User:JPatrickBedell/Suppressionism
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Suppressionism is a neologism describing a wikipedia editing philosophy that seeks to delete articles dealing with certain topics (often referred to as w:conspiracy theories), or, failing that, systematically challenge every element of disputed article for appropriateness and conformity to wiki guidelines. The challenges may center on the credibility of the source, potential copyright infringement, or any of a number of other approaches.
This is the wiki equivalent of real-world institutions which find it expedient to suppress information. This is done by expelling (firing) the individuals associated with suppressed information and placing institutional restrictions on the information (classified information), among other ways. In extreme cases, many real-world institutions have found it effective to murder dissenters (cf. w:Michael Servetus and w:Danny Casolaro for quite different, yet similar circumstances). Those associated with such institutions may have particular motivation when addressing these particular cases in a wiki context to adopt a suppressionist editing philosophy. The suppressionist tendency is notably high in cases later identified as tragedies and/or crimes. For instance, the body of Germans who served as Hitler's willing executioners would each have challenged every suggestion that so-called "concentration camps" were inappropriate for discussion in the wikiverse. The general lack of ability to predict the future means that it is often difficult to distinguish suppressionist editing from other philosophies such as exclusionism and deletionism.
As a hypothetical example of suppressionism, various individuals associated with the w:United States Government demonstrated a strong motivation, in 2002, to suppress and discredit every piece of evidence to support the assertion that the government of w:Iraq was not in possession of w:weapons of mass destruction. Individuals with this institutional motivation, will naturally see suppressionism as an appropriate editing philosophy.
