Laurent Richard, founder of Freedom Voices Network, said: “The goal of Forbidden Stories is to publish and continue the work that other journalists cannot carry on because they have been threatened, imprisoned or killed. Our aim is to keep their stories alive and to ensure that as many people as possible have access to independently reported information about important subjects such as the environment, public health, human rights and corruption.”
Christophe Deloire, secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders said: “Forbidden Stories puts investigative journalism at the center of the fight for press freedom and the protection of journalists. The goal of this innovative initiative is to use journalism to defend journalism and to guarantee access to freely and independently reported information. Through Forbidden Stories, we send a strong message to press freedom’s predators throughout the world.”
The Forbidden Stories website is now live at https://www.forbiddenstories.org/
A statement on the website says: ‘All around the world, journalists face threats, arrest, and murder. There are stories that corporations, organized crime groups and governments don’t want to see published.
Forbidden Stories has a mission: bypassing any form of censorship by publishing these stories.
To achieve this, we offer journalists working on a sensitive issue a secure way to backup their work with us.
In case something happens to the journalist, we will be able to pick up the investigation, complete it, and publish it broadly thanks to our collaborative network of news organizations.
By protecting and continuing the work of reporters who can no longer investigate, we can send a powerful signal to enemies of a free press: even if you succeed in stopping a single messenger, you will not stop the message.’