What is CubaNews afraid of?

Does the Internet broaden or narrow one's viewpoint? We obviously have potential access to more information than ever before, but do we actually see more varied opinions?

Some of us narrow our exposure to serendipitous and challenging information by focusing our attention on Web sites and online communities that agree with us -- Democrats following Obama and Tea Party members following Palin. Eli Pariser argues that, even if we want to see challenging opinions, search engines send us biased results -- things we and our friends like.

Then there is good old fashioned censorship as exemplified by the CubaNews group on Yahoo. The CubaNews tagline is "News and information about Cuba today." It was established in August 2000, has 1,787 members, and is moderated.

When I started this blog, the CubaNews moderator, Walter Lippman, read some early posts and attacked them. I responded and also suggested that he read a report I had written earlier in the year. I had fruitful exchanges with some of his readers -- on the CubaNews list and in comments to blog posts.

Then someone sent me an email saying Lippman had censored his post to CubaNews. When I asked Lippman about that, he did not answer, and now he rejects my posts to CubaNews as well. Critics of the Castro government accuse it of propagandizing and stifling free expression -- CubaNews' behavior lends support to that claim.