article_snippet.sent: the government's increasingly heavy-handed repression of public dissent, combined with overt censorship of the media and the internet, have also contributed to a hyper-polarized and deeply mistrustful political atmosphere.
article_snippet.sent: On Tuesday, in the midst of the hostage crisis at the court house, the government imposed a gag order banning broadcasters from reporting on the Palace of Justice siege.
article_snippet.sent: The broadcast ban is a measure that the government has repeatedly used in recent years to stifle reporting on deadly terrorist attacks.
article_snippet.sent: the government also famously shut down Twitter and YouTube in an effort to kill highly embarrassing political scandals involving corruption.
article_snippet.sent: Heavy-handed censorship has left the mainstream media widely distrusted and discredited by broad segments of society.
article_snippet.sent: And the absence of a common, credible space for sharing information has pushed critics of their elected government to the fringes of social media.
highlights_snippet.sent: Censorship has pushed critics to fringes in country cited as democratic model for Mideast .