  The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified numerous social issues that warrant
academic investigation. Although information dissemination has been extensively
studied, the silenced voices and censored content also merit attention due to
their role in mobilizing social movements. In this paper, we provide empirical
evidence to explore the relationships among COVID-19 regulations, censorship,
and protest through a series of social incidents occurred in China during 2022.
We analyze the similarities and differences between censored articles and
discussions on r/china\_irl, the most popular Chinese-speaking subreddit, and
scrutinize the temporal dynamics of government censorship activities and their
impact on user engagement within the subreddit. Furthermore, we examine users'
linguistic patterns under the influence of a censorship-driven environment. Our
findings reveal patterns in topic recurrence, the complex interplay between
censorship activities, user subscription, and collective commenting behavior,
as well as potential linguistic adaptation strategies to circumvent censorship.
These insights hold significant implications for researchers interested in
understanding the survival mechanisms of marginalized groups within censored
information ecosystems.
