#authoritarianism--paranoia

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#iran
World news
fromwww.aljazeera.com
2 hours ago

Frustration grows as Iran's wartime internet shutdown breaks grim record

Iran's internet blackout is the longest in history, severely impacting jobs and the economy amid ongoing conflict.
Privacy technologies
fromnews.bitcoin.com
1 day ago

Iran's Internet Blackout Hits 35th Day as Citizens Risk Their Lives Reaching Out

The Iranian regime's digital blockade has lasted over 810 hours, severely limiting citizens' internet access and risking severe punishment for attempts to bypass it.
World news
fromwww.aljazeera.com
2 weeks ago

War spirals as information control tightens

The war on Iran has escalated with increased leadership assassinations, a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and strikes on energy infrastructure.
World news
fromwww.aljazeera.com
2 hours ago

Frustration grows as Iran's wartime internet shutdown breaks grim record

Iran's internet blackout is the longest in history, severely impacting jobs and the economy amid ongoing conflict.
Privacy technologies
fromnews.bitcoin.com
1 day ago

Iran's Internet Blackout Hits 35th Day as Citizens Risk Their Lives Reaching Out

The Iranian regime's digital blockade has lasted over 810 hours, severely limiting citizens' internet access and risking severe punishment for attempts to bypass it.
World news
fromwww.aljazeera.com
2 weeks ago

War spirals as information control tightens

The war on Iran has escalated with increased leadership assassinations, a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and strikes on energy infrastructure.
#belarus
LGBT
fromLGBTQ Nation
2 days ago

Belarus' parliament outlaws LGBTQ+ "propaganda" - LGBTQ Nation

Belarus has enacted a law criminalizing LGBTQ+ propaganda, following Russia's example, with severe penalties for violations.
LGBT
fromLGBTQ Nation
2 days ago

Belarus' parliament outlaws LGBTQ+ "propaganda" - LGBTQ Nation

Belarus has enacted a law criminalizing LGBTQ+ propaganda, following Russia's example, with severe penalties for violations.
Right-wing politics
fromTruthout
2 days ago

No Kings Must Mean No War: Foreign Policy Is Least Democratic Space in Politics

The majority of Iranian Americans oppose the war on Iran, despite media portrayal of pro-monarchy sentiments.
fromTruthout
3 days ago

Rupture and Repair Under Fascist Conditions

"We have a great opportunity in our movements to learn how to be opponents without being enemies," says Tanuja Jagernauth. This perspective emphasizes the importance of maintaining respect and understanding even amidst conflict.
Social justice
#hungary
Europe politics
fromwww.dw.com
3 days ago

Hungary's government accused of spying on opposition

Hungary's intelligence service allegedly attempted to infiltrate the opposition Tisza Party to influence election outcomes.
Europe politics
fromwww.dw.com
3 days ago

Hungary's Watergate: Secret service spied on opposition

Hungary's intelligence service allegedly attempted to infiltrate the opposition Tisza Party to influence election outcomes.
Europe politics
fromwww.dw.com
3 days ago

Hungary's government accused of spying on opposition

Hungary's intelligence service allegedly attempted to infiltrate the opposition Tisza Party to influence election outcomes.
Europe politics
fromwww.dw.com
3 days ago

Hungary's Watergate: Secret service spied on opposition

Hungary's intelligence service allegedly attempted to infiltrate the opposition Tisza Party to influence election outcomes.
Artificial intelligence
fromNextgov.com
4 days ago

Old-school spycraft could make a comeback as AI undermines trust

AI may enhance intelligence gathering but also revive traditional espionage methods due to reliability issues with digital communications.
Germany politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
4 days ago

Raise our heads and resist': how Europe's civil society is fighting back against the far right

Progressive civil society groups in Germany are perceived as undermining democracy by the far-right, leading to increased parliamentary scrutiny of NGOs.
London politics
fromwww.aljazeera.com
5 days ago

The attack on the right to protest in the UK is not just about Palestine

Recent trials of pro-Palestinian activists reveal politicised policing and legislation threatening free assembly in Britain.
#internet-censorship
fromSilicon Canals
1 month ago
World politics

How Iran built a parallel internet and what it reveals about the future of digital authoritarianism - Silicon Canals

Russo-Ukrainian War
fromwww.theguardian.com
5 days ago

Russia slowly trying to splinter its internet from rest of world, analysts say

Russia is gradually isolating its internet from the world, impacting millions through mobile blackouts and restrictions on essential communication platforms.
fromSilicon Canals
1 month ago
World politics

How Iran built a parallel internet and what it reveals about the future of digital authoritarianism - Silicon Canals

World news
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Internet blackout is tool of desperate regime to isolate Iranians, say experts

Iran implemented a near-total internet blackout following military strikes, primarily through intentional government action rather than infrastructure damage, to prevent coordinated opposition and maintain regime control.
France politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
6 days ago

Assault on justice': how far-right attacks are threatening rule of law in Europe

Marine Le Pen and Nicolas Sarkozy faced legal challenges, claiming political bias and injustice in the French judicial system.
World news
fromwww.npr.org
2 days ago

China's Communist Party investigates ex-Xinjiang leader Ma Xingrui

Former Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui is under investigation for suspected violations of discipline and law amid ongoing scrutiny of China's treatment of ethnic minorities.
Social justice
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 days ago

I will not yield': Taiwan convulsed by 17-year prison sentence for populist opposition figure

Ko Wen-je, sentenced to 17 years for corruption, rallied tens of thousands of supporters, asserting his resilience against the ruling party's attempts to eliminate him.
UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

They can reach me wherever': China using financial tactics to coerce people who flee, says report

Transnational repression tactics by Hong Kong authorities target dissidents abroad, using financial means to intimidate and control them.
World politics
fromwww.mediaite.com
1 week ago

Trump Rejected Netanyahu's Plan to Get Iranians to Take to the Streets and Protest Government President Warned They'll Get Mowed Down': Axios

Trump rejected Netanyahu's plan for Iranians to protest, citing the risk to their lives.
US news
fromTruthout
1 week ago

US Concentration Camps Exist to Expand the Power of Trump's Authoritarian Regime

ICE's negligence in medical care has led to multiple deaths in custody, including Emmanuel Damas from a treatable infection.
#human-rights
fromenglish.elpais.com
1 month ago
World politics

Human Rights Watch director: AI, in the hands of autocratic governments, will accelerate their ability to control and surveil the population'

Left-wing politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

Trump's sanctions against a UN human rights expert show free speech is dying |

Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinian people, as concluded by multiple international human rights organizations and experts.
fromenglish.elpais.com
1 month ago
World politics

Human Rights Watch director: AI, in the hands of autocratic governments, will accelerate their ability to control and surveil the population'

fromSecurityWeek
1 week ago

Iran Built a Vast Camera Network to Control Dissent. Israel Turned It Into a Targeting Tool

On Feb. 28, Israel vividly demonstrated the potential of such systems to be hacked and used against adversaries when Israel tracked down Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with the help of Tehran's own street cameras - despite repeated warnings that Iran's surveillance systems had been compromised.
World politics
Europe politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
5 days ago

Can Europe's public service media survive attacks by the far right?

Political conflicts and management changes in public broadcasting reflect broader trends in Italy and France towards control and privatization.
fromenglish.elpais.com
6 days ago

Over 33,000 people arrested in Bukele's crackdown were not listed as gang members

Official data reveals a significant discrepancy: while intelligence reports identified 58,270 gang members and collaborators at large, authorities have arrested 91,628 people, meaning over 33,000 were not previously listed as gang members.
World news
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

Police in Hong Kong can now demand phone and computer passwords under amended national security law

The new amendments empower police to require a person under investigation suspected of endangering national security to provide any password or decryption method for electronic devices and to provide the police any reasonable and necessary information or assistance.
EU data protection
Russo-Ukrainian War
fromwww.dw.com
1 week ago

Pro-Kremlin blogger turns on Putin, sent to psychiatric care

Ilya Remeslo publicly renounced support for Putin, citing the failing war in Ukraine and calling for his resignation and justice as a war criminal.
NYC parents
fromThe Atlantic
3 weeks ago

Today's Atlantic Trivia: Authoritarianism

The Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, a group of mothers whose children disappeared during Argentina's dictatorship, continue protesting weekly in Buenos Aires nearly five decades after their movement began in 1977.
Mental health
fromwww.dw.com
3 weeks ago

War, oppression and fear: In Iran, traumas are accumulating

Chronic exposure to violence, political repression, and economic hardship in Iran significantly increases rates of mental illness, PTSD, anxiety, and depression while eroding social relationships that provide resilience.
Left-wing politics
fromThe Atlantic
2 weeks ago

Trump Is Betraying Iran's Pro-Democracy Protesters

Trump promised support to Iranian pro-democracy protesters but abandoned them when their quick victory became unlikely, treating them as disposable allies while considering deals with the existing regime.
fromianVisits
3 weeks ago

Official announcement: It's time to end the tyranny of officially

Once upon a time, adding official to an announcement served a purpose. It distinguished fact from rumour, press release from pub chat. Sensible. Helpful. Civilised. But in recent years, the word has gone rogue. Nothing can simply happen anymore. It must be officially announced.
Media industry
Philosophy
fromApaonline
3 weeks ago

Secrecy, Democracy, Necessity

Executive officials justify secrecy through claims of protecting decision-making integrity and national security, but such necessity arguments alone cannot legitimize secret governance in democracies.
fromwww.dw.com
2 weeks ago

Why Syria's new alcohol ban is about much more than beer

"The news was both surprising and upsetting. Damascus has historically been a city that embraces everyone and diversity is its true identity. This decision makes us feel like we're losing a part of the city's open spirit. It's not just about the drink itself, but about freedom of choice."
Social justice
Information security
fromTheregister
3 weeks ago

Hackers: Democracy's last line of cyber defense

The hacker mindset—analytical curiosity combined with systemic thinking—can defend democracy by creating decentralized communication tools that resist censorship and empower oppressed communities.
Left-wing politics
fromwww.mediaite.com
2 weeks ago

Joy Reid Claims America Is Only Marginally Better' Than Iran: We Have Secret Police'

The U.S. and Iranian regimes share similar oppressive characteristics, with America being only marginally better while both justify actions through religious ideology.
Right-wing politics
fromDefector
3 weeks ago

A List Of Better Ways To Experience The Frisson Of Transgression Than Becoming A Fascist | Defector

A woman attracted to right-wing ideology for its transgressive appeal discovers the movement actually seeks to restrict rights from people like her, prompting her to seek a new ideological home.
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 weeks ago

Invasive' AI-led mass surveillance in Africa violating freedoms, warn experts

This large-scale and invasive AI-enabled surveillance of public spaces is not legal, necessary or proportionate to the legitimate aim of providing security. History shows us that this is the latest tool used by governments to invade the privacy of citizens and stifle freedom of movement and expression.
Privacy professionals
World politics
fromwww.aljazeera.com
3 weeks ago

The battle on the propaganda front intensifies

Iran employs asymmetric economic tactics against U.S.-Israeli military superiority while misinformation complicates public understanding of the conflict.
#democratic-backsliding
Europe politics
fromenglish.elpais.com
2 weeks ago

The United States loses its status as a liberal democracy: Trump is aiming for a dictatorship'

Nearly a quarter of the world experienced democratic backsliding in 2025, with the United States now classified as a non-liberal democracy comparable to Hungary and Turkey under Trump's leadership.
Europe politics
fromenglish.elpais.com
2 weeks ago

The United States loses its status as a liberal democracy: Trump is aiming for a dictatorship'

Nearly a quarter of the world experienced democratic backsliding in 2025, with the United States now classified as a non-liberal democracy comparable to Hungary and Turkey under Trump's leadership.
Social justice
fromTruthout
2 weeks ago

Why Libraries Matter in a Fascist Moment

Public libraries are vital infrastructure enabling free access to knowledge, gathering spaces, and shared intellectual life that authoritarianism seeks to eliminate.
Philosophy
Tyranny corrupts all psychic faculties into servants of lawless appetite, with reason producing ideology to rationalize control rather than ceasing to function.
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 weeks ago

Five arrested in Cuba after protest at local Communist party office

Videos shared on social media show the protesters ransacking the office, removing documents, equipment and furniture, and burning everything in the street. A smaller group also threw stones. What began peacefully, after an exchange with the authorities in the area, degenerated into vandalism against the headquarters of municipal committee of the Communist party.
World news
World politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Autocracy is rising in the west. But the global south proves it's not inevitable | Kenneth Roth

Autocrats face growing internal pressure from their populations, while democracy remains valued globally despite Western challenges from far-right movements and disaffected voters.
Privacy technologies
fromWIRED
1 month ago

How to Organize Safely in the Age of Surveillance

Grassroots organizing requires careful tradeoffs between openness and security to protect participants from extensive government surveillance and corporate data cooperation.
fromwww.mercurynews.com
2 months ago

Gessen: State terror has arrived in the United States

After the past three weeks of brutality in Minneapolis, it should no longer be possible to say that the Trump administration seeks merely to govern this nation. It seeks to reduce us all to a state of constant fear a fear of violence from which some people may at a given moment be spared, but from which no one will ever be truly safe. That is our new national reality. State terror has arrived.
US politics
Germany news
fromThe Local Germany
1 month ago

UN expert warns of 'shrinking space' for free speech in Germany

Hate speech is rising in Germany, and some government counter-measures risk violating international human rights standards, creating uncertainty, stigma, and self-censorship.
US politics
fromThe Nation
1 month ago

Freedoms Under Threat

Independent, progressive journalism holds the powerful accountable, centers marginalized communities, exposes distortions, and relies on reader support to sustain urgent coverage.
Philosophy
fromApaonline
1 month ago

'Totalitarian' Technologies and the Transformation of the Political World: A Radical Cold War Critique

Modern Cold War technology was viewed by many political theorists as inherently totalitarian, shaping society's structures, enabling propaganda, control, and genocide, not merely neutral tools.
fromwww.npr.org
1 month ago

Concerns over autocracy in the U.S. continue to grow

As the United States heads toward the midterm elections, there are growing concerns among some political scientists that the country has moved even further along the path to some form of autocracy. Staffan I. Lindberg, the director of Sweden's V-Dem Institute, which monitors democracy across the globe, says the U.S. has already crossed the threshold and become an "electoral autocracy."
US news
Arts
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

On Censorship by Ai Weiwei review are we losing the battle for free speech?

Ai Weiwei persistently provokes authority and challenges Chinese cultural norms through confrontational art and activism, facing censorship and state repression.
Social justice
fromTruthout
1 month ago

Living Under a Concentration Camp Regime - and Fighting Back

Mass detention systems expand through legal 'end runs' and normalization; rapid U.S. detention infrastructure growth signals a dangerous escalation requiring organized resistance.
fromBitcoin Magazine
2 months ago

Breaking The Blackout: Iranian Protestors Use Freedom Tech To Bypass The Internet Blackout

Authorities have responded with severe measures, including a nationwide telecoms blackout and jamming satellite services like Starlink, aimed at preventing coordination among demonstrators. Iranians are embracing freedom tech tools; Bitchat, Noghteha, and Delta Chat for offline communication. Two of these apps trace their origins directly to Bitcoin, highlighting how technologies from this community provide practical solutions in high-stakes environments. Bitchat, built by Bitcoin pioneers Jack Dorsey and open-source developer Calle, operates over Bluetooth mesh networks and the Nostr protocol without needing an internet connection.
Privacy technologies
US politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Trump-led abuses amid democratic recession' put human rights in peril, HRW report says

Global democratic backsliding endangers human rights and the rules-based order, with concentrated assaults on US democratic institutions and accountability mechanisms.
World news
fromTruthout
2 months ago

Police States Are Terrifying, But They Are Brittle. I Witnessed This in Tunisia.

A mass movement in Tunisia toppled a 24-year dictator fifteen years ago, showing how quickly entrenched authoritarian systems can collapse.
World politics
fromwww.dw.com
2 months ago

What you can do to bypass authoritarian surveillance

Authoritarian governments build segregated "splinternets" that require verified identities, biometrics, and location data to prevent anonymity and control digital participation.
#authoritarianism
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

America feels like a country on the brink of an authoritarian takeover | Francine Prose

When we talk about our inability to pay attention, to concentrate, we often mean and blame our phones. It's easy, it's meant to be easy. One flick of our index finger transports us from disaster to disaster, from crisis to crisis, from maddening lie to maddening lie. Each new unauthorized attack and threatened invasion grabs the headlines, until something else takes its place, and meanwhile the government's attempts to terrorize and silence the people of our country continue.
US politics
Social justice
fromAxios
2 months ago

Leaders urge action in 2026: "We are on the brink of tyranny and authoritarianism"

Authoritarian-style enforcement is eroding civil rights, protest freedoms, and democracy, prompting state and local legal actions and demands for inclusive civil rights strategies.
World news
fromThe Cipher Brief
2 months ago

The Kremlin Files: Russia, the Modern Surveillance State

Russian intelligence relies heavily on physical trailing surveillance, rooted in centuries-old practices, shaping society, espionage, and counter-surveillance tactics.
fromAbove the Law
1 month ago

DHS Is Hunting Down Trump Critics. The 'Free Speech' Warriors Are Mighty Quiet. - Above the Law

For years, we've been subjected to an endless parade of hyperventilating claims about the Biden administration's supposed "censorship industrial complex." We were told, over and over again, that the government was weaponizing its power to silence conservative speech. The evidence for this? Some angry emails from White House staffers that Facebook ignored. That was basically it. The Supreme Court looked at it and said there was no standing because there was no evidence of coercion.
US politics
US politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Democrat targeted by Trump attacks authoritarian' effort to intimidate critics

Trump's administration uses legal and physical intimidation tactics to deter critics, mirroring authoritarian playbooks and prompting investigations of Democrats including Elissa Slotkin.
World news
fromLondon Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
2 months ago

Putin is abusing INTERPOL to 'pursue critics' such as journalists and those connected to Ukraine - London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com

INTERPOL is being exploited by Russia to pursue critics, journalists, activists, and others internationally, undermining protections against political persecution and neutral legal mechanisms.
#police-violence
World news
fromwww.mercurynews.com
1 month ago

Stephens: Dissidents are silenced, and the West moves on

Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong pro-democracy media founder, received a 20-year prison sentence after years of activism and escalating Beijing-led crackdowns on Hong Kong freedoms.
World politics
fromwww.dw.com
2 months ago

India: Security, terrorism laws used to silence dissent

Thousands are detained under UAPA with low conviction rates, prolonged pretrial imprisonment, and an expanded definition of terrorism targeting protesters and minorities.
fromElectronic Frontier Foundation
2 months ago

Beware: Government Using Image Manipulation for Propaganda

A short while later, the White House posted the same photo - except that version had been digitally altered to darken Armstrong's skin and rearrange her facial features to make it appear she was sobbing or distraught. The Guardian one of many media outlets to report on this image manipulation, created a handy slider graphic to help viewers see clearly how the photo had been changed.
US politics
World news
fromwww.dw.com
1 month ago

How an Assad-era law is threatening Syrian civil society

Law No. 93 of 1958 remains in force in Syria, allowing the state to control, restrict and dissolve civil society organizations without judicial oversight.
#immigration-enforcement
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

How Autocrats Meddle With Elections

More than 60,000 North Carolina ballots were challenged in 2024, including longtime voter Dawn Baldwin Gibson's early ballot in the state Supreme Court race.
World news
fromTruthout
2 months ago

Iran's Nationwide Internet Blackout Has Left Us Feeling Hopeless and Helpless

Internet shutdowns and lethal state repression have accompanied nationwide protests over soaring food prices and economic hardship, leaving Iranians deprived and exhausted.
US politics
fromSlate Magazine
1 month ago

The Frightening, Very Real Tool ICE Agents Have to Add You to a "Nice Little Database" if You Attend a Protest

Federal agencies, led by DHS, have expanded use of administrative subpoena power to access individuals' information and track protesters without judicial oversight.
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