This article analyses patterns of artistic censorship documented by Mimeta in December 2025, focusing on 22 cases primarily from the MENA region. It maps how state security, religious authority, legal systems, informal pressure, and institutional governance converge to suppress cultural expression. The findings show morality and national security as dominant justifications, the rise of unwritten bans and procedural obstruction, and a troubling spread of similar mechanisms into democratic contexts.
Based on the 18 cases published as Mimeta Memos in November 2025, this analysis identifies key patterns in how artistic freedom is being suppressed globally, who is responsible, what triggers these incidents, and what forms censorship takes.
