Sarah Cook is an independent researcher and consultant, who has worked on human rights, technology, religion, and media freedom related to China for over 20 years. Much of that work was at Freedom House, a U.S.-based non-profit and human rights organization. Ms. Cook served first as a researcher and then as China research director, before stepping down from that position in 2023 to freelance and spend more time with family.  

At Freedom House, Ms. Cook directed the China Media Bulletin, a monthly digest in English and Chinese providing news and analysis on media freedom developments related to China. She also led a project on the Chinese Communist Party’s influence on foreign media in 30 countries, which culminated in the 2022 report Beijing’s Global Media Influence: Authoritarian Expansion and the Power of Democratic Resilience. Prior to that project, she had authored four other special reports about China: Beijing's Global Megaphone (2020), The Battle for China’s Spirit (2017), The Politburo’s Predicament (2015), and The Long Shadow of Chinese Censorship (2013). Her writings have appeared on CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, and the Diplomat, among others. She has also testified before the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Senate Intelligence Committee, and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Ms. Cook has also served as a consultant, advisor, or peer reviewer (paid or voluntary) for a variety of non-profits and other organizations, including the National Endowment for Democracy, the International Republican Institute, the Center for American Progress, the Falun Dafa Information Center, Duco consulting, Johns Hopkins University Press, and the Smith Richardson Foundation, among others. Ms. Cook holds a B.A. in International Relations from Pomona College and as a Marshall Scholar, completed Master’s degrees in Politics and International Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies.