The Freedom Voices Network, also known as Forbidden Stories, is a media advocacy group that publishes articles from journalists that are deceased or must keep their identities anonymous due to fear of violence or death. ¹ It has received funding from left-of-center foundations and international media organizations. ²

Background

The Freedom Voices Network was founded in 2017 by French reporter Laurent Richard. ^{3 4} The group is incorporated as a nonprofit in France. ⁵

The group also goes by Forbidden Stories while publishing articles and other media pieces by journalists deceased or at risk of violence and death. It also advocates for protecting the identities of said journalists from harm. ¹

According to its website, articles published by Forbidden Stories adhere to “stated values” which include “diversity;” “combatting all forms of harassment, discrimination, defamation, blackmail, slander, and hate speech;” and “combatting disinformation, corruption, environmental crimes, and human rights violations.” ⁶ Forbidden Stories also claims to only publishes work that “meets the ethical and deontological criteria of journalism.” ⁶

Activities

SafeBox Network

Forbidden Stories operates a “SafeBox Network” that allows journalists to upload any notes, video, or media materials to an encrypted site for safety. The group is allowed to access said materials for publishing or continued investigation in the event of a journalist’s abduction, imprisonment, or death. ⁷

Reporting Projects

Forbidden Stories claims to work with media partners to continue investigations of journalists detained or killed. Examples include investigations into government corruption, drug cartels, mining corporations, Covid-19-related reporting, land seizures, and the oil industry. ⁸

The Gaza Project

In June 2024, Forbidden Stories worked with the Committee to Protect Journalists to release “The Gaza Project,” a media report on alleged deaths and injuries caused due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks against the State of Israel. ⁹ The group claims that 103 Palestinian journalists have died in Gaza as of the time of the report’s publication, with 40 allegedly connected to Hamas-affiliated media. In addition, the report claims that two Israeli and three Lebanese journalists have also died in the conflict as of its publication. ¹⁰

The Gaza Project claimed that the State of Israel was intentionally targeting Palestinian-affiliated journalists or members of the press in Gaza, or failed to protect them. ^{11 10} The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) rejected claims made in the report, alleging, “[t]he narrative that the IDF is intentionally targeting journalists is utterly unfounded and fundamentally false.” ¹⁰ The report’s research included imput from local Palestinian-affiliated groups including the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. ¹⁰

Financials

Forbidden Stories was originally funded by Reporters without Borders and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. ¹²

Its funders and supporters have included the Adessium Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Fred Foundation, the Isocrates Foundation, Foundation Limelight, Luminate, the National Endowment for Democracy, the Open Society Foundations, the Seattle International Foundation, the Reva and David Logan Foundation, the Tinius Trust, the Veronica Foundation, the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, the Mozilla Foundation, the Fritt Ord Foundation, Investigative Journalism for EU, the Foundation for International Investigation of Crime Against Media, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, the Skoll Foundation, the Democracy and Media Foundation, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, and Yes We Hack. ²

1. “Our Mission.” Forbidden Stories. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://forbiddenstories.org/about-us/mission/our-mission/.
2. “Funding & Supporters.” Forbidden Stories. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://forbiddenstories.org/about-us/funding/.
3. “Laurent Richard.” Forbidden Stories, May 19, 2024. https://forbiddenstories.org/about-us/organization/staff-board/laurent-richard/.
4. “Our History.” Forbidden Stories. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://forbiddenstories.org/about-us/mission/our-history/.
5. “Terms of Use.” Forbidden Stories. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://forbiddenstories.org/terms-of-use/.
6. “SafeBox Network Charter.” Forbidden Stories. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://forbiddenstories.org/policies/safebox/.
7. “SafeBox Network.” Forbidden Stories. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://forbiddenstories.org/safebox/.
8. “Investigations.” Forbidden Stories. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://forbiddenstories.org/investigations/.
9. “Gaza Project.” Forbidden Stories, June 26, 2024. https://forbiddenstories.org/projects_posts/gaza-project/.
10. Andrzejewski, Cécile, Phineas Rueckert, and Léa Péruchon. “The Gaza Project: How Forbidden Stories Investigated the Killing of Nearly 100 Journalists in Gaza.” Forbidden Stories, June 25, 2024. https://forbiddenstories.org/the-gaza-project-how-forbidden-stories-investigated-the-killing-of-nearly-100-journalists-in-gaza/.
11. Richard, Laurent. “Why We Did the Gaza Project.” Forbidden Stories, June 25, 2024. https://forbiddenstories.org/why-we-did-the-gaza-project/.
12. Allsop, Jon. “A New Project Will Keep Stories Alive When Journalists Are Killed.” Columbia Journalism Review, October 24, 2017. https://www.cjr.org/watchdog/freedom_voices_censorship_journalists_killed.php.