The value of pro bono for media: InSight Crime

Graffiti depicting an injured eye is seen during a protest against the government in Santiago, Chile REUTERS/Jorge Silva

InSight Crime is an award-winning non-profit newsroom that seeks to deepen and inform the debate about organised crime in Latin America by providing regular reporting, analysis, field investigations and policy suggestions. 

InSight Crime is facing escalating legal challenges and threats, such as defamation and libel claims. This is happening across multiple countries, and as a result, the organisation is spending significant time and resources reviewing work pre-publication and fighting legal challenges. 

In Colombia, one of our co-directors was investigated for defamation. In Guatemala and Mexico, subjects of our work have threatened to sue us for libel. In El Salvador, two investigators who collaborate with us are reportedly being investigated by the Attorney General’s Office for working with the gangs. Both have had to leave the country for brief periods and have returned, but the threat of prosecution lingers.

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DudleyCo-founder of InSight Crime

One such instance was when a group of ‘hacktivists’ sent InSight Crime government documents from three countries – Chile, Mexico and El Salvador –  appearing to show correspondence between police and armed forces personnel around government-related corruption and criminal activity. InSight Crime was concerned about their potential exposure to legal risks if they accessed and used those documents in their investigations. 

Utilising the TrustLaw legal network, InSight Crime was connected to lawyers from Covington & Burling LLP (USA), Baker & McKenzie LLP (Chile) and Galicia Abogados SC (Mexico) so they could provide specialist advice on the nature of the legal risks in each country. This input equipped InSight Crime to make the decision to progress and publish their critical Guacamaya Leaks investigation series (see Guacamaya Leaks investigation series) 

Advising nonprofit newsrooms is a pillar of Covington’s Kurt Wimmer Media Freedom Initiative. We believe that nonprofit news organisations can play a vital role in filling gaps in local and investigative news at a time when smaller news outlets face great economic and legal challenges.”

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CrissCovington & Burling LLP

This impact story is part of a new series to highlight the critical role pro bono legal support can play to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of independent media to counter legal threats.

In 2023, the Thomson Reuters Foundation – in collaboration with the Tow Centre for Digital Journalism at Columbia University – published a  first of its kind report titled ‘Weaponising the Law: Attacks on Media Freedom’  Almost half of journalists surveyed – 48% – reported that they or their media organisation had experienced legal threats, with these instances intending to suppress media scrutiny and silence the critical voices of those who hold truth to power. These threats are particularly onerous for small to mid-sized outlets and non-profit media organisations — all growing players of the news ecosystem – where financial pressures have been so severe that these organisations are unlikely to have in-house legal counsel.

In response, the Thomson Reuters Foundation has scaled up its package of legal support to independent newsrooms and media outlets to enhance media legal resilience. If you’re a media freedom-focused non-profit or newsroomlooking for legal support, please visit our Legal Service for Independent Media page to find out how we can help or get in touch with the team at [email protected].