The United States Labels Nonprofits as Foreign Threats, Borrowing from an Authoritarian Playbook | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.

Increasing government scrutiny targets nonprofits for alleged “foreign” activity, including foreign funding and supposed support for foreign terrorism. Congressional committees probe nonprofit leaders under “foreign influence” concerns, while the Department of Justice investigates the Open Society Foundations over allegations including material support for terrorism. Nonprofits must comply with genuine legal obligations while also facing politically motivated attacks framed as national security. Labels such as “terrorist,” “foreign agent,” and “enemy” can stigmatize and sideline nonprofits even without legal consequences. Similar tactics have been used by authoritarian leaders worldwide to delegitimize dissent and weaken civil society, including “foreign agent” laws used in countries such as Russia and Hungary.

"In recent months, there has been increasing government scrutiny of nonprofits for alleged involvement in “foreign” activity, including receiving foreign funding and supposedly supporting foreign terrorism. Congressional committees are hauling nonprofit leaders before them to probe “foreign influence.” The Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an investigation into the Open Society Foundations on allegations including material support for terrorism."

"Nonprofits must now navigate both genuine legal compliance obligations and politically motivated attacks dressed up in the language of national security. Moreover, these labels—“terrorist,” “foreign agent,” “enemy”—threaten to stigmatize and sideline nonprofits even if they face no legal repercussions."

"These tactics are not new. Authoritarian leaders around the world have long wielded them to delegitimize dissent and weaken civil society organizations. “Foreign agent”-style laws have become a preferred instrument for authoritarians from Russia to Hungary. In this piece, we explore how authoritarians abroad have used foreign agent labels and legislation to stifle civil society, connect those tactics to what is happening domestically, and offer ways the nonprofit community can stand together against them."

"Russia's 2012 foreign agent law has been used to target civil society and stymie critics of the regime for more than a decade. The law requires any nonprofit receiving even minimal international funding to register as a foreign agent—a term with Soviet-era connotations of espionage and betrayal. Earlier restrictions on Russian civil society"

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