Noura Aljizawi

Noura Aljizawi is a Senior Researcher at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. She conducts comprehensive research on the intersection of technology, human rights, and global security, with a specific focus on targeted digital threats against civil society, digital authoritarianism, and digital transnational repression. Noura brings a unique perspective to her work, having been a prominent figure in the Syrian uprising and a survivor of abduction, detention, and torture. She has written and spoken publicly about her experiences and founded Start Point, an NGO dedicated to human rights and psychosocial support for Syrian women and girls who had been detained and tortured. Noura completed her Master's degree in Global Affairs from the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Currently, Noura serves as a board member of the Center of Victims of Torture and is a member of the expert group of Humanitarian Dialogue. She is also a member of the steering committee of Just Tech and Migration Community. Her contributions to the field have been recognized with an Excellence Through Innovation Award from the University of Toronto for her work on Security Planner, a user-friendly platform that provides peer-reviewed recommendations for staying safe online.

Articles by: Noura Aljizawi

From Hashtags to Hush-Tags: The Tug of War Over Social Media in Conflict Zones

The removal of victims' online content in conflict zones such as Gaza and Syria plays in favor of regimes committing atrocities. And social media platforms are not passive bystanders in this censorship.

Walls Have Ears, but Digital Walls Have Ears and Eyes

Syrians used to say “walls have ears” to warn someone that they crossed a red line or to refer to the country’s security apparatus and its deployed informants, the “Mukhabarat.” In 2011,...