Podcast Summary
British Courts as a Tool for Intimidating Journalists: British courts are misused by the wealthy, particularly oligarchs, to silence investigative journalists through costly and lengthy lawsuits
British courts have become a tool for the wealthy, particularly oligarchs from the former Soviet Union, to intimidate journalists. Tom Burgess, an investigative journalist for The Guardian, shared his experience of being targeted in a lawsuit after a clandestine meeting in a London car park. The lawsuit, initiated by a mining company owned by the oligarchs, was an attempt to silence him. The legal warfare lasted for months, costing significant amounts of money and casting him as a monstrous version of himself. Such lawsuits, according to press campaigners, are abusive and designed to stop reporting. This is a chilling reminder of the lengths the super-rich can go to silence investigative journalism.
Billionaires' Global Expansion and Corruption Allegations: Three billionaires, Moskiewicz, Sudayev, and Bragimov, founded ENRC, capturing Kazakh mineral resources and expanding globally. Corruption allegations led to a long-running UK investigation and SLAPP lawsuits against critics.
The trio of billionaires, Alexander Moskiewicz, Patok Sudayev, and Alexander Bragimov, who founded Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), were able to capture valuable mineral resources in Kazakhstan and expand globally, listing their corporation on the London Stock Exchange. However, questions about corruption arose, leading to a long-running investigation by the Serious Fraud Office in the UK. Author Tom Burgis, while investigating and reporting on this story for his book "Kleptopia," faced intense legal pressure and threats of defamation lawsuits, even for allegations he never made. This is an example of what is known as a "strategic lawsuit against public participation," or SLAPP, used to intimidate and silence critics. Despite the threats, Burgis continued to publish and bring attention to the issue.
Intimidation Tactics in Journalism: SLAPP Lawsuits: SLAPP lawsuits, often brought by wealthy individuals, can silence critics, cause significant resources to be spent on legal defense, result in reputation damage, and lead to self-censorship due to fear of further legal action. The UK's courts have become a hotspot for these lawsuits due to attractive golden visas and unfriendly libel laws.
The Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) is a legal tactic used to silence critics, often against journalists, whistleblowers, MPs, NGOs, and others attempting to expose wrongdoing. These lawsuits are often brought by wealthy individuals and can result in significant time and resources spent on legal defense, reputation damage, and self-censorship due to fear of further legal action. The 2020 "Unsafe for Scrutiny" report revealed that 70% of British and overseas journalists had experienced threats and harassment for their work, with 70% of those journalists receiving legal threats. The UK's courts have become a hotspot for these lawsuits due to the country's attractive golden visa scheme and unfriendly libel laws, which place the burden of proof on the journalist rather than the plaintiff. The result is a chilling effect on free speech and investigative journalism.
UK's defamation laws chill free speech and investigative journalism: UK's costly and abusable defamation laws target individuals, leaving them with significant legal fees and chilling free speech and investigative journalism
The UK's defamation laws are expensive and open to abuse, allowing individuals to bring costly litigation against journalists for perceived meanings of statements, even if those meanings were never intended. This creates a chilling effect on free speech and investigative journalism. An extreme example of this is the case of Russian warlord Evgeny Prigozhin, who sued the founder of Bellingcat, Elliot Higgins, in the UK despite being under UK sanctions for his involvement with the Wagner mercenary group. Prigozhin's lawsuit aimed to undermine the British government's reason for sanctioning him, leaving Higgins with significant legal fees and unable to recover them. This is just one instance of the abusive and vindictive nature of such legal actions, which often target individuals rather than publications and put their personal finances at risk.
The Legal System as a Weapon Against Journalists: Powerful entities can use the legal system to silence investigative reporting, launch costly and time-consuming defamation lawsuits, and attempt to unmask sources. Journalists and publishers must stand firm in protecting their work and the confidentiality of their sources.
The legal system can be a formidable weapon wielded by the wealthy and powerful against journalists and publishers, with the potential to silence investigative reporting and even uncover the identities of sources. This was illustrated in the case of journalist Tom Burgis, who faced a defamation lawsuit from a mining company, ENRC, backed by expensive UK and American law firms. The legal process was costly and time-consuming, with the potential for damaging smear campaigns and attempts to unmask sources. Despite the challenges, Burgis and his publisher stood strong, refusing to back down from their reporting. The case underscores the importance of protecting the freedom of the press and the confidentiality of sources, especially in the face of powerful adversaries.
Wealthy individuals and companies can use lawsuits to suppress journalistic investigations: The power of wealth can be used to intimidate journalists and suppress investigations through costly lawsuits, but not all cases hold up in court
The power of wealth can significantly impact journalistic integrity and freedom through the use of lawsuits and intimidation tactics. In this specific case, the author's book about an oligarch and his company was threatened with a lawsuit, which led to a lengthy and costly legal process. However, when the case was finally heard in court, the judge dismissed it, recognizing the lack of substance in the lawsuit. The author expressed relief, but also concern for journalists and whistleblowers without the same level of resources to defend themselves against such lawsuits. The case highlights the potential for wealthy individuals and companies to use the legal system to suppress journalistic investigations in the public interest.
Media industry tackles SLAPPs to protect free speech: New UK law gives reporters more protection against SLAPPs in economic crime cases, but stronger measures are needed to deter abusive lawsuits and protect whistleblowers.
The media industry is taking action against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), which are used to intimidate and silence journalists and whistleblowers. The insidious effect of SLAPPs is not just what gets printed but what doesn't, as these lawsuits can lead to costly legal battles that deter people from speaking out. The industry has responded by drawing up model laws for the UK and Europe, which would make it easier to dismiss these cases early on and impose punitive damages on those who bring abusive claims. Additionally, journalists are being encouraged to complain to the Solicitor's Regulatory Authority (SRA) about SLAPPs, and the SRA has acknowledged the problem and produced guidelines for law firms on how to avoid taking on abusive cases. A significant breakthrough was made last week when new legislation was passed into law in the UK, which should give reporters more protection against SLAPPs in cases involving economic crimes. However, the protections aren't as strong as campaigners would like, and the law only applies to certain types of cases. Overall, this is a big moment as it shows the government recognizing the reality of SLAPPs and taking steps to address the issue.
Protecting Journalistic Sources for Democracy: Reforms are necessary to safeguard journalistic sources and protect democracy, as existing laws have failed to prevent individuals and kleptocrats from using legal systems to silence critical reporting.
The ongoing debate around protecting freedom of speech and journalistic sources in the UK is not just about individual cases of vexatious lawsuits, but rather about safeguarding democracy and public interest. The proposed legislative reforms aim to address situations where existing laws have failed, and journalism serves as the last line of defense to expose issues that matter to the public. Journalists like Tom Burgess face increasing challenges in protecting their sources amidst strategies to undermine the very foundation of journalism. If these reforms do not materialize, the rise of kleptocrats and their use of legal systems to maintain power and amass wealth could result in less coverage of critical issues in the news media.
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