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Threats

Digital

Like everyone else, earth rights defenders rely increasingly on digital resources to do their work, ranging from communication with allies to advocating for change. But the digital space has also become a means of attacking and intimidating earth rights defenders.

Examples include:

  • Surveillance
  • Hacking and information theft
  • Online harassment and trolling
84 %
Of defenders killed in 2017 received at least one targeted death threat prior to their killing (Frontline Defenders).
17 +
Governments approved or proposed laws that restrict internet freedom in the name of fighting “fake news" in 2018 (Freedom House)
36 +
country governments were trained by Chinese authorities on how to control the internet in 2018.

Strategies in Action

Case: Campos-Alvarez v. Newmont Mining

Shooting Peaceful Mine Protesters in Peru. In Peru, police brutality against earth rights defenders is a systemic problem especially in the context of extractive industries. One emblematic example of police