My friend Caylan Ford has spent her career advocating for international human rights and supporting victims of religious persecution. When I began speaking out against abuses in my native China, she helped me stand up to the Communist regime’s bullying. So I was excited when she decided to run for office in the Canadian province of Alberta.

But last month she had to withdraw after she became the target of a character-assassination campaign. Her adversaries and several reporters used quotes from private online conversations...