In an explosive report, Citizen Lab and their Mexican civil society partners identified more than 75 text messages sent to the phones of 12 individuals, most of whom are journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders in an effort to monitor the target’s devices. They say the findings are a flagrant and disturbing example of the abuse of commercial spyware.
Journalists can no longer afford to ignore the growing threats of targeted surveillance and digital attacks, writes Citizen Lab’s Ron Deibert in the recently released book “Journalism After Snowden: The Future of the Free Press in the Surveillance State.”
FOIA is the solar-powered flashlight of the journalism world — it offers direct access to primary source material which sometimes leads to a big scoop. MuckRock executive editor JPat Brown shares the compelling, and sometimes hilarious, stories that results from MuckRock’s FOIA requests.
Despite concerns over government surveillance, a recent survey by the Pew Research Center of investigative journalists found that few have let those worries prevent them from pursuing a story or reaching out to a source. The survey also found a more pressing concern–decreasing newsroom resources.
