ABSTRACT
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world have underreported virus numbers, spread misinformation, or failed to respond adequately to the crisis. Many artists and creative practitioners have used their platform as activists, expressing their criticism, and in return have been aggressively targeted, harassed, and even imprisoned, accused of spreading fake news or misinformation or trying to start civil unrest. The paper examines the implications of this trend for creative expression in the region and explores how governments have manipulated the pandemic to target artists and crush dissidents. It documents specific artist cases to examine the underlying causes and implications of this trend of persecution.
