# Why is the Huffington Post Blocked this Morning? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887 "2017-07-10T01:33:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/1 "2017-07-10T01:33:46Z")
Last night it was not blocked. This morning the Ministry of Culture and Information has it blocked. Is there anything juicy about Saudi Arabia on the front page just about now? ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/2 "2017-07-10T01:55:16Z")
I just checked… saw no Saudi News. There is _this_ bombshell of a story, though: “Julianne Hough And Brooks Laich Get Married In Idaho Ceremony”. Perhaps that’s what’s causing the block. 🙂 ETA: Deutsche Welle is currently running a story that doesn’t have a lot of good to say about SA. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/3 "2017-07-10T02:03:53Z")
I just checked it for you, too. There is a story about Ashton Kutcher dissing some tabloid something or another. Could that be the issue? I’ll link to it, even though you probably won’t be able to see it. > **[Ashton Kutcher Disses Tabloid For Suggesting He Was Cheating](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ashton-kutcher-disses-tabloid_n_596265a8e4b0d5b458eb3404?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009)** > > "These magazines lack integrity." I’ll look for the story from another source. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/4 "2017-07-10T02:12:33Z")
There’s a slideshow on the HuffPo front page of women around the world protesting: some bare-breasted, some bare-assed. Could be it. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/5 "2017-07-10T02:21:08Z")
It might be a temporary block. There might be something upsetting the Proper Authorities just now. It might be a permanent block. Al Jazeera is now blocked forever it seems. Has been for a couple of weeks. Good solid Tory government. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/6 "2017-07-10T02:44:06Z")
Dude, VPN’s I am surprised though. You would know better about how the Saudis act regularly, however the times I have used the Saudi net, they did not seem to bother about the kind of stories that have been mentioned by other posters\*.More concerned about direct political opposition. \*I am not getting those stories when I go to HuffPo, I am seeing something about wildfires in California and about Donald Trump and and Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Rama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ccd318/32.png) [@Rama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rama)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/7 "2017-07-10T09:57:43Z")
Is it advisable to use VPN’s in such a country? They block those websites for a reason. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/8 "2017-07-10T10:16:51Z")
Maybe related to [this](https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2017/07/04/the-hyprocrisy-of-huffpo-after-celebrating-the-hijab-now-reports-that-women-in-iran-are-protesting-its-mandatory-wearing/)? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/9 "2017-07-10T10:19:07Z")
> [@Rama](#): > > Is it advisable to use VPN’s in such a country? > > They block those websites for a reason. Which is? ---
**Author:** ![Rama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ccd318/32.png) [@Rama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rama)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/10 "2017-07-10T10:26:52Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Which is? I didn’t mean to condone censorship but I’m sure they have their reasons. I was just asking if it is smart to go around the state’s blockades. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/11 "2017-07-10T11:31:53Z")
Lots of people use VPN’s. I have never bothered. The Huffington Post is still down. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/12 "2017-07-10T12:14:39Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Last night it was not blocked. This morning the Ministry of Culture and Information has it blocked. > > Is there anything juicy about Saudi Arabia on the front page just about now? Seems like it would be blocked [quite frequently](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/saudi-women). ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/13 "2017-07-10T12:22:57Z")
I am surprised at them blocking the venerable old HuffPo, or that any native Saudis would bother to read it. It’s not that much different to blocking **The Weekly World News**. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/14 "2017-07-11T01:05:27Z")
> [@Rama](#): > > I was just asking if it is smart to go around the state’s blockades. Well, yeah, because oppressive autocracies are evil, even when you live in them and agree to abide by their rules. China, 2011 to 2016. No VPN, no internet. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/15 "2017-07-11T01:29:28Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Well, yeah, because oppressive autocracies are evil, even when you live in them and agree to abide by their rules. China, 2011 to 2016. No VPN, no internet. And if they catch you doing it, there could be torture, prison, or murder ahead for you. Hence, the maybe not smart part. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/16 "2017-07-11T03:06:29Z")
I frankly doubt they care too much about someone using a VPN to access a blocked website. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/17 "2017-07-11T11:48:49Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > And if they catch you doing it, there could be torture, prison, or murder ahead for you. Hence, the maybe not smart part. Don’t be silly. Using a VPN isn’t on the same level as trying to overthrow the CCP. They don’t even try to catch up with you. ISP’s simply sniff for the traffic and then block those IP’s, or otherwise interfere with that traffic. Hence, the consequence of using a VPN is a small economic penalty of paying for a new VPN again. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/18 "2017-07-11T12:04:16Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > And if they catch you doing it, there could be torture, prison, or murder ahead for you. Hence, the maybe not smart part. I hear China has travelling execution vans, a cross between TV detector vans and a troupe of assassins. who park in front, detect what one is watching online, and then they swarm in and kill you all. In [Insert Foreign Nation of choice], they torture old people and children for reading celebrity gossip. As for Dread Vlad, saying anything critical immediately gets Russians 15 years in the Gulag. That is why Russians are such quiet, timid people, never uttering a peep. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/19 "2017-07-11T12:12:11Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Don’t be silly. Using a VPN isn’t on the same level as trying to overthrow the CCP. They don’t even try to catch up with you. ISP’s simply sniff for the traffic and then block those IP’s, or otherwise interfere with that traffic. Hence, the consequence of using a VPN is a small economic penalty of paying for a new VPN again. Or downloading one of thousands of proxy extension. I suspect Governmenst will give up on this as a bad job in about 5 years. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887/20 "2017-07-11T13:09:24Z")
Okay, maybe simply reading the wrong site might not lead to dire consequences–but posting to it sure as hell can. [http://www.news.com.au/world/breaking-news/blogger-arrested-in-vietnam/news-story/101587e37dc34f8a8eb6618036aea2a8](http://www.news.com.au/world/breaking-news/blogger-arrested-in-vietnam/news-story/101587e37dc34f8a8eb6618036aea2a8) > **[High-Profile Chinese Blogger Arrested for Online Comments, After Years of...](https://advox.globalvoices.org/2017/04/28/high-profile-chinese-blogger-arrested-for-online-comments-after-years-of-police-harassment/)** > > Under China's "stability control" measures, it is increasingly common for netizens who are critical of the government to be summoned or detained by police. > **[Thai man faces jail for insulting king's dog with 'sarcastic' internet post](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/15/thai-man-faces-jail-insulting-kings-dog-sarcastic-internet-post)** > > Case involving King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s pet Tongdaeng labelled ‘nonsense’, but lèse-majesté cases have surged in Thailand since junta seized power > **[Pakistan sentences man to death for blasphemy on Facebook](https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1920RN)** > > A Pakistani counter-terrorism court has sentenced to death a man who allegedly committed blasphemy on Facebook, a government prosecutor said on Sunday, the first time someone has been handed the death penalty for blaspheming on social media. Need more examples? Because those aren’t fluke events. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-huffington-post-blocked-this-morning/790887.md?page=2)