When people silence a story, make it louder

‘Investigating had never been more dangerous.’ That is the conclusion drawn by journalistic platform Forbidden Stories from its survey of threatened journalists. A conversation with founder Laurent Richard about the worsening state of global press freedom.

This spring, the World Press Freedom Index was published for the 25th time. Press freedom worldwide has never been in a worse state in the history of the index. Only a handful of countries, including the Netherlands, score ‘good’.

Forbidden Stories knows how severely journalists can be suppressed. This journalistic platform completes and publishes investigative stories from journalists who have been arrested or killed while doing their work. Reporting on corruption, human rights violations, and organised crime in particular can put journalists in serious danger.

According to Forbidden Stories, it is not so much NGOs or lawsuits that are feared, but investigative stories that bring the truth to light. Hence their statement: ‘When people try to silence a story, make it louder.’

In conversation with Laurent Richard about world press freedom and the power of investigative journalism