The Thomson Reuters Foundation and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University have published a new report, “Weaponising the Law: Attacks on Media Freedom,” which is the first of its kind to bring together both qualitative and quantitative data to build a cohesive global overview of prevalent trends in the weaponisation of the law against journalists. The report identifies and analyses eight critical legal threats to journalists around the world, illustrated with notable global case studies, and offers 10 key recommendations for tangible action to curb negative legislative trends, expand legal support and enhance cross-sector collaboration.
The key threats identified in the report are defamation and insult, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), espionage, treason, and foreign influence, cyber libel, fake news, counter-terrorism and anti-extremism, financial crimes, lese majeste, desacato laws, and seditious libel. These tactics are used in myriad ways by different players to criminalise media practitioners in order to control narratives, suppress scrutiny, and seize power.
Almost half of the survey respondents from the Foundation’s network, representing 106 countries, said that they or their media organisation were facing legal threats, illustrating the sheer scale of this war on independent journalism. The report offers 10 key recommendations for tangible action to curb negative legislative trends, expand legal support and enhance cross-sector collaboration. The recommendations include promoting and strengthening independent journalism, increasing support for journalists and media workers, protecting digital security, expanding legal support, and enhancing cross-sector collaboration.
The report will be launched today at 4 pm BST (5 pm CEST) with a panel discussion hosted at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy. Antonio Zappulla, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and Joel Simon, report author and Director of Journalism Protection Initiative, Craig Newmark School of Journalism, will present the key findings, and media defence experts including Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji and Jodie Ginsberg, President of the Committee to Protect Journalists, will discuss the most serious, and often lesser-known legal threats affecting media freedom.
