Report: Book bans on the rise
A new report says book bans are rising and nearly a third of them are a direct result of new restrictive state laws, including in South Carolina.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)— A new report says book bans are rising and nearly a third of them are a direct result of new restrictive state laws, including in South Carolina.
Pen America, a literary and free expression advocacy organization, say 874 different titles were banned by state legislators in the second half of 2022.
The most restrictive bans are in five states—Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina.
The most targeted books addressed ideas of self-discovery, racism, and gender identity.
The report also acknowledges that the closing of entire school libraries indicates that the true scale of book censorship could be even worse than it appears.
