The internet is now the most important tool authoritarians use to stifle dissent and suppress freedom. Vast censorship operations like the great firewall in China allow governments to monitor and censor all content, while sophisticated software like Pegasus grants dictators the ability to hack into the phone of any activist or journalist. Authoritarian regimes can also use blunter tools, like overwhelming social media with propaganda or shutting the internet off during contentious periods like election cycles or military coups, in order to spread misinformation, mistrust, and impede communication. This panel will explore what tools regimes use to discredit, censor, intimidate, and silence people, the challenges activists specifically face from authoritarian regimes, and how activists can use technology to get around censorship under a dictatorship.
➔ Join this panel discussion moderated by CNN multimedia producer Melissa Mahtani, with Iranian journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad; President of The Campaign for Hong Kong Samuel Chu; and Venezuelan activist, journalist, & Executive Director of RedesAyuda Melanio Escobar.
