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Our Work

Our Work

Explore our work that amplifies the voices of activists, supports dissidents, and challenges authoritarian regimes.

Our Work

Our Work

Explore our work that amplifies the voices of activists, supports dissidents, and challenges authoritarian regimes.

We work alongside visionary activists to create innovative solutions that unite the world in the fight against tyranny.
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Programs

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Art in Protest
Art in Protest
Art is a powerful tool for dissent in closed societies, provoking constructive dialogue and creating space for debate beyond mainstream bodies of political discourse. Authoritarian governments around the world recognize the power of art as a conduit of change and systematically persecute, repress, or censor artists to silence political dissent.
Financial Freedom
Financial Freedom
All governments, especially those of dictators, frequently debase, manipulate, demonetize, and surveil currencies, confiscate property, and freeze the bank accounts of people they don’t like. Dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists, and nonprofit organizations in authoritarian countries face enormous obstacles just to receive donations and pay bills.
Flash Drives for Freedom
Flash Drives for Freedom
So for many years, North Korean defectors have organized efforts to smuggle outside info into North Korea on USB drives to counter Kim Jong-un’s constant propaganda.
Wear your Values
Wear Your Values
The fashion industry is one of the world’s largest economies and employs millions of people globally. Authoritarian countries often house the most labor-intensive stages of production, leaving workers extremely susceptible to human rights violations without any path of recourse.
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Campaigns

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Belarus Solidarity Fund
Belarus Solidarity Fund
Since 1994, Belarus has been ruled by Alexander Lukashenko. For nearly three decades, he has established near-total control over Belarus’ law enforcement, judiciary, and political system, turning the country into one of the most repressive states on the planet. In August 2020, after failing to address the COVID-19 pandemic, falsifying the results of the presidential elections, and committing egregious human rights abuses, Lukashenko faced nationwide protests.
Venezuela Solidarity Fund
Venezuela Solidarity Fund
In a historic feat, on July 28, 2024, more than seven million Venezuelans voted to elect democratic opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia — Maria Corina Machado’s Unitary Platform replacement — as the new president of Venezuela, rejecting 25 years of authoritarian rule by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela; PSUV), first headed by Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chávez and, since 2014, by dictator Nicolás Maduro.
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Research Reports

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Report

How the Regime in Equatorial Guinea Exploits Football

Equatorial Guinea’s regime has strategically exploited the global appeal of football as a political tool.
Jun 23, 2026
Report

Dictators and Diplomas: Why Foreign Autocracies Funding American Universities Threatens Democracy, Destroys Academic Freedom, and Entrenches Anti-Democratic Regimes

For years, foreign dictatorships and their proxies have searched out any number of ways to influence policy and discourse in the United States. From hiring fleets of lobbyists to setting up dark money networks, from bankrolling sports leagues to launching disinformation campaigns on American social media platforms, from backing strategic investments to hiring consulting firms and white-shoe law firms, the list of targets is lengthy.
May 12, 2026
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Publications

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Op-ed
Blog Post
May 15, 2026
Delcy Rodríguez’s Trip to the Hague Took Her to the Wrong Court
Delcy Rodríguez, the de facto dictator of Venezuela, is in The Hague this week, though not at the International Criminal Court (ICC) where a senior official of her regime belongs.
Wear Your Values Blog Series
Blog Post
May 11, 2026
Why is Forced Labor So Prominent in Authoritarian Regimes?
The first piece of our series introduced a harsh reality: the clothes we wear every day are often produced within a global system where human rights are regularly violated and workers have limited ability to refuse or exit abusive conditions.
Reflections On HRF’s "Beyond Borders: Youth Resilience Against the CCP" Conference 
Blog Post
May 6, 2026
Reflections On HRF’s “Beyond Borders: Youth Resilience Against the CCP” Conference 
The following reflection was authored by Norpell Wilberforce, a London-based Tibetan activist, who attended HRF’s Beyond Borders activist workshop. The piece has been edited for clarity and condensed.
Keeping Uyghur Stories Alive: Q&A with Exiled Uyghur Journalist Tahir Imin
Blog Post
May 3, 2026
Keeping Uyghur Stories Alive: Q&A with Exiled Uyghur Journalist Tahir Imin
Press freedom is under threat globally, as media outlets face mounting challenges that force their closure and a growing number of journalists are thrown behind bars.
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Events

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College Freedom Forum
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Join us for our upcoming College Freedom Forum at Alte Münze, Berlin, on Friday, Sept. 25.

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