“SLAPPed” and censored? Legal threats and challenges to press freedom and investigative reporting

Abstract

The issue of SLAPPs remains a largely understudied area in journalism studies. Limited academic work on the topic mainly focuses on its legal aspects and there is little empirical academic work engaging with the way SLAPPs are experienced by those who are personally involved. This study focuses on illuminating the impact of these vexatious and frivolous lawsuits on investigative journalism and press freedom, and recording whether journalists experience additional or different consequences from SLAPPs in comparison to other types of threats. Based on interviews with journalists who have experienced SLAPPs in recent years and documenting their personal experiences, the study sheds light on the hidden professional and personal costs of investigative reporting, attempts to assess this phenomenon in relation to its effects on journalism and journalists, and is one of the few to record and analyze journalists’ personal beliefs and experiences.