News
November 2, 2022 6:00 am
On the occasion of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on November 2, 2022, Forbidden Stories has released a new video campaign to explain its mission and raise funds.
We need your support to:
- Pursue and publish the investigations of journalists who are threatened, imprisoned or who have been murdered.
- Lend global resonance to these “forbidden stories.”
- Defend access to independent information.
- Go further with the SafeBox Network, deterring those who attack journalists.
Support Forbidden Stories:
A word from the founder and executive director of Forbidden Stories:
“On October 16, 2022, Colombian journalist Rafael Moreno was killed in Montelíbano. Shortly before his assassination, the reporter had protected his investigations by sharing them with Forbidden Stories using the Safebox Network. He wanted his work to be continued if something were to happen to him. That is what we plan to do with the “Proyecto Rafael,” just as we did with the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, exactly five years earlier to the day.
In 2017, we started with a simple idea: to continue the work of murdered, imprisoned or threatened reporters and expose the investigations that some wanted to see disappear on a global scale. They killed the messenger, they won’t kill the message.
During these five years, we have conducted numerous investigations, including The Daphne Project on corruption at the highest level of the Maltese authorities; Green Blood, followed by Mining Secrets, documenting environmental crimes committed in Tanzania, Guatemala and India; The Cartel Project, tracking down Mexican cartels and their connections around the world; and most recently The Pegasus Project, revealing a global espionage system. This work has already been recognized and rewarded with more than a dozen prestigious prizes, including multiple George Polk awards, the European Press Prize, the RSF Impact Award and the DIG Award.
Forbidden Stories is now a team of twelve full-time employees, working with some sixty international media outlets to publish these collaborative investigations simultaneously. Forbidden Stories has also been deploying the SafeBox Network for several months, which allows the most seriously threatened journalists in the world to protect their work. In Mexico, the DRC, Colombia, Equatorial Guinea, Haiti and elsewhere, dozens of at-risk journalists have already joined the SafeBox Network, sharing their ongoing investigations with us and letting us know that they are no longer alone.
I would like to express my deepest thanks to our donors, the foundations that support our association, and our media partners, without whom none of this would be possible.”
Laurent Richard
Who are we?
We are a network of journalists whose mission is to pursue and publish the work of other journalists who are threatened, imprisoned or who have been murdered. Read about all the “forbidden stories” we’ve pursued and published.
When journalists risk their lives to inform the public about important issues, we must ensure that their investigations are resumed if they are prevented from doing their work. This is the philosophy of Forbidden Stories. Since our inception, we have coordinated:
150 partner journalists
from 60 media outlets
covering 49 countries
November 2: a symbolic date
In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed November 2 the “International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists” (#EndImpunity). The date was chosen in memory of two French journalists, Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, who were murdered on November 2, 2013 in Mali.
Combating threats of violence and crimes against journalists is one of the most pressing issues in ensuring freedom of expression and access to information for all. Today, only 1 in 7 people live in a country with a free press.
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They support us
Maria Ressa
2021 Nobel Peace Prize
“All they want in killing a journalist, or in attacking a journalist, is to stop the story.”
Can Dündar
Former editor of the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet
“It will send a very clear message to oppressive governments that if they touch a journalist anywhere in the world, many others will be ready to support and follow up their story.”
Khadija Ismayilova
Azerbajani investigative journalist
“What you are suggesting is creating a newsroom for journalists who have no press freedom. You will get fantastic stories.“
Matthew Caruana Galizia
Maltese journalist, son of slain reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia
“We couldn’t allow our mother’s stories to die with her. They were too important. For them to be forgotten would have been like killing her twice.“
Fabrice Arfi
Mediapart‘s head of investigations
“The finest project of investigative journalism, in solidarity against censorship.“
Sandhya Ravishankar
Indian journalist
“Now I know that Forbidden Stories will always have my back.”
Bastian Obermayer
2017 Pulitzer Prize winner
“Even if Forbidden Stories rescues just a handful of investigations that fall into a sort of limbo each time a journalist is jailed or killed, it will already be a great victory for citizens.”
Marina Walker
Executive editor at Pulitzer Center
“By working together, journalists can make it harder for censorship to win. We’re proud to support Forbidden Stories.”