Being a journalist is an increasingly dangerous job. In 2023, 96 journalists around the globe paid for their work with their lives. In Gaza alone 78 reporters and associated workers were killed. But it’s not just in war situations that journalists are in danger; elsewhere they also face increasing levels of physical violence, digital attacks, state terrorism, and threats from underworld criminals. How can journalists arm themselves against these dangers and continue to do their jobs?

French journalist Laurent Richard is one of the first to advocate a different approach to investigative journalism. In 2015, Richard witnessed the bloody attack on the editors of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, because he worked next door. Soon after, he and other investigative journalists established a collective called Forbidden Stories. The aim is to promote collaboration among journalists from all countries, ensuring safe storage of information for colleagues under threat, and thereby enabling others to bring to light the important stories they were working on. The motto is: ‘Killing the journalist won’t kill the story.’