In 2020, AFSC launched the Under the Mask project to track governmental abuses of power in the context of the pandemic. While countries around the world enacted measures to contain the virus, some governments have exploited COVID-19 to impose authoritarian policies—including expanding surveillance of everyday citizens and restricting free speech and other civil liberties.

Our Under the Mask project brought together activists and civil society organizations from 32 countries for online discussions about their experiences and ways to counter oppressive state measures.