Global Christian Relief Red List 2025

Analysis 
 
Faltering States and Growing Churches: The digital arena is being weaponized to silence the voices defending religious freedoms and conducting research
 
It is not new to suggest that powerful governments have been increasing their surveillance and manipulation of social media, but concern of the effect of this to derail an effective democratization of the digital sphere is peaking. At the beginning of 2024, a survey of the world's CEOs by the World Economic Forum placed "misinformation and disinformation" as the number one short-term global risk. The report contained this chilling paragraph: "The disruptive capabilities of manipulated information are rapidly accelerating, as open access to increasingly sophisticated technologies proliferates and trust in information and institutions deteriorates. In the next two years, a wide set of actors will capitalize on the boom in synthetic content, amplifying societal divisions, ideological violence and political repression ramifications that will persist far beyond the short term."
 
Closer to the issue of religious liberty was a prescient report issued by Hong Kong Watch in October 2024, entitled "Invisible Decline: Violations of Digital Rights in Hong Kong and Their Impact." The report documents how digital rights to freedom of expression have been violated in Hong Kong. One case known to GCR was when a London-based Christian activist spoke out in defence of Jimmy Lai and found his bank account cancelled. He went to a friend in the bank, who was puzzled and looked up the story. He said, "You have been red flagged, which means the Chinese government has leaned on our banking executives." The problem worsened as there was no recourse. Going to court? His friend told him frankly, "It's more than my job is worth to testify about this."
 
De-banking is becoming a more general issue, including that of GCR Advocacy Fellow Sam Brownback, whose National Committee for Religious Freedom was debanked by Chase Bank in 2023. It is nation states with limitless budgets which seek to control the space, and release AI tools of great disruption. Said one RSS operative in India, "We have a strategy of surround and suppress - we flood the market with our lies, and in so doing prevent access to other sources of information that are hostile to us." A well-known Christian leader said, "International charities have had to cease their activities here because of government-backed spreading of three lies over social media: 'You force conversions; You conduct money laundering; You use foreign money for advocacy." Activists the world over are shaking their heads in the face of being hacked, debanked and libelled. The battle lines are differently drawn today.
 
The 2025 Global Christian Relief Red List. Washington, D.C.