How the law is being weaponised to stifle critical reporting

Journalists have long been under siege. From war reporting on the frontlines to covering natural disasters, to keeping pace with the COVID-19 pandemic – journalists have frequently risked their own lives in the interests of others. The mission to inform and empower can be as dangerous as it is critical.

These threats are no longer circumstantial. For years, the deliberate targeting and silencing of journalists by those invested in controlling the free flow of information has been surging. In an era defined by converging global crises, journalists who hold power to account are increasingly making enemies of the powerful.?

Recently, however, the tactics have turned. As information becomes an ever more valuable currency, efforts to control it have taken on new and alarming forms. The systematic extinction of free speech now depends upon an arsenal of weapons aimed at the many rather than the few; a global tidal wave of legal threats against journalists, designed to stifle unwanted narratives and public debate.?

This weaponisation of the law – amplified by recent events such as the pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine – is being used in myriad ways and by different players, but with the same desired outcome: the criminalisation of media practitioners to suppress scrutiny and to seize power. Designed to ensnare and cripple journalists, widespread abuses of the law range from the introduction of new legislation purporting to be in the interests of national security, to the rise in unjust lawsuits by powerful individuals that threaten financial ruin.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation uniquely uses the combined power of journalism and the law to defend and promote media freedom, which is critical to its mission of strengthening free, fair and informed societies. Our legacy of work has allowed us to develop global networks that bring together journalists and media organisations, as well as lawyers and governments. This gives us unparalleled insights into the complexities of these growing issues – from the perspective of those targeted, and of those working to provide solutions.

There are many players invested in a thriving media ecosystem, representing different sectors and geographies; all are attempting to grapple with these new threats. But in mounting a collaborative and coordinated defence, we must first understand the nature and scale of the attack. Up until now, individual cases have been well documented, but data-led research that would build a clearer picture of these global trends has been missing.

In approaching 美国哥伦比亚大学 ’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism to conduct this research, our purpose was to bridge the knowledge gap, using – for the first time – both qualitative and quantitative data to map the most serious legal threats to journalists worldwide. This report combines the lived experiences of the Foundation’s extensive network of journalists with global experts’ perspectives and provides analysis that draws on both.?

Inspired by the many journalists who have been trained by, and worked with, the Foundation, we hope that this resource empowers all those fighting to protect strong, free and independent media.?

Our goal is also to unite those at the forefront of addressing this common goal. The future of the profession – and of our fundamental civil liberties – is at stake.