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Here is the story of what is going on @OpenTechFund and USAGM why you should care. Hold on tight, as this story is complex, but it is so essential that you understand b/c if what we think will happen, happens, it will IMPACT Internet Freedom & be felt by the most vulnerable. 1/
So, @OpenTechFund is pretty awesome because for years they have used public money to create free, open source tools that protect journalists, human rights defenders and citizens from surveillance and censorship, and enhances their security and privacy. 2/
You may not know @OpenTechFund but you have probably used the tools they support such as Signal, Tor, and even the encryption in WhatsApp. They also support research & tools for use in more repressive environments, for example, to circumvent China's Great Firewall. 3/
The coolest thing? @OpenTechFund positively impacts thousands of communities throughout the world, despite having what can be considered a relatively small budget for funder. US tax payers really get their bang for their buck. And the supported tools are effective, innovative 4/
Why? First, @OpenTechFund was born in Radio Free Asia - Asia is one of the most difficult regions to operate in as a journalist or activist as they face some of the most sophisticated censorship and surveillance machines in the world, especially from the Chinese government 5/
Second, they do everything from a community, capacity building perspective. They have built what money can't buy - trust with communities across the globe. They also have formed a posse of human rights defenders across the globe that know how to protect their communities. 6/
A cool fact about @OpenTechFund: They enable more than 2 billion people in over 60 countries to safely access the Internet free from censorship and repressive surveillance... and demand is growing as internet censorship worsens globally. https://www.opentech.fund/results/impacts-and-outcomes/ 7/
Last week, Trump appointee Michael Pack, took over USAGM, the US gov's global news agency, which oversees broadcasters like Voice of Americas, among other. And also @OpenTechFund Within hours of introducing himself, he’d fired four top officials. 8/
. @OpenTechFund CEO Libby Liu resigned Sunday, June 14, after she receiving personal attacks. She became aware of lobbying efforts to convince Pack to redirect OTF funding to a few closed-source circumvention tools. 9/ https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/935k5p/open-technology-fund-ceo-resigns
On the evening of June 17, known as the Wednesday Night Massacre, in an unprecedented move, Michael Pack removed fired Libby Liu and other USAGM career leaders, dismantled the agencies' boards, replaced everyone with inexperience loyalist. 10/ https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/17/media/us-agency-for-global-media-michael-pack/index.html
That same week, @OpenTechFund 's Principal Director
Laura Cunningham was fired. Folks are scared USAGM new leadership is transforming OTF from being a bipartisan program to a tool of the Trump administration, and it is opening the gates for dictators 11/
https://www.newsweek.com/open-technology-fund-trump-dismantling-1512614
Laura Cunningham was fired. Folks are scared USAGM new leadership is transforming OTF from being a bipartisan program to a tool of the Trump administration, and it is opening the gates for dictators 11/
https://www.newsweek.com/open-technology-fund-trump-dismantling-1512614
The drastic move to dismantle @OpenTechFund during a time of increasing global repression against activists and unprecedented digital threats, endangers the lives of human rights defenders and the privacy of all internet users. 12/ https://www.newsweek.com/open-technology-fund-trump-dismantling-1512614
Who depends on @OpenTechFund tools?
* Chinese citizens leaping over Great Firewall
* Iranian activists avoiding repressive surveillance
* Turkish & Russian journos staying safe online
* Human Rights Defenders circumventing Internet shutdowns 13/
* Chinese citizens leaping over Great Firewall
* Iranian activists avoiding repressive surveillance
* Turkish & Russian journos staying safe online
* Human Rights Defenders circumventing Internet shutdowns 13/
The changes being pushed onto @OpenTechFund by USAGM new CEO Michael Pack:
* Is a win for authoritarian gov'ts that they couldn't achieve themselves.
* Increases the likelihood of security flaws & put users at risk - Closed-source tools are inferior to FLOSS tools. 14/
* Is a win for authoritarian gov'ts that they couldn't achieve themselves.
* Increases the likelihood of security flaws & put users at risk - Closed-source tools are inferior to FLOSS tools. 14/
Folks in the Internet Freedom have mobilized to help @OpenTechFund, with #SaveInternetFreedom.
Check out their site for more information: https://saveinternetfreedom.tech/
If you are a person that has benefited from @OpenTechFund share below your story!
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Check out their site for more information: https://saveinternetfreedom.tech/
If you are a person that has benefited from @OpenTechFund share below your story!
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The @OpenTechFund will always defend internet freedom, even in DC court! Lawsuit filed against Trump political appointee, @USAGMgov CEO Michael Pack. #SaveInternetFreedom https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/us/politics/michael-pack-global-media.html
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