Editing Book burning (section)

===21st century===
The advent of the digital age has resulted in the cataloguing of an immense collection of written works, exclusively or primarily in digital form. The intentional deletion or removal of these works has often been referred to as a new form of book burning.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ruggiero |first=Lucia |date=2013-07-09 |title=Digital books; could they make censorship and "book burning" easier? {{!}} Digital meets Culture |url=http://www.digitalmeetsculture.net/article/digital-books-could-they-make-censorship-and-book-burning-easier/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415075702/https://www.digitalmeetsculture.net/article/digital-books-could-they-make-censorship-and-book-burning-easier/ |archive-date=2021-04-15 |access-date=2015-10-22 |website=Digital Meets Culture}}</ref> For example, [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], the world's largest online marketplace, has increasingly banned the sale of controversial books. An article in ''The New York Times'' reported that "Booksellers that sell on Amazon say the retailer has no coherent philosophy about what it decides to prohibit, and seems largely guided by public complaints."<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Streitfeld |first1=David |author-link=David Streitfeld |date=2020-03-17 |title=Amazon Bans, then Reinstates, Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/technology/amazon-hitler-mein-kampf.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331172108/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/technology/amazon-hitler-mein-kampf.html |archive-date=2022-03-31 |issn=1553-8095}}</ref>

A biblioclastic incident occurred in [[Mullumbimby]], [[New South Wales]], [[Australia]] in 2009. Reported as "just like the ritual burning of books in Nazi Germany", a book-burning ceremony was held by students of the "socially harmful cult" [[Universal Medicine]], an [[Alice Bailey#Esoteric healing|esoteric healing]] business which was owned by Serge Benhayon.<ref name="Whitbourn">{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/self-styled-healer-serge-benhayon-leads-socially-harmful-cult-jury-20181010-p508ux.html|title=Self-styled healer Serge Benhayon leads 'socially harmful cult': jury|last1=Whitbourn|first1=Michaela|date=15 October 2018|work=Sydney Morning Herald|publisher=Fairfax Media|access-date=27 October 2018|archive-date=15 October 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20181015092108/https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/self-styled-healer-serge-benhayon-leads-socially-harmful-cult-jury-20181010-p508ux.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Students were invited to throw their books onto the [[pyre]]. Most of the volumes were on [[Chinese medicine]], [[kinesiology]], [[acupuncture]], [[homeopathy]] and other [[alternative healing]] modalities, all of which Benhayon has decreed evil or "[[prana]]".<ref name="The Da Vinci Mode">{{cite news|last1=Leser|first1=David|title=The Da Vinci Mode|url=http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/the-da-vinci-mode-20120824-24h50.html|work=Sydney Morning Herald|date=25 August 2012|access-date=2015-01-05|archive-date=15 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150115014742/http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/the-da-vinci-mode-20120824-24h50.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Russian nationalists burned Ukrainian history books in [[Crimea]] in 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-03-16 |title=Book Burning in Ukraine Stokes Controversy About History |work=[[Voice of America]] |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/book-burning-in-ukraine-stokes-controversy-about-history-88239147/169847.html |access-date=20 May 2022 |archive-date=20 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520102336/https://www.voanews.com/a/book-burning-in-ukraine-stokes-controversy-about-history-88239147/169847.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Prorussian demonstrators burned books in Eastern Ukraine, 2014.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-03-16 |title=Pro-Russian demonstrators burn books, storm buildings in eastern Ukraine |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-east-idUSBREA2F0P220140316 |access-date=2023-10-25 |archive-date=16 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316215525/https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/16/us-ukraine-east-idUSBREA2F0P220140316 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Since the beginning of the Yemeni civil war in 2014, many [[Zaydism|Zaydi]] libraries have been destroyed, often deliberatly by Salafi militants. These libraries are a unique part of Yemen's cultural life due to the intellectual heritage included and its preservation of the teachings of the Mu’tazilites.{{sfn|Ovenden |2020|pp=164–165}}

In 2015, [[ISIS]] burned some 8,000 books it had taken from the Central Library of [[Mosul]], inlcuding some books and manuscripts dating back 800 years, as they allegedly "promoted infidelity and called for disobeying Allah". Some local bookshop owners claimed that the group was only burning 'normal books' and were intending to sell the rare books on the black market in order to finance their operations.<ref>{{cite news |title=ISIS reportedly burning books looted from Mosul library in Iraq - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-reportedly-burning-books-looted-from-mosul-library-in-iraq/ |access-date=5 March 2025 |work=www.cbsnews.com |agency=CBS |date=24 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Buchanan |first1=Rose Troup |last2=Saul |first2=Heather |title=Isis burn hundreds of years of human knowledge to the ground |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-burns-thousands-of-rare-books-and-manuscripts-from-mosul-s-libraries-10068408.html |access-date=5 March 2025 |work=The Independent |date=26 February 2015 |language=en}}</ref>

After the [[2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt|failed 2016 Turkish coup d'état]], the Turkish government burned 301,878 books deemed related to the coup or its alleged leader, [[Fethullah Gülen]], including 18 textbooks with the word "[[Pennsylvania]]" in them. Photos of books being burned became a viral sensation on the internet once they were taken by a website named Kronos27.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Alison |first=Flood |date=2019-08-06 |title=Turkish government destroys more than 300,000 books |language=en |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/aug/06/turkish-government-destroys-more-than-300000-books |access-date=2021-12-19 |archive-date=19 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219215310/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/aug/06/turkish-government-destroys-more-than-300000-books |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=P |first=Jinoy Jose |date=2019-08-08 |title=When 301,878 books were murdered in Turkey... |language=en |work=[[The Hindu Business Line]] |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/the-cheat-sheet/the-cheat-sheet-when-301878-books-were-murdered-in-turkey/article28880482.ece |url-status=live |access-date=2021-12-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808071913/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/the-cheat-sheet/the-cheat-sheet-when-301878-books-were-murdered-in-turkey/article28880482.ece |archive-date=2019-08-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Andrei |first=Mihai |date=2019-08-07 |title=Turkey burns 300,000 books from schools and public libraries |url=https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/turkey-burns-books-libraries-07082019/ |access-date=2021-12-19 |website=ZME Science |language=en-US |archive-date=19 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219215309/https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/turkey-burns-books-libraries-07082019/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2019 Poland, priests in [[Gdańsk]] burned ''[[Harry Potter]]'' books.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47771706|title=Harry Potter books burned by Polish priests alarmed by magic|publisher=BBC News|date=April 1, 2019|accessdate=April 1, 2019}}</ref>

In 2019, the [[French language in Ontario|French-language]] [[Conseil scolaire catholique Providence|Providence Catholic School Board]] in [[southwestern Ontario]] held a 'flame purification' ceremony and burned around thirty recently banned children's books. The ashes were used as fertilizer to plant trees and according to the participants the action was 'to turn a negative to a positive'. The books included [[The Adventures of Tintin|Tintin]] and [[Asterix]] and were deemed harmful to Indigenous people.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gerbet|first=Thomas|date=2021-09-07|title=Des écoles détruisent 5000 livres jugés néfastes aux Autochtones, dont Tintin et Astérix|trans-title=Schools destroy 5,000 books deemed harmful to Indigenous people, including Tintin and Asterix|url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1817537/livres-autochtones-bibliotheques-ecoles-tintin-asterix-ontario-canada|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210907160421/https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1817537/livres-autochtones-bibliotheques-ecoles-tintin-asterix-ontario-canada|archive-date=7 September 2021|work=Radio-Canada.ca|language=fr-ca|access-date=20 October 2021}}</ref>

Since the introduction of the controversial [[2020 Hong Kong national security law|national security law]] in 2020, multiple counts of biblioclasm have been reported. Shortly after the introduction of the new law, books written by prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy figures, including [[Joshua Wong]] and [[Tanya Chan]], have been removed from [[Hong Kong Public Libraries|public libraries]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-07-05 |title=Democracy activists' books unavailable in Hong Kong libraries after new law |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-protests-books-idUSKBN246072 |access-date=2022-06-06 |archive-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606190958/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-protests-books-idUSKBN246072 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, 29 previously available titles about the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre|Tiananmen Massacre]] are completely removed from the public libraries, whilst 94 of the remaining 120 titles are only available on request.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cheng |first=Selina |date=2021-11-21 |title=Exclusive: Hong Kong public libraries purge 29 titles about the Tiananmen Massacre from the shelves |language=en-GB |work=[[Hong Kong Free Press]] |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2021/11/21/hong-kong-public-libraries-purge-29-titles-about-the-tiananmen-massacre-from-their-shelves/ |access-date=2022-06-06}}</ref> In 2022, reported by local media, three secondary schools removed more than 400 books since June 2021.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Li |first=Almond |date=2022-06-06 |title=Hong Kong schools should remove books that endanger national security, education secretary says |language=en-GB |work=[[Hong Kong Free Press]] |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2022/06/06/hong-kong-schools-should-remove-books-that-endanger-national-security-education-secretary-says/ |access-date=2022-06-06 |archive-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220606145113/https://hongkongfp.com/2022/06/06/hong-kong-schools-should-remove-books-that-endanger-national-security-education-secretary-says/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike the two book burning happened in the public libraries, the schools were not given any concrete criteria but the schools had to perform the [[self-censorship]] themselves.<ref name=":0" /> Titles that were removed included those related to the [[2019–2020 Hong Kong protests|2019-2020 Hong Kong protests]], Tiananmen Massacre and jailed activists.<ref name=":0" /> In the same year, the Hong Kong government also refused to provide a list of books that have been removed from the public libraries.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chau |first=Candice |date=2022-04-07 |title=Hong Kong gov't refuses to say which library books are banned under national security law |work=[[Hong Kong Free Press]] |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2022/04/07/hong-kong-govt-refuses-to-say-which-library-books-are-banned-under-national-security-law/ |access-date=2022-06-06 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220407035503/https://hongkongfp.com/2022/04/07/hong-kong-govt-refuses-to-say-which-library-books-are-banned-under-national-security-law/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2021 some religious communities in the United States have started holding book burning ceremonies to garner attention and publicly denounce heretical beliefs. In Tennessee pastor [[Greg Locke]] has held sermons over the incineration of books like Harry Potter and Twilight.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-04 |title=Tennessee pastor leads burning of Harry Potter and Twilight novels |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/04/book-burning-harry-potter-twilight-us-pastor-tennessee |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=the Guardian |language=en |archive-date=1 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201181359/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/04/book-burning-harry-potter-twilight-us-pastor-tennessee |url-status=live }}</ref> This trend of calling for the burning of books one's ideology conflicts with has continued into the political sphere. Two members of a Virginia school board Rabih Abuismail, and Kirk Twigg, have condoned the burning of recently banned books to keep their ideas out of the minds of the public.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-10 |title=Book Burning Urged By Spotsylvania School Board Members |url=https://patch.com/virginia/fredericksburg/book-burning-urged-spotsylvania-county-school-board-members |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=Fredericksburg, VA Patch |language=en |archive-date=1 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201181400/https://patch.com/virginia/fredericksburg/book-burning-urged-spotsylvania-county-school-board-members |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |last=Burke |first=Timothy |user=bubbaprog |number=1458521438269366283 |date=10 November 2021 |title=You need to *see* and *hear* the Virginia elected officials set forth their plan to burn books they oppose — one of which the American Library Association named a "Best Book for Young Adults" This nation's march toward fascism is turning into a full sprint. https://t.co/jgmfSaAHGU |language=en |access-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218121205/https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1458521438269366283 |archive-date=18 December 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2023, Missouri State Senator and gubernatorial candidate [[Bill Eigel]] showed off a flamethrower at a campaign event and vowed to burn "woke pornographic books [...] on the front lawn of the governor's mansion" if elected.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bayless |first=Kacen |date=2023-09-18 |title=Republican candidate for Missouri governor vows to burn books after viral flamethrower video |url=https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article279475914.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230918181125/https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article279475914.html |archive-date=2023-09-18 |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=Kansas City Star}}</ref>

During the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the destruction of Ukrainian books, especially on the history of Ukraine and the history of the Russian-Ukrainian war, are known. In Mariupol, Russians burned all the books from the library of the church of Petro Mohyla.<ref>{{Cite web |title=In Mariupol, the occupiers burned all the books from the library of the church of Petro Mohyla |url=https://holodomormuseum.org.ua/en/news/in-mariupol-the-occupiers-burned-all-the-books-from-the-library-of-the-church-of-petro-mohyla/ |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide |language=en |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601185654/https://holodomormuseum.org.ua/en/news/in-mariupol-the-occupiers-burned-all-the-books-from-the-library-of-the-church-of-petro-mohyla/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the temporarily occupied Mariupol, Russian invaders threw away books from the library collections of the Pryazovskyi State Technical University.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-25 |title=Occupants throw away books from the university library in Mariupol |url=https://chytomo.com/en/occupants-throw-away-books-from-the-university-library-in-mariupol/ |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=chytomo.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601185654/https://chytomo.com/en/occupants-throw-away-books-from-the-university-library-in-mariupol/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Russian “military police” seized and destroyed books on Ukrainian history and culture in the occupied territories in the Northeast of Ukraine. There are also cases of destruction and damage to the Ukrainian archives with documents about Soviet repression and attempts to introduce Russian re-educational programs in Melitopol.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=April 2022 |title=Russian occupiers launch war on Ukrainian history, burning books and destroying archives |url=https://euromaidanpress.com/2022/04/02/russian-occupiers-launch-war-on-ukrainian-history-burning-books-and-destroying-archives/ |access-date= |website=Euromaidan Press |language= |archive-date=29 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529130200/https://euromaidanpress.com/2022/04/02/russian-occupiers-launch-war-on-ukrainian-history-burning-books-and-destroying-archives/ |url-status=live }}</ref>