Book bans: Censorship challenges are soaring in the US

3/23/23 8:00PM

Restricted reading

‍New data from the American Library Association (ALA) reveals that the number of attempts to ban books nearly doubled in the US last year, with 1,269 restrictive challenges waged against reading materials and other resources in America’s public and school libraries.

The number of unique titles affected by banning efforts is rocketing too, with challengers broadening their scopes — 40% of books targeted were in motions relating to 100+ titles.

‍Bans in the USA

‍The vast majority of 2022’s challenged titles are written by or about members of the LGBTQ+ community and people of color. And, while book banning in the US isn’t a new phenomenon, the current surge is part of what’s being labeled an “era like none other in the country’s history” — linked, inextricably, with the rise in political polarization across the country.

That sentiment is firmly supported by the ALA’s latest figures — the Association has been gathering data on censorship in US libraries for over 20 years, but it’s only since the pandemic that attempts to ban books have properly taken off. With thousands of public and school libraries shuttered during Covid, attempts to blacklist books fell to a 20-year low. Banners have hit the books hard since, with demands rising sharply in the last 2 years.

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The UAE’s OPEC exit will hit the group in the barrels

After just shy of 60 years in OPEC, its membership even predating its status as a nation-state, the United Arab Emirates yesterday announced its shocking departure from the oil production group, effective May 1, as the knock-on effects of the Iran war continue to play out across the Middle East and the energy landscape.

For context, the UAE produces the third-highest amount of oil in the group, per April data and OPEC’s latest set of annual statistics.

According to the cartel’s 2025 Annual Statistical Bulletin, the OPEC group was collectively exporting some 19 million barrels of crude oil a day last year, with the United Arab Emirates accounting for some 14% of that daily output.

UAExit means UAExit

The nation, whose energy minister told Reuters yesterday that the decision was taken “after a careful look at current and future policies related to level of production” and wasn’t made following discussions with any other country, made up a healthy share of the group’s total confirmed crude oil reserves, as well.

Of the 12 nations in the core group, which was founded by just five oil superpowers back in September 1960, only two (Iraq and Saudi Arabia) exported more barrels of crude oil daily, pumping out 3.36 million and 6.05 million barrels, respectively, each day to nations around the world.

For its part, the UAE said it will “continue its responsible role by gradually and thoughtfully increasing production, in line with demand and market conditions,” per the official state news agency. Clearly, the nation now wants a little more control of just how much oil it can pump around the world, with the UAE having to eat a large proportion of lost revenues due to its healthy abundance and OPEC restrictions.