GIJC23 Legal Defense & Emergency Aid Press Freedom
How Journalists Can Protect against Slapp Cases and Other Legal Threats
How journalists can identify whether they’ve been hit with a SLAPP suit — and resources for helping journalists fight back.
Tag
SLAPP
9 posts
Case Studies News & Analysis
How a Wiretapping Scandal Reinforced the Need for Independent Media in Greece
The Greek wiretapping story has become an international scandal. But for months, the only outlets covering the story were small independent ones like Reporters United, whose dogged reporting has shaken up the country’s media landscape.
News & Analysis
Oligarch Lawsuits Aim to Silence Journalists in UK
British lawyer Elizabeth Wiggin has defended investigative journalists from legal challenges in the UK courts and she describes the legal threats, humiliation, and financial ruin that reporters can face while covering stories the rich and powerful do not want published.
News & Analysis
Lessons Learned from Journalists Facing Attacks and Persecution
Latin American journalists have faced threats, attacks, and court proceedings just for doing their work. In a GIJN webinar, three leading investigative reporters recounted their experiences and gave their tips on how to face up to these challenges.
News & Analysis Press Freedom Reporting Tools & Tips
Stopping the Scourge of SLAPPs and Legal Harassment of Journalists
Among the most frequently used forms of legal coercion against investigative journalists are SLAPPs (“strategic litigation against public participation”), which aim to intimidate reporters into abandoning their investigations. The practice of abusing legal systems by those in power to silence critics has reached global proportions. Its damage is far-reaching and curbing it is an imperative for democracy and maintaining peace.
News & Analysis Sustainability
Retaining Independence and Fighting Lawsuits with a Membership Model
DOSSIER, an Austrian outlet that is a member center of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, has been able to offset the financial challenges experienced by many media outlets in Austria — and combat a series of vexatious lawsuits — thanks to its membership program.
News & Analysis
Document of the Day: US Global Anti-Corruption Plan Spotlights Value of Investigative Journalism
The Biden White House spotlighted its support for investigative journalism as part of a new strategy for fighting corruption around the world. To strengthen the investigative capacity of journalists, it is funding the USAID’s PROSAFE project, helping to “create a regional clearinghouse for investigative journalism that provides a publishing outlet for stories too dangerous to be published with an individual byline, and providing an umbrella organization for security, mentoring, and collaboration among journalists.”
News & Analysis
SLAPP Fight: How Journalists Are Pushing Back on Nuisance Lawsuits
“There certainly appears to be a worrying trend around the world where powerful companies or public officials attempt to censor public participation on matters of public interest through lawsuits, for instance in the law of defamation,” explained Dario Milo, a South Africa-based attorney who specializes in communication law and is a member of the European Union’s Expert Group on SLAPPs.
Guide Resource
A Journalist’s Guide to Avoiding Lawsuits and Other Legal Dangers
The practice of independent journalism is facing enormous challenges, ranging from authoritarian regimes implementing regressive laws that stifle speech to journalists being unable to make a living from their work. In order to meet those challenges, journalists can benefit from understanding the protections provided by international law.