“When the law becomes a weapon, what happens to the truth?”

The global landscape for investigative reporting is becoming increasingly perilous.

Governments, powerful corporations, and influential individuals are deploying a subtle yet devastating weapon against the press: lawfare. The weaponization of the legal system – using laws and legal procedures to harass, intimidate, and silence journalists – is eroding media freedom worldwide. It’s a fight for survival, and the journalistic community must know how to identify the threat and, crucially, how to counter it.

Continue reading to learn about common lawfare tactics and how Reporters Shield can help.

7 Common Lawfare Tactics Used to Silence Newsrooms

Across the globe, powerful actors are weaponizing the courts to crush independent media. Under the banner of lawfare, journalists face trumped-up charges, endless trials, and crippling penalties – all designed to silence the truth before it’s told. A few common tactics include:

Over the past five years, the penalties reporters face under the guise of defamation and insult laws, have grown harsher. Laws that protect individuals and businesses from false statements that cause reputational harm are being used by governments worldwide as tools of repression to muzzle journalists, stifle debate and protect the powerful. One factual error in a story can mean arrest, crushing fines or even prison.

Under the guise of combating disinformation, fake news laws censor journalists and restrict critical reporting. With vague bans on false news or rumors, they grant governments sweeping power to decide what counts as truth. Prosecutions have risen sharply since 2014, accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic, when authorities branded reporters as disinformers or lawbreakers simply for reporting the facts. Far from protecting the public, these laws erode trust and punish essential reporting in times of crisis.

Cybercrime laws are among the most abused tools against journalism. Vague provisions on cyberlibel or hate speech criminalize online reporting, expand surveillance, and give investigators unchecked powers. In the Philippines, Maria Ressa and Rappler faced more than two dozen cases – 18 for libel or cyberlibel – filed by the government to intimidate and silence them. Ressa, a 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, once faced up to 100 years in prison. Her ordeal shows how governments exploit cybercrime laws to criminalize truth.

Broad national security laws increasingly target journalists under charges such as espionage or treason In March 2023, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service on charges of espionage. In July 2024, Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in prison but was released a couple of weeks later as part of a prisoner exchange. From China to Belarus to Nicaragua and even in democracies such as the UK (post National Security Act 2023) national security has become a pretext for repression geared towards punishing those who expose corruption or conflict.

Counter-terror laws, among the most punitive security measures, often conflate terrorism with dissent. Charges including “praising terrorism” or “supporting terrorist organizations” frequently target reporters covering pro-democracy movements or minority issues. From Russia and Turkey to India and Egypt, governments have hardened these laws to suppress digital activism and independent journalism. In Turkey, authorities branded exiled editor Can Dündar a terrorist for exposing state secrets – proof that they use these laws to criminalize truth, not extremism.

Laws such as lèse majesté, desacato, and seditious libel criminalize criticism of leaders or institutions, shielding those in power from scrutiny. While some countries have repealed them, others still wield them aggressively. Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, and Thailand continue to use seditious libel to punish dissent, while Tunisia prosecutes journalists critical of President Kais Saied. These laws don’t protect institutions. They undermine accountability and public trust.

Governments also use fabricated financial charges – from tax evasion to fraud and money laundering – to discredit and bankrupt journalists. Even when baseless, such cases drain resources and create a chilling effect. Belarus has leaned on tax evasion charges since its 2020 protests, while Russia, Vietnam, the Philippines, India, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Tanzania, and Morocco have all targeted reporters with spurious financial prosecutions. 

How Reporters Shield is Fighting Back

While governments weaponize the law to silence journalists, Reporters Shield provides a powerful line of defense. Launched in 2023 by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, with support from the US Agency for International Development and the International Fund for Public Interest Media, the membership-based program protects investigative outlets and reporters from the crushing costs of lawfare.

Here’s how it works:

Those who wage lawfare aim to intimidate, exhaust, and silence journalists, but they don’t have to succeed.

Defending Truth Against Lawfare

In an era when powerful actors use lawsuits to silence rather than seek justice, Reporters Shield flips the balance, giving newsrooms the legal assistance they need to fight legal intimidation and publish the brave reporting they want to do.

From defamation and cybercrime charges to espionage and financial prosecutions, the rich and powerful are twisting laws to punish truth-telling and protect the powerful, often leaving newsrooms to foot the bill.

Reporters Shield is fighting back. Covering legal costs, providing rapid support, and building global solidarity help ensure that journalists can continue to expose corruption, abuse, and injustice without the crippling financial burden.

If you’re a journalist, become a member to protect your right to expose the truth.

You can also support our work with a contribution to ensure reporters are protected from legal threats to silence the truth.When growing legal threats are misused to silence the press, it’s critical that journalists are robustly defended to continue protecting the public’s right to know.