26 27 Press Freedom Defense Fund Press Freedom Defense Fund SUPPORT FOR JOURNALISTS AND WHISTLEBLOWERS In addition to its education and training initiatives, the Fund provides fixed, capped support to imperiled reporters’ legal defenses. PFDF does not cover all legal expenses in the adopted cases. Rather, PFDF support is designed to attract lawyers to a case and unlock more value toward its defense. PFDF works with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press to help identify and screen applicants in the United States, while also collaborating with international press organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, to help identify applicants overseas. Since its founding, PFDF has taken on dozens of individual cases, successfully defended press freedom, protected and strengthened media law — and, crucially, enhanced modern understanding of free speech as a foundational right. PFDF’s commitment to defending reporters is manifested in three strategies: defending against defamation and legal retaliation; defending against subpoenas for sources and newsgathering material; and defending whistleblowers. Defending the Press 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa is the celebrated co-founder and CEO of Rappler, an investigative online news source in the Philippines and “one of the country’s most popular and influential media platforms,” according to the New York Times. Since 2018, the Philippine government has worked overtime to silence Ressa and Rappler for their skillful reports on President Rodrigo Duterte’s extrajudicial killing campaigns. Following her 2019 arrest on trumped-up charges of cyber libel, PFDF has become the largest financial backer of the marathon legal defense of Ressa and Rappler. Ressa was among those named as Time’s Person of the Year in 2018, in a collection of journalists from around the world who combat fake news. It Won’t Stop With Me: Why the Current State of Press Freedom Should Alarm the World The thought of hosting an event seemed all but foreign for most of 2020. However, PFDF managed to virtually convene partners in October for an event that addressed an urgent issue. Government harassment of journalists and news organizations is on the rise around the world. Designed to intimidate the media from reporting and publishing critical information, attacks against the press have far-reaching and destabilizing implications for democracies. Press Freedom Defense Fund The Press Freedom Defense Fund (PFDF) provides crucial resources to independent reporters, news organizations, and sources facing crippling legal threats from government forces or powerful corporate interests that seek to intimidate, persecute, and prosecute in the U.S. and abroad. Since its launch in 2017, PFDF has become a globally recognized defender of First Amendment rights by providing legal resources, financial support, and technical assistance to those who risk everything to expose corruption. While other organizations work to ensure information transparency or engage in strategic litigation, PFDF is unique. No other organization consistently remedies the devastating personal harm suffered by the under-resourced reporter, isolated whistleblower, or struggling news outlet. At PFDF, success is measured by security: Reporters should be able to do their jobs without having to face persecution or unwarranted litigation. This guiding principle is especially vital today, when the systematic silencing of the press is widespread and getting worse. “If the world does not act quickly to stem the spreading tide of threats to a free press, the consequences will be considerable and potentially uncontrollable.” — JAMES RISEN, DIRECTOR, PRESS FREEDOM DEFENSE FUND