Security at Stake: Media, Democracy, and Repression

In an era of unprecedented levels of technology-driven interconnectedness, information manipulation and propaganda remain favored tools of authoritarian forces. Globally, as media and technology platforms concentrate power and influence, efforts to combat information manipulation lag behind. At the same time, political and media repression—both at the domestic and international level—continue to grow as autocrats crack down on civil society and seek to co-opt media institutions.

Perry World House convened a conference on “Media, Democracy, and Repression” in February 2025. The conference brought together policymakers, scholars, researchers, and journalists to examine developments in information manipulation, evaluate the role of local and public media institutions in democracies, and analyze what steps governments, civil society, and other actors can take to build resilience to foreign and domestic information manipulation and interference.