From our point of view (Hacker News readers), it's easy to forget that these blackouts and the mainstream press that they created are the beginning and end of most people's SOPA education. I heard an intelligent and otherwise well-informed person say, "Yeah, what was this SOPA thing? It came up all of a sudden and then went away."<p>In that context, the focus on "censorship" <i>is</i> a bit misleading. It's a good way to get people's attention when you don't have the time to explain the DNS and why it's not an appropriate tool for combating piracy. Indeed, "censorship" is probably too <i>weak</i> a concept for the damage that SOPA would have caused to the internet, since it implies a selective redaction instead of the complete and indiscriminate excommunication of every blacklisted domain. I wouldn't call it "misinformation," but did people who knew better (so to speak) choose a "loaded and inflammatory term"? Absolutely.<p>It is marvelous how the victim of this "digital tsunami" can spin the case in his favor. Still, it's probably accurate to say that most people didn't understand what they were opposing.