Press freedom: sounds lofty, looks like a bunch of people in a newsroom arguing about privacy rulings, dodging Saudi lobbyists, and buying drone detectors on a budget.
The Guardian asked its staff what they'd actually done to defend press freedom this past year. The answers range from “launched a secure messaging system so whistleblowers can talk without getting doxxed” to “flew over Gaza in a Jordanian aid plane feeling guilty about the 200+ Palestinian journalists buried below.”
Highlights include a $400 drone detector purchased for frontline reporting in Ukraine (if it's your vehicle, you run), a successful libel defense against actor Noel Clarke, and a joint investigation that got Russian prison bosses added to the EU sanctions list after they were linked to the death of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, 27.
Other staffers spent the year convincing 500+ advertisers to fund real reporting while refusing fossil fuel and gambling ads, exposing One Nation's patronage by Australia's richest person, and covering Sudan's war with sources who'd be killed if identified. One visual artist replaced Jimmy Kimmel's mouth with Donald Trump's to illustrate how free speech is deteriorating.
And if you're wondering what you can do: download the Guardian app. It provides cover for secure communications. Or, you know, support them financially. They're trying to hit 60,000 acts of support. No pressure.