Authoritarian regimes worldwide are intensifying their crackdown on independent voices—silencing dissent, restricting access to information, and punishing those who refuse to conform. On September 18, NED’s International Forum for Democratic Studies brought together courageous democracy defenders from Iran, Nicaragua, and Tibet to reveal how they are defying censorship and standing firm for free expression against some of the world’s most repressive regimes.
Moderated by NED Board Treasurer Juan Zarate, the conversation brought together:
- Evan Firoozi, executive director of NetFreedom Pioneers
- Juan Lorenzo Holmann, general manager and publisher of La Prensa
- Lhadon Tethong, co-founder and director of Tibet Action Institute
Watch the event recording here.
The Fight for Free Expression Is Personal
For all three panelists, the fight for free expression is personal.
Evan Firoozi realized this from a young age. Despite growing up under the repressive Iranian regime, Firoozi had access to satellite television and later the internet–privileges most of his peers did not enjoy. This exposure opened his eyes to “see beyond the narrow boundaries the government tried to impose.” Firoozi, who was imprisoned in Iran for his human rights activism, committed to providing others with the same access. Underscoring the power of unfiltered information, he observed: “Propaganda only works if people have no choice. If citizens can decide what to read, what to study, and when and how to do it, authoritarian control begins to crumble.”
In Nicaragua, Juan Lorenzo Holmann’s newspaper La Prensa endures as a bastion of free expression under Daniel Ortega’s dictatorial regime. In 2021, the government imprisoned Holmann for 545 days and then forced him into exile for daring to publish the truth. However, he continues to manage the publication from afar, recognizing the critical role of the independent media in the fight for freedom. Holmann explained that “without freedom of the press, there is no freedom; without freedom of expression, even the right to life is diminished. Protecting these freedoms safeguards all others.”
For Tibetans, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Lhadon Tethong, raised in exile, described how the People’s Republic of China has tried to erase Tibet from the map, and, today, the threat to free expression goes much deeper than political speech. Simply being Tibetan is considered subversive. AI systems like DeepSeek present the world with a version of reality that obscures Tibet’s existence, while 80 percent of Tibetan children are forced into colonial boarding schools designed to instill a “Chinese mindset.” Yet, even after seven decades of repression by one of the world’s most powerful autocracies, Tibetans, “a small people led by a monk preaching compassion and nonviolence,” continue to resist and inspire activists around the globe.
The discussion underscored just how profoundly regimes that suppress free expression can distort everyday life. In Tibet, Tethong noted that algorithms “don’t just censor words—they try to analyze whether you’re a ‘good’ Tibetan or a ‘bad’ Tibetan, loyal or disloyal.” In Nicaragua, Catholic schools, universities, charities, and media have been shuttered by a regime hostile toward “any institution—church, media, or civil society—that gives people an independent voice.” In places like Iran and North Korea, repressive regimes “try to convince people they cannot decide their own future.”
Yet around the globe, civil society is pushing back.
Resilience Through Innovation and Adaptation
While technology can be used by regimes like the Chinese Communist Party for repression, prodemocratic innovators are leveraging it as a powerful instrument in the struggle for free expression. In settings like Iran, they have effectively leveraged technologies like virtual private networks (VPNs) and satellite broadcasting to frustrate autocratic attempts at controlling information and dodging accountability. Firoozi observed that “technology in itself is just a tool. We can use it for good or bad… we must do our part and make a good use of technology; otherwise [all that comes out] of technology are bad things.”
Despite dictators’ intensifying efforts to control the digital space, social media and messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram remain vital tools for communication and connection in repressive environments. Iran for instance has one of the highest rates of Instagram usage in the world, even though the app is officially banned, and social media platforms played an essential role in catalyzing the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement two years ago. Firoozi stated that Iranian social media users, especially women, women “knew from social media that the government’s propaganda was a lie—that a different world existed.”
Tethong noted that as technology continues to evolve, civil society activists and organizations like Tibet Action Institute have an important role to play in “demystifying” new hardware and software so that citizens can use it readily in their everyday lives. Through training and awareness-raising, new technologies can be harnessed to bypass censorship—even in places as tightly controlled as Tibet. It’s “a constantly changing game of cat and mouse,” she observed, “but the human desire for freedom is… ultimately more powerful.”
Traditional media outlets like Holmann’s La Prensa, once physically printed in Nicaragua, are incorporating modern digital approaches to expand their audience. Even though it now operates in exile, La Prensa has broadened its audience by using social media platforms and video content to reach people where they are, whether in Nicaragua or among the diaspora community. This pivot has allowed La Prensa to remain relevant and credible as a news source in Nicaragua, where 65 percent of its viewers still live.
The Need for Cooperation and the Enduring Desire for Freedom
Cooperation and coordination remain crucial in the struggle against authoritarian censorship. Firoozi noted that autocratic regimes are “sharing tools, they are sharing methods, they are sharing technology. We [activists] have to do the same thing to fight them back.”
Tethong called attention to the need for support from democratic societies. Organizations like Tibet Action Institute do critical work with small and often under-resourced staff, creating tools and trainings that are widely used by the Tibetan diaspora and those still living in-country. Funders need to take into account that, as in the private tech sector, creating digital tools that work well often requires trial and error before a successful product is created.
Holmann urged those defending free speech to stand together: “We have to replace evil with light.” In the end, he reminded the audience, the numbers favor freedom—there will always be more citizens demanding their rights than tyrants seeking to deny them.
Learn more:
- NED Impact Report: Protecting Free Speech and Countering Authoritarian Censorship
