What happens to social media when the government is monitoring it?

34:11

Updated June 13, 2025

Grace Tatter
Emily Jankowski
Amory Sivertson
Ben Brock Johnson

In this file photo taken Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014, a protester holds a yellow umbrella, the symbol of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, at the barricades as the police keep clearing them away at an occupied area in Mong Kok district of Hong Kong. A legislative bill that harkened back on Beijing's promise to allow Hong Kong residents to vote for their leader, triggered massive demonstrations in Hong Kong's most crowded districts, led by young activists and lasting 79 days. The movement's organizers called it "Occupy Central with Love and Peace," but around the world, the sustained sit-in came to be known as the "Umbrella Revolution" for the yellow umbrellas which protesters used as shields against police pepper spray. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Jeffrey Ngo is from Hong Kong. He used to talk about politics all of the time with his friends in group chats and on social media, from casually sending memes, to planning protests.

What happens to online speech when you're unsure how much the government is monitoring your speech, and what the repercussions will be if they don't like it?

Show notes:

PROFILE: For Jeffrey Ngo, The Fight For Hong Kong is Far From Over(The Hoya)
Social Media and the Hong Kong Protests (The New Yorker)
Hong Kong protesters join hands in 30-mile human chain (The Guardian)
Hong Kong national security law: What is it and is it worrying? (BBC)

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This article was originally published on June 13, 2025.