China's Vanishing Internet: A Digital Memory Wiped Clean

If your online history can be erased overnight, can we trust any digital archive?

China's internet is disappearing, taking with it chunks of the nation's digital memory. A recent WeChat post highlighted that nearly all content from Chinese news portals, blogs, and social media from 1995-2005 has vanished.

This censorship, driven by political motives under Xi Jinping’s authoritarian regime, ensures that sensitive historical data and personal posts are systematically erased. Notably, searches for key figures like Jack Ma and Xi Jinping yield sparse results, while significant events like the 2008 Sichuan earthquake lack the depth of coverage once available.

The shrinking number of Chinese websites reflects a broader decline, exacerbated by censorship and political pressure. Is it possible to preserve a collective memory in a world where history can be selectively erased?

Read the full article on The New York Times.

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