Truth Tellers

China Took His City. And Now His Father. Podcast Episode · The Daily · 27 February · 36m

“Instead of a life that would have been outwardly beautiful, he chose one of inward beauty. One that has landed him in a Hong Kong prison.” #freejimmylai

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“The weakness is the families.”
Following the killing of Cartel leader ‘El Mencho’, violence has surged across western Mexico. He was reportedly tracked through a romantic partner.
At Truth Tellers, Anabel Hernández told @alexcrawfordphoto.bsky.social about her work investigating cartel networks.

Today marks four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

At Truth Tellers 2023, photojournalist @lynseyaddario.bsky.social spoke about one of the things that set this war apart from the others she has covered.

Watch the full conversation: tinyurl.com/mhrrp656

We’re delighted to share that 2025 Sir Harry Evans Fellow in Investigative Journalism, Pete McKenzie, is joining @reuters.com as International Climate Correspondent, covering the political, economic and scientific implications of our changing climate. Bravo Pete! 👏👏👏

Huge congratulations to Truth Tellers 2025 speakers Abdi Latif Dahir & Justin Scheck on winning the George Polk Award together with Vivian Nereim for their @nytimes.com investigation exposed the trafficking and abuse of East African domestic workers in Saudi Arabia: tinyurl.com/ycxbakm5

Following the 20-yr sentence handed to Jimmy Lai under Hong Kong’s National Security Law, Mark Stephens warned Lai’s case should concern the international community. At #SirHarrySummit, he discussed authoritarian governments targeting media owners with @caoilfhionn.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/yc7fuv5m

A joint statement from the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands has concluded that Alexei Navalny was killed with epibatidine, a toxin found in Ecuadorian dart frogs. The five countries said “only the Russian state had the means, motive and opportunity.” tinyurl.com/mw9pvxpk

Guatemalan journalist and founder of El Periodico, José Rubén Zamora, has been returned to house arrest after a total of 1,295 days behind bars.

At Truth Tellers 2024, his son @jczamora.bsky.social shared his story on the Locking Up The Truth panel: tinyurl.com/yc7fuv5m

On BBC Radio 4’s The Media Show, @tinabrownlm.bsky.social spoke about the newly released Epstein files. She reflected on her role as editor at The Daily Beast in 2010, when reporting by Conchita Sarnoff exposed Epstein’s abuse.
🎧: tinyurl.com/4rjksdd4

Mark your calendar.
Truth Tellers 2026 takes place at Vision Hall, London on Wed 6 May. Co-hosted by @tinabrownlm.bsky.social @durham.ac.uk @reuters.com, the summit convenes an invitation-only audience of 400 editors, reporters, broadcasters + media leaders. Livestreamed worldwide sirharrysummit.org

In a message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, Pope Leo XIV warned of AI’s impact on information ecosystems, and stressed journalism’s vital role in building public trust. A message that speaks directly to the mission of the Truth Tellers Summit.
Read in full: tinyurl.com/y4peejh6

Rupert Murdoch’s Poisoned Dynasty Gabriel Sherman’s new book Bonfire of the Murdochs is full of juice.

"Rupert Murdoch is the media world’s great white shark, with a slight trail of blood at the corner of his thin mouth.” More on Gabriel Sherman’s book Bonfire of the Murdochs in @tinabrownlm.bsky.social's Fresh Hell on Substack.
tinabrown.substack.com/p/rupert-mur...

Today, that insight feels painfully current. According to the @pressfreedom.bsky.social 2025 prison census, 330 journalists were imprisoned worldwide as of December 1, 2025 - the fifth year in a row that more than 300 media workers have been jailed for their work: tinyurl.com/43cc7j35

“My heart is broken.”
Footage from Truth Tellers 2023, where Iranian journalist and campaigner @masihalinejad.bsky.social warned of gender apartheid, repression and the cost of silence. With reports that thousands have now been killed in the protests, her words feel painfully current.

Journalist fights tears recounting Iran protester deaths at UN Iranian journalist and political dissident Masih Alinejad broke down in tears at the United Nations on Thursday (January 15), as she read out the names of people she said were killed during protests i...

"I feel guilty that I don't name the rest, the list of names goes on and on."
Masih Alinejad broke down in tears at the United Nations on Thursday, as she read out the names of people killed during protests in Iran.
www.reuters.com/video/watch/...

The words of Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad, urging the international community to support the anti-government protesters in Iran.

Masih shared that same rallying cry at Truth Tellers in 2023. Listen to the conversation on an @observeruk.bsky.social podcast episode: tinyurl.com/5bb6zhu6

At Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit, investigative journalist @christogrozev.bsky.social spoke about paywalls - and the resulting bubblisation of society in the US and Western Europe - as one of the greatest threats facing journalism, something he has already seen play out in Russia.

“There are journalists who have shifted to YouTube for independence.”
Indian YouTube sensation Dhruv Rathee has more than 30 million subscribers - more than Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Once a Modi supporter, Rathee is now one of his most outspoken critics: tinyurl.com/yc3tkk3r

The War Photographer Who Can’t Walk Away Pulitzer Prize-winning war photographer Lynsey Addario reflects on surviving frontline abductions, documenting conflict in the age of social media, and switching from firefights to family life.

Pulitzer Prize-winning war photographer Lynsey Addario reflects on surviving frontline abductions, documenting conflict in the age of social media, and switching from firefights to family life.

YouTube video by Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC: "Jimmy Lai is behind bars for conspiracy to commit journalism"

Anyone who cares about press freedom should be outraged by today’s guilty verdict in the trial of Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, who now faces a life sentence. His attorney @caoilfhionn.bsky.social rallied support for him on the Truth Tellers stage. www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWycS7G75Uc

Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner and media mogul Jimmy Lai’s 156-day trial is set to end with a verdict on Monday.

At #TruthTellers last year, exiled human rights lawyer Dennis Kwok said Lai could have left Hong Kong at any time, but chose instead to give the rest of his life to its people.

Violent threats, ‘soft sexism’ at the Bar — and defending Jimmy Lai A career representing journalists who are facing persecution has put a target on Caoilfhionn Gallagher’s back. It makes life complicated

"In the vast majority of cases in which a journalist is killed, whether in peacetime, or in a democracy, or in a dictatorship, in the middle of conflict, wherever in the world — in nine out of ten cases they’re killed with total impunity.” @caoilfhionn.bsky.social
www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...

“Independent media is making a huge dent in meaning-making.”
At Truth Tellers, writer @anandwrites.bsky.social reflected on the rise of independent voices - Substack writers, podcasters, small commentary platforms - and what this shift means for journalism.
Watch in full: tinyurl.com/4nj29n8n

“I knew photography was only a word. I was journeying through another depth of humanity.”
At Truth Tellers 2024, Sir Don McCullin spoke about the moment he turned his lens toward people living on the margins for The Sunday Times. Revisit this extraordinary conversation: tinyurl.com/ye26veyx

At Truth Tellers this year, @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social laid out what he sees as the biggest threats to press freedom today from journalists being killed with impunity to the industrial politicisation of journalism. It’s a stark picture, and a reminder of why gatherings like Truth Tellers matter.

Tina Brown Thinks the Über-Rich Have It Coming

"They’re so disrespectful of our business. [...] That is my major beef with the digital barons." @tinabrownlm.bsky.social talks about the relationship between the uber-rich and media organisations in The Interview with Lulu Garcia-Navarro for
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/m...

Congratulations to Nandhini Srinivasan, the 2026 Sir Harry Evans Global Fellow. Chosen from 850+ applicants, Srinivasan will spend 9 months in a @reuters.com newsroom pursuing a high-impact investigative project: tinyurl.com/3hjz2n9n
@durham.ac.uk @tinabrownlm.bsky.social

The Campaign to Free Jimmy Lai How a globe-trotting attorney is trying to win the release of the famed Hong Kong publisher.

Writing in @thenation.com December issue, @liamjscott.bsky.social writes about our work to #FreeJimmyLai.

A renowned publisher, pro-democracy advocate, a husband, a father, a grandfather. As he turns 78, the race is on to free him and save his life.

www.thenation.com/article/worl...

Wonderful catch-up dinner with the female titans who run London. BBC CEO Deborah Turness, @reuters.com editor in chief Ale Galloni, @financialtimes.com editor in chief Roula Khalaf and the @theguardian.com editor in chief Katharine Viner.

Congratulations to Sigrid van Aken, CEO of @postcodelottery.bsky.social on being awarded France's Légion d’Honneur. Recognition of her leadership and the Group’s extraordinary contribution to civil society, raising over €15 bn for charities worldwide, including generous support for Truth Tellers.