Month: May 2023

Based on last week’s feedback and questions, I think I’d prefer to use a publication to show how information can be hidden.

In this project. My purpose in the first part is to call on readers to question the truth of known news and search for the truth. In this part, I would like to call on independent media to maintain the authenticity of news releases. So my question is, if I want to publish this as an independent media outlet, what are the ways I can evade censorship in publications ? If I want to publish news as an independent media outlet, how can I hide information in a publication to avoid censorship?

The publication is presented in a sealed format, creating an irreversible reading experience in which the reader must destroy its cover while reading. This format explores how, as an independent media outlet publishing news, information can be hidden in a publication to avoid censorship.

This publication focuses on exploring how news information and the free speech of those involved in the news can be hidden in the physical form of the publication through typography and publication.

The binding uses a French fold to hide the information inside, and reading requires the folds of each page to be cut open or guided read by a cut line. For example, information is hidden in spine slits, in the fold marks on each French fold page, or by covering text with a silver coating. The information is only visible if the inside pages are cut or the coating is scratched away.

In addition, through my printing experiments I have found that it is more difficult for the eye to distinguish the nuances of colour in the same colour environment. Therefore printing the same colour on the same colour paper is more conducive to hiding information.

This project seeks to escape censorship by physically hiding information in publications, creating a reading barrier that makes the information more difficult to access.

This week My main work is to find some examples of secret communication print through the research of historical radical press. Include: these methods can be used for a variety of purposes, such as to protect sensitive information, to convey hidden messages or codes, or to evade surveillance or censorship.

First, is the Morse code. This is the most common way to send secret messages in times of war.
For example, during the French Resistance in World War II, underground newspapers used cryptic messages and hidden meanings to convey information to resistance fighters and allies. Similarly, during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, activists used coded language and symbols to communicate with one another and evade detection by authorities.

Then there are invisible inks, which are invisible after writing but can be made visible by heating or UV light. It was also used in secret communications during the two world wars. UV markers are now the most commonly used method of writing, with the written information being displayed when exposed to UV light.

The third example is Moiré pattern. This is a way of breaking up information that needs to be hidden into an unreadable pattern that needs to be read by means of a special card called Grating.

The last example is nvshu, a unique Chinese writing system that originated in China. It is a
script used exclusively by women and forbidden to men. The purpose is to serve as a secret communication method for female friends to communicate, and it is usually presented in the form of weaving and embroidery, so generally men will only regard this type of text as ordinary patterns.

Reflection on audience engagement：

After engaging in dialogue with the audience, I found that the project was limited to exploring the ways in which government intervention in the news
is presented in visual form, yet the substantive issue of the news being interfered with was not addressed. It may not be possible for individuals to influence the interventions of those in power, but historically radical press has always seen a small number of independent media outlets disseminating information through independent publishing. Therefore, if I want to publish news as an independent media outlet, how can I hide information in a publication to avoid censorship?

The government’s obfuscation, concealment and deletion of many truthful news items has led to their gradual disappearance from the Internet, and even blocked articles posted by informed people through their self-media accounts. The government’s interference in the dissemination of news has seriously affected the accuracy and truthfulness of news dissemination. When the truth of the news is hidden, accordingly fake news created by the government is created to fill this news section.

In a context where readers want real news from news stories, false news content is as meaningless as Lorem Ipsum. They only serve as a blank piece of textual filler and do not really serve the reader’s purpose. So， I have transformed a piece of fake news into Lorem Ipsum as a way of making a call for readers to think critically about the veracity of the news they consume.

Similarly my next plan is to print this fake news in the form of Lorem Ipsum on masks. The masks imply government control over the masses, like an invisible hand covering people’s mouths and not allowing them to make their voices heard. It also means that the source of information disseminated by the masses is restricted, and the only way to get information is from the words on the masks.

“Obscured News” project aims to reveal the unseen side of the news and how the government manipulates the news on the internet from behind the scenes.

In the era of big data, a large number of hot news stories are posted on the internet and spread rapidly through internet platforms, attracting a lot of attention. However, as governments intervene behind the scenes on the Internet, high-profile news stories are gradually hidden from view, as if they never happened. These stories appear to be in a stable Internet system, yet they are extremely vulnerable to tampering and blocking.

Is what we are seeing the truth? Or is it what they want us to see?

How does the behind-the-scenes manipulation of online news challenge the accurate dissemination of news?

This project uses the form of newspapers to translate the expressions of the news parties on the Internet into newspaper columns and publish them, so as to present the real situation of news events. In addition, use temperature-sensitive ink to smear and cover the content in the newspaper. When the ink comes into contact with the temperature of the human body, it will produce a discoloration effect, and the occluded text will also appear. Through the interaction with readers, it implies that the government or those in power are manipulating the presentation and hiding of news content behind the network. As the number of clicks and heat increases, the internet presents more of the truth of the news.