Forbidden Stories Explained
Forbidden Stories is a non-profit organization with the mission "to continue and publish the work of other journalists facing threats, prison, or murder." To achieve this, it allows journalists to send their work to Forbidden Stories, so other journalists have access to the material in case the original investigator is not able to follow it anymore. It partners with organizations such as Reporters Without Borders[1] and Freedom of the Press Foundation.[2]
Internationally it has been praised by the Columbia Journalism Review,[3] Daily Times,[4] Deutschlandfunk,[5] The Guardian,[6] Le Monde,[7] and RTBF.[8]
In March 2018, it received the "journalism project of the year" grand prize at the French Annual Journalism Summit[9] and was on the shortlist of the European Press Prize for the category innovation in 2019.[10]
Background
The Forbidden Stories venture was envisioned by Laurent Richard, a French investigative journalist and filmmaker[11] in 2015, after the January 7, 2015, Charlie Hebdo shooting in which 12 people were killed and 11 others were injured—all journalists and cartoonists—by members of terrorist group Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen.[12] The offices of Charlie Hebdo were near Richard's workplace.
Daphne Caruana Galizia died in a car bomb explosion on October 16, 2017. On October 30, 2017, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and NGO Freedom Voices Network announced the launch of "Forbidden Stories," a secure encrypted online platform[13] that allows threatened journalists to upload their work and secure their data and information. Forbidden Stories, which was founded by Laurent Richard, allows journalists to continue the investigative reporting of "silenced" journalists and to unveil their stories to a wide audience.[14] [15] [16] [17] The purpose of "Forbidden Stories" was to "deter would-be attacks on journalists by backing up their work, and to publicize murders and disappearances of colleagues such as Caruana Galizia."[18] Forbidden Stories continues the "work of killed, imprisoned, or otherwise incapacitated journalists."
Richard said The Daphne Project was modeled after similar initiatives in the past involving the murder of other journalists, such as The Arizona Project, in which 38 American journalists completed the investigative work of Don Bolles following his 1976 murder. In 2015 colleagues of Khadija Ismayilova of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) continued her work on "the corruption and tax evasion of the ruling family in Baku" through The Khadija Project, after she was imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo (ABRAJI), a Brazilian investigative journalism NGO, carried on the work of Tim Lopes who was burned alive for his work on drug trafficking in Rio de Janeiro in 2002.
Stories
Forbidden Stories has continued the work of journalists after they have died:
- After the murder of Miroslava Breach, Forbidden Stories continues her investigation of human rights violations, drug trafficking, and government corruption[19] in cooperation with Bellingcat[20] and the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism.[21]
- In project Green Blood, the work of 13 journalists killed for reporting on environmental issues has continued: Crispin Perez, Desidario Camangyan, Ardiansyah Matra’is, Gerardo Ortega, Darío Fernández Jaén, Wisut Tangwittayaporn, Hang Serei Odom, Sai Reddy, Mikhail Beketov, Jagendra Singh, Soe Moe Tun, Karun Misra, and María Efigenia Vásquez Astudillo.[22] [23]
- The investigation of the kidnapping and murder of Ecuadorian journalist Javier Ortega, photographer Paúl Rivas, and their driver Efraín Segarra is part of Deadly border.[24] [25]
- After the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Forbidden Stories continues her investigation in The Daphne Project.[26] [27]
- Javier Valdez Cárdenas was killed after his investigations into the Sinaloa Cartel.[28] [29]
- Cecilio Pineda was killed after claiming ties between local officials and drug traffickers in Mexico.[30] [31]
- The investigation into corruption in Ghanaian football was continued after the assassination of Ahmed Hussein-Suale.[32] [33]
- In the cartel project the report of Regina Martínez on "thousands of individuals who had mysteriously disappeared"[34] and Mexican drug cartels has been continued.[35]
- As part of an investigation into disinformation called Story Killers, the work of Gauri Lankesh was continued. The investigation series also exposed Team Jorge.[36]
In 2021 Forbidden Stories was part of the team of investigative journalists that published the Pegasus Project, about NSO spyware that targeted activists and journalists.[37]
Supporters
Prominent supporters are:[38]
References
- Web site: 2017-10-30. Launch of Forbidden Stories project. 2020-12-02. Reporters without borders. en.
- Web site: About Us. 2020-10-26. Forbidden Stories. en-US.
- Web site: A new project will keep stories alive when journalists are killed. 2020-10-26. Columbia Journalism Review. en.
- Web site: Marsi. Federica. 2020-09-20. Investigation Keeps Work of Silenced Journalists Alive. 2020-10-26. Daily Times. en-US.
- Web site: Investigativjournalismus – Für die Pressefreiheit kämpfen. 2020-10-26. Deutschlandfunk. de-DE.
- News: Greenslade. Roy. 2017-11-05. Boris Johnson's £1m for press freedom: a small response to a big threat. en-GB. The Guardian. 2020-10-26. 0261-3077.
- News: 2017-11-09. Forbidden Stories, le site qui sauvegarde l'information des journalistes. fr. Le Monde. 2020-10-26.
- Web site: 2017-10-31. Un projet pour poursuivre les enquêtes de journalistes assassinés. 2020-10-26. RTBF. fr.
- Web site: April 17, 2018. Collaboration Is Really Our Best Protection. January 31, 2019. Nieman Reports. Richard visited the Nieman Foundation in March, 2018 to discuss The Dapne Project.
- Web site: Forbidden Stories. 2020-10-26. European Press Prize.
- According to the April 17, 2018, Nieman Reports article, Laurent Richard is the co-founder of French public television show "Cash Investigation" and the producer of "several long-form investigative stories for television". In 2012 "Cash Investigation" uncovered the tax evasion scandal in Luxembourg, known as LuxLeaks. Richard oversaw coverage of LuxLeaks. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists expanded on LuxLeaks with the Panama Papers. Richard was a 2017 Knight-Wallace fellow at the University of Michigan. He is also the founder and executive director of the nonprofit investigative newsroom Freedom Voices Network.
- News: Richard. Laurent. 2018-04-16. A warning to the corrupt: if you kill a journalist, another will take their place. The Guardian. January 31, 2019. 0261-3077.
- They use three open source technologies—Signal, PGP, and SecureDrop and host the data in many places.
- Web site: 2017-10-30. Launch of Forbidden Stories project. January 31, 2019. Reporters without borders (RSF).
- Web site: October 24, 2017. A new project will keep stories alive when journalists are killed. 2019-02-01. Columbia Journalism Review.
- Web site: May 14, 2014. French Journalist Detained In Baku. January 31, 2019. RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Azerbaijan.
- Richard and his cameraman were briefly detained in Baku on May 14 and their equipment was confiscated including his footage of his report on government corruption in Azerbaijan. Fortunately he had given a copy to Khadija Ismayilova, who "smuggled it to France on his behalf". According to an October 24, 2017 article by CJR's Jon Allsop, this experience was another motivation for "launching a centralized online platform for investigative journalists in dangerous situations". According to the Nieman Report, Azerbaijan filed a failed lawsuit against Richard and his colleague for "describing the country as a dictatorship on "Cash Investigation" —the "first time in history that a foreign government brought a defamation suit against French journalists on their own soil".
- News: Allsop. Jon. April 19, 2018. Breathing new life into a murdered journalist's work. Columbia Journalism Review. January 31, 2019.
- Web site: Project Miroslava. 2020-10-26. Forbidden Stories. en-US.
- Web site: 2019-09-04. The Leads Not Investigated In The Miroslava Breach Murder. 2020-12-02. Bellingcat. en-GB.
- News: Ronderos. María Teresa. 2019-09-05. El Proyecto Miroslava le sube el costo al asesinato de periodistas en México (Published 2019). es-LA. The New York Times. 2020-12-02. 0362-4331.
- Web site: Green Blood. 2020-10-26. Forbidden Stories. en-US.
- Web site: Green blood. 2020-12-02. The Guardian. en.
- Web site: Deadly Border. 2020-10-26. Forbidden Stories. en-US.
- Web site: 2018-10-24. Death On The Border. 2020-12-02. Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. en.
- Web site: The Daphne Project. 2020-10-26. Forbidden Stories. en-US.
- Web site: Borg. Jacob. 2020-10-14. Daphne Project returns with more reports. 2020-12-02. Times of Malta. en-gb.
- Web site: 2017-11-17. Javier Valdez: internal war in the Sinaloa Cartel. 2020-10-26. Forbidden Stories. en-US.
- News: Saliba. Frédéric. 2017-11-09. Forbidden Stories, le site qui sauvegarde l'information des journalistes. fr. Le Monde. 2020-12-02.
- Web site: 2017-10-24. Cecilio Pineda: shady ties between local officials and drug traffickers. 2020-10-26. Forbidden Stories. en-US.
- Web site: Jaclyn. Cosgrove. 2017-12-21. Outside of war zones, Mexico is the most dangerous place for journalists. 2020-12-02. Los Angeles Times. en-US.
- Web site: 2020-01-16. Football in Ghana : an off-limits investigation. 2020-10-26. Forbidden Stories. en-US.
- Web site: 2020-01-16. Ahmed Suale Muder: Ghana Police Failed To Follow Key Lead – Report. 2020-12-02. Modern Ghana. en.
- Web site: About the Cartel Project. 2020-12-12. Forbidden Stories. en-US.
- Web site: The cartel project. 2020-12-12. The Guardian. en.
- Web site: Story Killers . 2023-02-16 . forbiddenstories.org . en-US.
- Web site: 2021-07-19. Pegasus project: spyware leak suggests lawyers and activists at risk across globe. 2021-07-21. the Guardian. en.
- Web site: They support us. 2020-10-26. Forbidden Stories. en-US. October 29, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201029140112/https://forbiddenstories.org/they-support-us/. dead.
- Web site: 2018-09-09. Marina Walker Guevara. 2020-10-26. RSF. Reporters without borders. en.
- Web site: Fabrice Arfi. 2020-10-26. Mediapart. fr.
External links