Covering Protests and Staying Safe in Person and Online

If you experience intimidation, interference or worse,

please report it to the Freedom of the Press Foundation tracker.

 

If you need help now:

Email PEN America's Journalist Safety Urgent Care Helpline at urgentcare@electionsos.org with the word “SAFETY” in the subject line. Do NOT describe any safety issues in detail over email. A care coordinator will reach out as soon as possible to set up a secure communication channel.

 

 

Articles  |  Funding  |  Resources  |  Events

 

Articles

• "New IPI Report Reveals Safety Crisis Faced by Climate and Environmental Journalists," International Press Institute, Feb 13, 2024. Note: The report's recommendations to protect yourself include joining membership groups (such as SEJ) to increase your visibility and access to support/advocacy.
• "SEJ Statement on Flatwater Free Press Reporter Yanqi Xu." On Oct 20, 2023, the Society of Environmental Journalists issued a statement standing with Flatwater Free Press reporter Yanqi Xu, whose work was dismissed by Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen on the basis of her nationality. In response to Xu’s reporting on high nitrate levels in groundwater on Pillen’s hog farms, the governor said on live radio that he will not read the story because the “author is from Communist China.”
• "New Guide Helps Journalists Know Their Rights When Police Come Knocking," Freedom of the Press Foundation, Aug 30, 2023, by Seth Stern.
• "Lessons From a Newsroom Raid: How To Encrypt Your Devices To Protect Yourself," Freedom of the Press Foundation, Aug 16, 2023, by Dr. Martin Shelton.
• "Reporters Committee Analyzes the State of U.S. Press Freedom in 2022," RCFP, May 24, 2023.
• "SEJ Statement of Concern on Journalist and Activist Missing in Brazil." On Jun 10, 2022, the Society of Environmental Journalists joined journalism organizations and many other individuals and groups in calling for Brazilian authorities to redouble their search for British freelance journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous activist Bruno Pereira, with whom Phillips was traveling on an assignment.
• "Killers of Journalists Still Get Away With Murder," Committee to Protect Journalists, Oct 28, 2021. Includes the 2021 Global Impunity Index.
• "You Have the Right To Film Police. Here’s How To Do It Effectively — and Safely." The Washington Post, Apr 22, 2021, by Geoffrey A. Fowler.
• "Two Press Freedom Groups Are Joining Forces To Offer Legal Assistance to Journalists Arrested Or Injured Covering New Stories," Nieman Lab, Jun 8, 2020. NPPA release.
• "Covering a Protest? Know Your Rights," Poynter,  May 30, 2020, by Kristen Hare (originally published Nov 24, 2014).
• "Ethical Reporting on Police Violence and Black-led Resistance: Tips for Journalists," Press On via Medium, May 31, 2020.
• "A (Student) Journalist's Guide to Covering Dissent," SEJ EJ Academy, Apr 25, 2017, by Beatrice Motamedi.

 

Funding

 

U.S. Journalism Emergency Fund: Offered by the International Women's Media Foundation with support from Craig Newmark Philanthropies, this fund is for staff or freelance journalists – regardless of gender – to access the resources they need to report safely on politics and unrest in the U.S.

 

Resources

• Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) 24-hour hotline: (800) 336-4243 or hotline@rcfp.org
• SEJ's WatchDog, a regularly published SEJournal opinion column advocating open information in the personal voice of columnist Joseph A. Davis. Davis has been advocating First Amendment freedom for decades and has been covering the environment journalistically since the 1970s.
• Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ): Editors’ Checklist: Preparing for U.S. protest assignments, June 8, 2020
• CPJ: Safety Advisory: Covering U.S. protests over police violence, May 31, 2020. Safety kit. Assistance.
• Dart Center: How to Safely Cover Street Protests, June 2, 2020, by Judith Matloff.
• Freedom of the Press Foundation: Encryption toolkit for media makers (Aug 2023)
• Freedom of the Press Foundation: "Search Warrants and Journalists: A Guide for the Perplexed" (Aug 2023)
• IJNet: Tips for reporting on anti-police violence protests in the U.S., June 1, 2020, by David Maas and Taylor Mulcahey.
• IWMF: Covering Injustice: Safety Tips for Reporting on Protests, Jun 3, 2020
• IWMF: "A Guide to Protecting Newsrooms and Journalists Against Online Violence," a resource detailing policies and best practices newsrooms can implement to protect staff who are targeted simply for doing their jobs, Sep 2022. Part of the IWMF News Safety Project.
• IWMF: Hostile Environment and First Aid Training (HEFAT) courses trained journalists from diverse mediums, outlets and levels of experience. In-person HEFAT trainings typically last four days, with at least 50 percent of the course focused on training through practical, realistic scenarios.
• Journalist Trauma Support Network (JTSN) training program: This program of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, in partnership with the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), trains mental health clinicians to support journalists challenged by covering violence, crisis and tragedy. JTSN pairs newly-trained therapists with a limited number of journalists for therapy at no cost. For journalists interested in therapy services: Free time-limited therapy through the training program is offered as funding is available. Check the JTSN Resources for Journalists page for eligibility and contact information. The next therapist training cohort is expected to launch in Spring 2025. Meanwhile, the existing JTSN Directory of already-trained, fee-for-service therapists is available now on the Resources for Journalists page, with other information on seeking therapy and therapy grants in the community.
• PEN America’s Guide for Combating Protest Disinformation, Jun 5, 2020
• PEN America's Journalist Safety Urgent Care Helpline provides U.S. journalists and news outlets with one-on-one safety consults for digital, physical, psychosocial, and legal concerns—from dealing with doxing, threats, and arrests to preparing for risky assignments. The initiative is a collaboration among the Knight Election Hub, PEN America’s digital safety team, leading safety advisors Jeje Mohamed, Yemile Bucay and Ramy Ghaly, and five journalist safety organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Women’s Media Foundation, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Aegis Safety Alliance and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
• RCFP: Tips for covering protests, Jun 5, 2020
• RCFP: Police, Protesters and the Press. Information on your rights and how to avoid arrests while reporting on these events.
• Columbia Journalism Review: Covering protests has become the riskiest job in journalism, Fall 2017
• International News Safety Institute: Covering demonstrations and civil disorder 
• Poynter: On photojournalism during a pandemic, including protests, Apr 22, 2020
• SafeBox Network: A tool from Forbidden Stories to prevent journalists from being silenced, IJNet, Jul 11, 2022 by Santiago Sánchez.
• TRFilter: A web application which syncs with your Twitter account, automatically recognizing and flagging harmful comments. The tool allows you to hide comments and mute or block accounts at scale — without having to review the content. You can also create reports to download and share with third parties as needed, such as your employer or law enforcement.

 

Events (see also SEJ's Calendar)

July 31, 2024 Deadline
Reporting Safely in Crisis Zones Course. The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, in partnership with the ACOS Alliance and the Bronx Documentary Center, is offering its annual four-day crisis zones reporting course to 16 freelance journalists at no cost. The course will be held October 3-6, 2024 in New York City. NOTE: While the course is intended for full-time freelance journalists at no cost, five spots have been reserved for paying participants (staff or freelance) from small news organizations, nonprofits and public media. If you would like to be considered for a paid spot ($1295), please reach out to Dart Center Program Manager Krystal Grow at krystal.grow@dartcenter.org.

July 11, 2024
IJ4EU Workshop: Digital Security. Are you working on a story that can get you in trouble? Are you covering a sensitive or a dangerous topic? Are your sources well protected? How safe is your online identity and your data? Register for this Investigative Journalism for Europe workshop offering security training for journalists. 12:30-15:00 CEST // 6:30-9:00 a.m. ET.

May 3, 2024
World Press Freedom Day. Between May 2 and 4, Chile and UNESCO will host the 31st World Press Freedom Day Conference in Santiago. This year's theme is "A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the Environmental Crisis."

May 2, 2024
The Intersections of Press Freedom and the Environment. Join Freedom of the Press Foundation and SEJ for a virtual discussion on obstacles U.S. journalists face when reporting urgent climate change and environmental issues for their communities — whether violence or arrest when covering environmental protests or denials of access and legal obstructions when investigating centers of political and corporate power. The discussion will be moderated by A. Adam Glenn, deputy editor at Freedom of the Press Foundation and consulting editorial director for the Society of Environmental Journalists. Halle Parker, journalist for WWNO's Coastal Desk and Society of Environmental Journalists board member, is one of the speakers. Q&A to follow. 12-1 p.m. ET/9-10 a.m. PT.

May 1, 2024
Environmental Journalists on the Frontlines of Democracy. Prior to this year's World Press Freedom Day, the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program, in partnership with SEJ, will celebrate the important role of environmental journalism and highlight the need to protect journalists around the world from surveillance, censorship, oppression and violence. The discussion will be moderated by Meaghan Parker, Public Policy Fellow, Wilson Center's Environmental Change & Security Program and Chair, Future Council of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Watch the recording.

Oct 5, 2023
IJ4EU Workshop: How To Analyse, Mitigate and Prevent Online Attacks. Join Investigative Journalism for Europe for an analytical and hands-on online workshop on tackling online hate and smear campaigns. While the event is chiefly for past and present grantees of the IJ4EU programme, five seats are available to other investigative journalists who may benefit from this workshop.

Sep 21-22, 2022
OWM Global Reporting Summit 2022. This year's One World Media summit will be held over two days in Ramallah, Palestine (free, Sep 21) and in London (ticketed, Sep 22) as well as online. Speakers will explore the stories from spyware and cyber threats to forgotten conflicts and progress in press freedom. Discounts for students.

Jul 15, 2022
Protest Protocol: How Journalists Can Stay Safe in Times of Unrest. Registration is open for a National Press Club Journalism Institute virtual safety training on how to cover political protests and civil unrest while limiting your legal exposure and physical safety risks. 11:30 a.m. ET.

Jun 16-Jul 25, 2022
The Digital Safety Snacks series features bite-sized videos and four half-hour hands-on workshops to protect writers and journalists from doxing, hacking and other abusive tactics. Co-organized by PEN America, the International Women's Media Foundation and the Online News Association.

July 7, 14, 21 and 22, 2021
Summer Bootcamp: Digital Safety & Online Abuse Defense. The Society of Environmental Journalists is partnering with PEN America, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and Global Cyber Alliance for a free webinar series offering a crash course on digital safety and online abuse defense for journalists, writers and media organizations. Whether you’re concerned about surveillance, hacking, doxing, cyber mobs or other abusive tactics, we’ll equip you with concrete tools and strategies to keep yourself, your work and your sources safer. 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET.

May 6, 2021
How Vicious Disinformation Campaigns Aim to Silence Women Journalists. Join in a conversation with Filipino-American journalist Maria Ressa and International Center for Journalists' Global Director of Research Julie Posetti to discuss new ICFJ-UNESCO research on online violence as a weapon of disinformation and evolving strategies for fighting back. 10:30 a.m. ET.

Sep 16, 2020
Journalists in Peril: Creating a safer, equitable future together. Safety for journalists has taken on a renewed sense of importance as newsrooms grapple with the convergence of hostility toward those in the field and systemic racism that pervades even the most revered journalistic institutions. It seems journalists have more reason than ever to be allies for each other as the industry confronts itself while serving conflicted communities. Moderation by Jill Geisler, Bill Plante Chair in Leadership and Media Integrity at Loyola University Chicago and the Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership. 11:30 a.m. ET.

Jul 30, 2020
Race, Protests and Journalism Ethics. From the Tom Cotton op-ed in the New York Times, to covering protests, to publishing faces of protesters, this SPJ panel of experts will discuss the challenges — and solutions — for editors, reporters, photographers and videographers as they face difficult decisions every day regarding news coverage. Noon ET.

Jul 25, 2020
When the Press Badge Doesn't Protect You. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reports more than 430 aggressions against reporters during these protests. This online program, 2:00-4:00 p.m. ET, will offer firsthand accounts of attacks as well as commentary on such incidents. Confirmed panelists: Independent journalist Maria Trahan Martinez and Kirstin McCudden of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. For updates, follow us at www.facebook.com/HoustonSPJ or sign up for our newsletter by emailing houstonspj@gmail.com.

Jun 18, 2020
Staying Sane: Managing Threat and Trauma. Fourth of four free webinars focused on journalists' safety and health, from PEN America in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists, International Women's Media Foundation, Freedom of the Press Foundation and Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma.

Jun 17, 2020
Press, Protests and the Pandemic: The State of Reporting in the Triad. The Triad of Black Journalists discussed how recent events are being covered in the Piedmont-Triad region of North Carolina, self-care when on the scene, forging relationships, responsible journalism and how to cover the communities that we live in with black and brown skin.

Jun 16, 2020
Digital Safety, Surveillance & Privacy. Third of four free webinars focused on journalists' safety and health, from PEN America in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists, International Women's Media Foundation, Freedom of the Press Foundation and Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma.

Jun 12, 2020
Ethnic Media Dialogue: Covering Racial Injustice Protests and COVID-19. The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education hosted a digital dialogue with ethnic media journalists on the impacts of racial prejudice and the pandemic on communities of color.

Jun 12, 2020
Protest & Disinformation: Using Media Literacy to Spot It & Stop It. In the past couple of weeks, amid mass demonstrations against police violence, misinformation and disinformation about the protests have been spreading fast online. In response to this influx of false information, PEN America has adapted our media literacy trainings to address these renewed threats to accurate information. Co-sponsored by the EveryLibrary Institute and the Daily Kos Liberation League.

Jun 12, 2020
Physical Safety Strategies for Reporters. Second of four free webinars focused on journalists' safety and health, from PEN America in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists, International Women's Media Foundation, Freedom of the Press Foundation and Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. Video recording.

Jun 11, 2020
Know Your Rights: A Legal Training for Reporters. First of four free webinars focused on journalists' safety and health, from PEN America in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists, International Women's Media Foundation, Freedom of the Press Foundation and Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. Video recording.

Jun 10, 2020
Covering Unrest: When Journalists of Color Become the Target. In this Center for Health Journalism webinar, we’ll take a deep look at the physical and mental health risks, identify coping strategies, and offer practical tips and suggestions on staying safe while covering two overlapping crises — nationwide protests and COVID-19. Watch the recording.

Jun 5, 2020
Covering Protests: Journalists Under Attack. The International Center for Journalists hosted a special event on the alarming trend of police targetting journalists covering protests, featuring Linda Tirado, a freelance photojournalist who was blinded in one eye while covering the Minneapolis protests; Branden Hunter, neighborhood reporter for the Detroit Free Press; Maria Salazar-Ferro, emergencies director at CPJ; and Ahmer Khan, winner of the 2020 Human Rights Press Award for his coverage of unrest in Kashmir. Summary and recording.

Jun 5, 2020
Stories From the Frontlines: Journalists and Protests with CNN's Brian Stelter. CNN Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter spoke with journalists covering the protests over the death of George Floyd. Why have journalists faced such unprecedented harassment, intimidation and detainment during this fast-moving story? How can they protect themselves and get the access they need to keep their communities informed going forward? An SPJ Live Online Session. Video recording.

Jun 4, 2020
Strategies for Safely Covering Protests. Hosted in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) this webinar was led by journalist safety experts Jean-François Belzil, Alison Baskerville and Colin Pereira, and highlighted strategies to help journalists stay safe while covering protests, including how to prepare for and react to threats against their physical safety. The discussion also provided guidance specifically tailored to covering protests during a pandemic, and situations that women journalists and journalists of color may encounter in the field. Recording and resources.