ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Eastern Bloc information dissemination

Okay kiddo, let me explain it to you. Once upon a time, there were some countries in Europe who were called the Eastern Bloc. These countries were under the control of the Soviet Union, a big and powerful country. The leaders of the Eastern Bloc countries wanted to control what their people knew and didn't want them to hear anything negative about the government or disagree with them.

So, they set up their own news outlets that only told the people what the government wanted them to hear. They also controlled what books, movies, and music people were allowed to see and hear. This was called information dissemination.

But, the people wanted to know what was happening outside their country, and they started listening to news from other countries’ radio stations or reading foreign newspapers. The government didn't like this, so they tried to jam the foreign signals on the radios and block the foreign newspapers from entering the country. But people found ways to get around these obstacles and still get information from outside.

Eventually, the people got so tired of the government controlling their information that they started protesting and demanding their basic freedoms. This led to the fall of the Eastern Bloc and the end of information control. Today, most countries allow their people to have access to a wide range of information sources and make their own decisions about what they believe.