Our mission

Killing the journalist won’t kill the story. We are a network of journalists whose mission is to continue and publish the work of other journalists facing threats, prison, or murder.

 

It is the only existing program with this mission. Our goal is to keep their stories alive and to make sure a maximum number of people have access to uncensored news on such crucial topics as the environment, health, human rights, or corruption.

By protecting and continuing the work of reporters who can no longer investigate, we can send a powerful signal to enemies of the free press: even if you succeed in stopping a single messenger, you will not stop the message. What is the point of killing a journalist if ten, twenty or thirty others are waiting in the wings to carry on their work? Collaboration is the best protection.

The origin

Forbidden Stories is a non-profit founded by award-winning journalist and filmmaker Laurent Richard. In 2015, he arrived at work across from the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris to find his fellow journalists massacred by terrorists. This experience convinced him of the need for a journalistic response to crimes committed against the press. Read more about why Laurent Richard founded Forbidden Stories.

Our inspiration ? 41 years ago, reporter Don Bolles was killed in a car explosion in Phoenix, USA. His murder left his investigation on land fraud unfinished. 38 journalists from 28 newspapers and television stations from all over the United States decided to work together to complete the work of Don Bolles. This collaboration should inspire us today.

The consortium

Forbidden Stories works as a consortium, gathering local and international media outlets from around the world in order to investigate massively and to give the stories worldwide coverage.

Since its creation, Forbidden Stories coordinated the work of 60 news organizations and more than a hundred journalists, coming from 38 different countries and the five continents.

 

Journalists whose work have been taken over by Forbidden Stories