Digital Public Square’s Foreign Interference Resilience & Education Initiative (FIRE) seeks to support communities affected by foreign interference and transnational repression. We strive to equip victims with the knowledge and resources they need to mitigate the impacts of transnational repression. We are also raising awareness of what transnational repression looks like and how it affects diaspora communities in Canada.
Cause
Resilience-building
Locations
Canada
Status
Online
Content
Visit the site:
Go to fire.digitalpublicsquare.org to access resources, tell us what your community may need, browse our Record of true experiences collected in interviews, or share your own experiences.
Read about our research:
- Report: Foreign Interference and the Health of Canadian Democracy: Report from a Nationwide Public Opinion Survey
- Report: PRC Foreign Interference and Transnational Repression in Canada: Insights from Vulnerable Diaspora Communities
Learn to protect yourself with our tip sheets:
- Tip Sheet: Recognizing Chinese State-Sponsored Information & Influence Operations
- Tip Sheet: Foreign Interference in Canada’s Next Federal Election: What You Need to Know
- Tip Sheet: Protecting Yourself & Your Community from Transnational Repression
Read about FIRE in the news:
More about the project:
Foreign interference refers to a range of activities that are perpetrated by foreign governments in Canada, including acts of political influence, disinformation, and transnational repression. Such efforts can harm Canadian society and democratic institutions.
In particular, Digital Public Square is concerned about transnational repression of diaspora communities in Canada. Transnational repression occurs when foreign governments reach beyond their borders to intimidate, silence, coerce, harass, or harm members of their diaspora.
Recognizing these challenges, Digital Public Square seeks to support affected communities with the knowledge and resources they need to mitigate the impacts of foreign interference. We also aim to raise Canadians’ awareness of what foreign interference looks like, and how it affects diaspora communities. To do so, we are working with experts and communities affected by foreign interference to create digital tools to connect Canadians with information about foreign interference and resources to support victims of transnational repression. The first of these is an online tool that connects diaspora communities in Canada to resources that support victims of foreign interference and transnational repression as well as to gauge the prevalence of the problem in these communities.
This project contributes to efforts to counteract the increasingly severe problem of foreign interference in Canadian democracy.
If you are interested in learning more or supporting our work, reach out to fire@digitalpublicsquare.org. If you have been affected by foreign interference you can find support resources and share your story with us at fire.digitalpublicsquare.org.
