered a new normal where we accept such things? Compare & contrast to Darfur circa 2004.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Reposted by Jemimah Steinfeld
Place your bets! Which world leader has been working overtime to silence their opponents and crush dissent?
Putin? Trump? Netanyahu? Khamenei?
VOTE NOW FOR THE 2025 TYRANT OF THE YEAR!
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/12/tyra...
Putin? Trump? Netanyahu? Khamenei?
VOTE NOW FOR THE 2025 TYRANT OF THE YEAR!
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/12/tyra...
December 9, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Place your bets! Which world leader has been working overtime to silence their opponents and crush dissent?
Putin? Trump? Netanyahu? Khamenei?
VOTE NOW FOR THE 2025 TYRANT OF THE YEAR!
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/12/tyra...
Putin? Trump? Netanyahu? Khamenei?
VOTE NOW FOR THE 2025 TYRANT OF THE YEAR!
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/12/tyra...
"The most ironic victim of the war on censorship so far, though, must be the Open Technology Fund, which... funded anti-censorship and anti-surveillance efforts."
Brilliant piece from @jamesrball.com on the Trump administration's disingenuous free speech crusade.
www.theverge.com/features/839...
Brilliant piece from @jamesrball.com on the Trump administration's disingenuous free speech crusade.
www.theverge.com/features/839...
The disinformation wars are here
How Joe Biden’s administration caved to the right in the battle for truth.
www.theverge.com
December 9, 2025 at 1:59 PM
"The most ironic victim of the war on censorship so far, though, must be the Open Technology Fund, which... funded anti-censorship and anti-surveillance efforts."
Brilliant piece from @jamesrball.com on the Trump administration's disingenuous free speech crusade.
www.theverge.com/features/839...
Brilliant piece from @jamesrball.com on the Trump administration's disingenuous free speech crusade.
www.theverge.com/features/839...
This is excellent news. When (not if) we have won the campaign to #StopSLAPPS, this should be used as a perfect case of how effective advocacy works. It can take years & have setbacks but with clear goals, team work & patience it can still succeed. An important lesson for these beleaguered times.
December 9, 2025 at 8:10 AM
This is excellent news. When (not if) we have won the campaign to #StopSLAPPS, this should be used as a perfect case of how effective advocacy works. It can take years & have setbacks but with clear goals, team work & patience it can still succeed. An important lesson for these beleaguered times.
Reposted by Jemimah Steinfeld
💥 MAGA 101: Inside Trump’s fast-track masterclass in undermining academic freedom. My latest article for @indexoncensorship.org assesses the Trump Administration's assault on US Higher Education: A blueprint that threatens academic freedom internationally. www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/12/maga...
MAGA 101: Inside Trump’s fast-track masterclass in undermining academic freedom - Index on Censorship
A report on the impact of the Trump administration’s assault on research and teaching in the United States and what the future might hold for free expression in academia in other democracies
www.indexoncensorship.org
December 3, 2025 at 6:17 PM
💥 MAGA 101: Inside Trump’s fast-track masterclass in undermining academic freedom. My latest article for @indexoncensorship.org assesses the Trump Administration's assault on US Higher Education: A blueprint that threatens academic freedom internationally. www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/12/maga...
“The message was clear: Private grief was allowed; organized grief was not.”
Brilliant piece on how well-oiled the repressive response was from Hong Kong authorities to the first major disaster since imposition of NSL. Learnt from Beijing after years of finessing.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/b...
Brilliant piece on how well-oiled the repressive response was from Hong Kong authorities to the first major disaster since imposition of NSL. Learnt from Beijing after years of finessing.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/b...
After Deadly Fire, Hong Kong Ominously Warns Grieving Citizens to Stay in Line
www.nytimes.com
December 4, 2025 at 6:10 AM
“The message was clear: Private grief was allowed; organized grief was not.”
Brilliant piece on how well-oiled the repressive response was from Hong Kong authorities to the first major disaster since imposition of NSL. Learnt from Beijing after years of finessing.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/b...
Brilliant piece on how well-oiled the repressive response was from Hong Kong authorities to the first major disaster since imposition of NSL. Learnt from Beijing after years of finessing.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/b...
Reposted by Jemimah Steinfeld
“Put bluntly, net migration fell because 400,000 fewer foreigners arrived, and 200,000 more foreigners left the UK. This is precisely what Reform, the Mail, and the new, nastier Tory Party have claimed – again and again – they wanted to happen. And now that it has, they have ignored it entirely.”
The crazy right will never be satisfied about migration
Keir Starmer slashed net migration as the Mail and Farage demanded - and still got hammered for it
www.thenewworld.co.uk
December 3, 2025 at 10:54 AM
“Put bluntly, net migration fell because 400,000 fewer foreigners arrived, and 200,000 more foreigners left the UK. This is precisely what Reform, the Mail, and the new, nastier Tory Party have claimed – again and again – they wanted to happen. And now that it has, they have ignored it entirely.”
Reposted by Jemimah Steinfeld
This is too much.
A 6-year-old boy is missing after ICE arrested him and his dad in NYC last week and shipped them off to separate facilities. www.thecity.nyc/2025/12/02/i... @thecity.nyc @gwynnefitz.bsky.social
ICE Arrested and Separated Chinese Father From 6-Year-Old Son, Advocates Say
The father and son were detained at an ICE check-in on Nov. 26, advocates say. The son’s location is currently unknown, while the father is being held at an upstate ICE facility.
www.thecity.nyc
December 3, 2025 at 2:15 AM
This is too much.
Reposted by Jemimah Steinfeld
This new study is closely following what I told the New Zealand parliament recently - theconversation.com/make-the-pla... it is so good to see my insights are being evhoed by children themselves... here's my written testimony link Sorry - here is a better link www.parliament.nz/resource/en-...
Radware Page
Loader page.
www.parliament.nz
December 3, 2025 at 3:28 AM
This new study is closely following what I told the New Zealand parliament recently - theconversation.com/make-the-pla... it is so good to see my insights are being evhoed by children themselves... here's my written testimony link Sorry - here is a better link www.parliament.nz/resource/en-...
"We only know about this because someone filmed it. Otherwise, this might well have gone down as a military operation where two people - invariably referred to as "terrorists" - were killed."
Concise & to the point here. All signs point to impunity once again.
news.sky.com/story/bluesk...
Concise & to the point here. All signs point to impunity once again.
news.sky.com/story/bluesk...
The chilling aspects of video showing Israeli forces killing two Palestinians after apparent surrender
There will be an investigation into these killings, and the Israeli military insists it is transparent. But for those expecting accountability and independent investigation, the precedents are not enc...
news.sky.com
December 1, 2025 at 1:11 PM
"We only know about this because someone filmed it. Otherwise, this might well have gone down as a military operation where two people - invariably referred to as "terrorists" - were killed."
Concise & to the point here. All signs point to impunity once again.
news.sky.com/story/bluesk...
Concise & to the point here. All signs point to impunity once again.
news.sky.com/story/bluesk...
Reposted by Jemimah Steinfeld
In the aftermath of the devastating #HongKong fire, student #MilesKwan has been arrested on sedition charges after launching a petition calling for an independent investigation. We must speak out against his arrest & the ongoing clampdown on free speech:
hongkongfp.com/2025/11/30/h...
hongkongfp.com/2025/11/30/h...
HK man arrested for alleged sedition in relation to fatal Tai Po blaze
A HK man has been arrested on suspicion of sedition in relation to the fatal Tai Po fire, according to local media reports, citing unnamed sources.
hongkongfp.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:32 AM
In the aftermath of the devastating #HongKong fire, student #MilesKwan has been arrested on sedition charges after launching a petition calling for an independent investigation. We must speak out against his arrest & the ongoing clampdown on free speech:
hongkongfp.com/2025/11/30/h...
hongkongfp.com/2025/11/30/h...
Reposted by Jemimah Steinfeld
Photo of Stoppard with Vaclav Havel, no less
RIP Tom Stoppard—the most talented contemporary British playwright—also known as Tomáš Sträussler, born in Czechoslovakia and fled as a Jewish refugee to England in 1946. Freedom wasn’t only a theatrical device for him but something personal, and perhaps that’s what made all the difference.
November 30, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Photo of Stoppard with Vaclav Havel, no less
Reposted by Jemimah Steinfeld
International media, you can do better than this.
"Bamboo" is maybe exotic and a compelling hook but it is too easy. The real story here is the growing culture of corruption, including a lack of accountability and oversight, that enabled a chain of human errors that led to this disaster.
"Bamboo" is maybe exotic and a compelling hook but it is too easy. The real story here is the growing culture of corruption, including a lack of accountability and oversight, that enabled a chain of human errors that led to this disaster.
November 27, 2025 at 9:17 AM
International media, you can do better than this.
"Bamboo" is maybe exotic and a compelling hook but it is too easy. The real story here is the growing culture of corruption, including a lack of accountability and oversight, that enabled a chain of human errors that led to this disaster.
"Bamboo" is maybe exotic and a compelling hook but it is too easy. The real story here is the growing culture of corruption, including a lack of accountability and oversight, that enabled a chain of human errors that led to this disaster.
"While the OSA’s aims are commendable, the road to mass censorship is paved with good intentions."
If you're looking for the most thorough explanation on why end-to-end encryption matters & why the OSA could destroy it read on.
Privacy = basic human right
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/11/new-...
If you're looking for the most thorough explanation on why end-to-end encryption matters & why the OSA could destroy it read on.
Privacy = basic human right
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/11/new-...
New report: Breaking encryption is legally and practically unworkable - Index on Censorship
Publication sets out our position on why governments should not break end-to-end encryption (E2EE), widely used to protect dissidents
www.indexoncensorship.org
November 28, 2025 at 11:19 AM
"While the OSA’s aims are commendable, the road to mass censorship is paved with good intentions."
If you're looking for the most thorough explanation on why end-to-end encryption matters & why the OSA could destroy it read on.
Privacy = basic human right
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/11/new-...
If you're looking for the most thorough explanation on why end-to-end encryption matters & why the OSA could destroy it read on.
Privacy = basic human right
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/11/new-...
Reposted by Jemimah Steinfeld
The photos of the Hong Kong fire are heartbreaking. What makes it even worse is knowing that the lack of press freedom and the absence of democratically elected leaders will only hinder a real investigation and meaningful accountability. 香港平安！香港加油！
November 27, 2025 at 4:30 AM
The photos of the Hong Kong fire are heartbreaking. What makes it even worse is knowing that the lack of press freedom and the absence of democratically elected leaders will only hinder a real investigation and meaningful accountability. 香港平安！香港加油！
Reposted by Jemimah Steinfeld
A message to the #BBC: allow listeners to question
@rutgerbregman.com's #Trump comment. Removing that line wasn't moderation. It was capitulation. It was censorship.
@rutgerbregman.com's #Trump comment. Removing that line wasn't moderation. It was capitulation. It was censorship.
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 26, 2025 at 4:04 PM
A message to the #BBC: allow listeners to question
@rutgerbregman.com's #Trump comment. Removing that line wasn't moderation. It was capitulation. It was censorship.
@rutgerbregman.com's #Trump comment. Removing that line wasn't moderation. It was capitulation. It was censorship.
"Poets don’t threaten democrats – a stanza from the poet laureate, Simon Armitage, will not keep Keir Starmer up at night – but dictators feel differently."
100% this on our arts award winner Mohamed Tadjadit.
Art unites & subverts = autocrats' nightmare.
observer.co.uk/news/interna...
100% this on our arts award winner Mohamed Tadjadit.
Art unites & subverts = autocrats' nightmare.
observer.co.uk/news/interna...
Algeria’s protest poet will need more than awards to avoid a life in prison | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 12:23 PM
"Poets don’t threaten democrats – a stanza from the poet laureate, Simon Armitage, will not keep Keir Starmer up at night – but dictators feel differently."
100% this on our arts award winner Mohamed Tadjadit.
Art unites & subverts = autocrats' nightmare.
observer.co.uk/news/interna...
100% this on our arts award winner Mohamed Tadjadit.
Art unites & subverts = autocrats' nightmare.
observer.co.uk/news/interna...
Am buzzing about the @indexoncensorship.org awards. Our winners are just the most incredible people. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Saturday Mothers, Carlos Correa & Mohamed Tadjadit - all heroes.
And buzzing that Deputy PM David Lammy called Index "iconic". So that's official now. Index = iconic.
And buzzing that Deputy PM David Lammy called Index "iconic". So that's official now. Index = iconic.
November 21, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Am buzzing about the @indexoncensorship.org awards. Our winners are just the most incredible people. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Saturday Mothers, Carlos Correa & Mohamed Tadjadit - all heroes.
And buzzing that Deputy PM David Lammy called Index "iconic". So that's official now. Index = iconic.
And buzzing that Deputy PM David Lammy called Index "iconic". So that's official now. Index = iconic.
Trump’s vibe this week: brutal murder of a journalist? Shrug. Reporter asking probing questions? ‘Quiet, piggy.’
Didn’t have high expectations from the man who called media ‘enemies of the people’ but he’s stooped to the lowest lows.
Didn’t have high expectations from the man who called media ‘enemies of the people’ but he’s stooped to the lowest lows.
November 21, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Trump’s vibe this week: brutal murder of a journalist? Shrug. Reporter asking probing questions? ‘Quiet, piggy.’
Didn’t have high expectations from the man who called media ‘enemies of the people’ but he’s stooped to the lowest lows.
Didn’t have high expectations from the man who called media ‘enemies of the people’ but he’s stooped to the lowest lows.
Reposted by Jemimah Steinfeld
"things happen" = burning risotto, breaking a vase, forgetting a friend's birthday
"things happen" ≠ violently murdering and dismembering a journalist in a consulate
"things happen" ≠ violently murdering and dismembering a journalist in a consulate
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 6:04 PM
"things happen" = burning risotto, breaking a vase, forgetting a friend's birthday
"things happen" ≠ violently murdering and dismembering a journalist in a consulate
"things happen" ≠ violently murdering and dismembering a journalist in a consulate
Roma lost her job when the Taliban took over, she has an ill child at home & struggles to afford proper medical care. She said writing this letter was the best thing that has happened to her in years. I'm thrilled we @indexoncensorship.org could publish it.
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/11/we-l...
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/11/we-l...
We live beneath a dark roof: what it means to be an Afghan woman today - Index on Censorship
In this, the first of our Letters from Afghan Women, one writer believes she will stand, fight and build a brighter, more progressive Afghanistan
www.indexoncensorship.org
November 19, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Roma lost her job when the Taliban took over, she has an ill child at home & struggles to afford proper medical care. She said writing this letter was the best thing that has happened to her in years. I'm thrilled we @indexoncensorship.org could publish it.
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/11/we-l...
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/11/we-l...
This is one of the most extreme examples of Beijing meddling in UK academia to date but it's alas far from the only one. I have many examples of Beijing's long arm chilling speech on our campuses here. So the question is, can this be a wake-up call, finally?
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
UK university halted human rights research after pressure from China
Exclusive: Leading professor at Sheffield Hallam was told to cease research on supply chains and forced labour in China after demands from authorities
www.theguardian.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:06 AM
This is one of the most extreme examples of Beijing meddling in UK academia to date but it's alas far from the only one. I have many examples of Beijing's long arm chilling speech on our campuses here. So the question is, can this be a wake-up call, finally?
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Jemimah Steinfeld
Christianity has grown faster in #China than anywhere else in the world - and Xi Jinping isn't happy. This month, over 30 pastors & churchgoers were arrested. Our CEO @jemimahsteinfeld.bsky.social looks at the crackdown on faith: in the People's Republic:
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/10/ther...
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/10/ther...
October 27, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Christianity has grown faster in #China than anywhere else in the world - and Xi Jinping isn't happy. This month, over 30 pastors & churchgoers were arrested. Our CEO @jemimahsteinfeld.bsky.social looks at the crackdown on faith: in the People's Republic:
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/10/ther...
www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/10/ther...
Reposted by Jemimah Steinfeld
“It’s just that the new rules might simply shift where that fear lies rather than tackling the root cause.” Our CEO @jemimahsteinfeld.bsky.social on whether the Office for Students can apply new legal duties evenly to tackle free speech issues on campus: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/fre...
The assault on academic freedom
Is the universities regulator protecting free expression, or are some beliefs more protected than others?
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
October 24, 2025 at 1:56 PM
“It’s just that the new rules might simply shift where that fear lies rather than tackling the root cause.” Our CEO @jemimahsteinfeld.bsky.social on whether the Office for Students can apply new legal duties evenly to tackle free speech issues on campus: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/fre...