Pre-publication review

Journalists are increasingly facing legal intimidation designed to silence public interest reporting.

The fear of costly and reputationally damaging lawsuits can discourage publication or force journalists to remove important stories altogether.

When legal pressure fuels self-censorship, public-interest stories that most need scrutiny – such as those exposing corruption, human rights abuses, environmental harm and wrongdoing by powerful actors – go untold. This weakens public debate, undermines democratic accountability, and allows powerful actors to operate with impunity.

Understanding legal risks and how to mitigate them is essential for journalists to continue reporting safely, ethically and with confidence in an increasingly hostile environment.

In response, we’ve developed a series of guides with practical pre-publication review checklists, helping journalists to:

• Minimise legal risks
• Report ethically, accurately and fairly
• Strengthen defences against unfair legal sanctions

These guides have been shaped by our global media development work, drawing on real-world challenges and needs identified through direct engagement with media professionals on the ground.

They address the potential legal risks arising from defamation, privacy, data protection, safeguarding, and AI, providing both global and region-specific checklists.

While these precautions may not prevent lawsuits, they can help journalists to publish stories from a position of strength, limit their exposure and raise a reasonable defence before a court if legal action is brought against them.

Explore the reports

The guides are available in English, Spanish, Russian and Belarusian (language availability varies by guide).