Ireland: RSF [Reporters Without Borders] and its partners urge Sinn Féin to stop taking intimidating legal action against the media and journalists

by badger-biscuits

9 comments

  2. Meanwhile sinn fein urges the media and journalists to stop taking money from ffg to make up stories about sinn fein.

  3. Letter signed by the following:
    ARTICLE 19
    Coalition For Women In Journalism
    The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation
    European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
    Foundation Atelier for Community Transformation – ACT
    Index on Censorship
    International Press Institute (IPI)
    The Institute for Mass Media – Cyprus
    Irish PEN
    Justice for Journalists Foundation
    PEN International
    Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
    Michael Foley, ethics council, National Union of Journalists
    Eoin O’Dell, School of Law, Trinity College Dublin 
    Fiona Donson, School of Law, University College Cork

    Some shit show

  4. Not the first RSF to take umbrage with Sinn Féin but I reckon SF representatives will stop taking cases when they stop winning them.

  5. If the journalists are so concerned about this they can just start telling the truth.

    The media are acting like SF are suing poor little rugged independent journalists and not multimillion euro press conglomerates with legal departments, fact checkers, and litigation insurance.

    You have a complete defence to libel if you can prove there’s a greater than 50/50 chance what you printed is true. That’s the bare minimum I’d expect from the Irish Times, RTÉ, or the Independent. If they can’t meet that standard they shouldn’t be calling themselves news.

  6. Stop making shit up about them then. Do they lose these cases?

  7. Our defamation laws are shit and SLAPPs are a real problem, but these kinds of complaints would have more bite if SF didn’t keep winning so many of the cases they take.

    The point of a SLAPP isn’t to win the case – it’s to intimidate the opposing party and force them to avoid spending money defending themselves. RSF are doing their profession no favours by conflating cynical opportunistic abuse of draconian defamation laws with cases where journalists are just doing a bad job and actually defaming people.

  8. I still think who ever coined the term tiocfaidh ar lawsuit deserves a medal, whether you support Sinn Fein or not.

  9. I think they’re nervous that mossad and their fun toy pegasus will f*ck with their election chances. I personally have popcorn on standby, and I’m excited to see what this latest version can do.
    Is the company that created it still here?

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