Yes, George Orwell did write a preface to Animal Farm titled “The Freedom of the Press,” which was omitted from the original publication and remained unpublished until 1972. This omission is widely regarded as a form of suppression, primarily due to the political sensitivities of the time.

In the preface, Orwell criticized the self-censorship prevalent among British publishers and intellectuals during World War II, particularly their reluctance to publish material critical of the Soviet Union, an ally against Nazi Germany. He argued that the suppression of dissenting views was not solely due to government censorship but also stemmed from a pervasive fear of public opinion and a desire to conform to prevailing orthodoxies. Orwell noted that unpopular ideas could be silenced without official bans, highlighting the role of intellectual cowardice in stifling free expression.

The preface was discovered in 1971 in Orwell’s original typescript and published the following year in the Times Literary Supplement. Since then, it has been included in some editions of Animal Farm and is available online. However, it is not universally included in all published copies of the book.

Sources:

https://www.democracynow.org/2015/9/22/noam_chomsky_on_the_myth_of

https://www.marxists.org/archive/orwell/1945/preface.htm

https://dbts.edu/2021/05/28/learning-from-history-orwells-prophetic-proposed-preface-to-animal-farm-and-freedom-in-society/