The Communist Party of China uses the country's mass media as a propaganda tool to promote social stability and the party's agenda. The CCP censors the media through tactics like fines, demotions, imprisonment and closing outlets. The government also restricts information online through blocking websites and canceling searches. In 1989, student protests in Tiananmen Square calling for democratic reforms were violently suppressed by the military, resulting in hundreds or possibly over a thousand deaths. The government continues censoring information about this event.