Laurent Richard

Laurent Richard is a French investigative journalist, documentary filmmaker and producer. He is the founder and executive director of Forbidden Stories.^[1]

He was awarded the European Journalist of the Year by Prix Europa in 2018.^[2]

He was among the producers of the documentary series Pegasus, which received a News & Documentary Emmy Award in 2024.^[3]

In January 2026, Richard received the Press Freedom Award at the El Mundo International Journalism Awards, presented by Queen Letizia of Spain.^[4]

In 2017, Laurent Richard founded Forbidden Stories, an international non-profit organisation dedicated to continuing the investigations of journalists who have been killed, imprisoned, or threatened.^[5]

According to UNESCO, the origins of the project were influenced by the January 7, 2015 terrorist attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. At the time, the magazine’s newsroom was located adjacent to Premières Lignes, the production company where Richard worked. UNESCO reported that Richard arrived shortly after the attackers had left the building and, together with colleagues, assisted survivors. The event, combined with Richard’s awareness of journalists imprisoned or targeted abroad, contributed to his reflections on the vulnerability of investigative reporters and the need for collective mechanisms capable of safeguarding and continuing journalistic work when reporters are silenced.^[6]

Forbidden Stories operates through international collaborations between journalists and media organisations. The organisation’s guiding principle — that “killing the journalist won’t kill the story” — has been highlighted by the Global Investigative Journalism Network, which described the initiative as a response to increasing violence, intimidation, and censorship targeting reporters worldwide.^[5]

The network coordinates cross-border investigative projects involving partner journalists and newsrooms. Its first major collaborative investigation, The Daphne Project, was published in 2018 following the assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Subsequent investigations have addressed topics including spyware surveillance, environmental crime, corruption, and transnational repression.

Laurent Richard was selected as a **Knight-Wallace Fellow** at the University of Michigan, a programme that annually brings together a limited cohort of international journalists for a year of study, reflection, and professional development. The Knight-Wallace Fellowship is named in part after Mike Wallace, a former correspondent for *CBS* and *60 Minutes*. During his fellowship, Richard participated in seminars and discussions on topics such as investigative sources, journalist safety, and reporting under threat.^[7]

Richard is also a Fellow of **Ashoka**, an international organisation that supports social entrepreneurs with systems-level innovations. In a 2023 interview published by *Forbes* in the context of Ashoka’s platform, Richard discussed his vision for collaborative journalism and the role of initiatives such as Forbidden Stories in sustaining investigative reporting despite threats to press freedom. The interview explored the strategic, ethical, and technological dimensions of countering censorship and violence against journalists.^[8]

Since its creation in 2017, Forbidden Stories has coordinated more than 30 cross-border investigations involving hundreds of journalists and numerous international media organisations. The consortium’s model is based on collaborative reporting designed to continue and amplify investigations initiated by journalists facing threats, imprisonment, or assassination.^[9]

The network has brought together more than 300 journalists and over 120 media partners worldwide. Its investigations have examined issues including corruption, environmental crime, organised crime, surveillance technologies, disinformation, and human rights abuses.

Among the projects coordinated by Forbidden Stories are:

• The Daphne Project (2018), launched following the assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, involving dozens of journalists across multiple countries.
• Green Blood, focusing on environmental crime and violence against journalists investigating ecological issues.
• Cartel Project, addressing organised crime and its impact on journalists.
• Pegasus Project (2021), a global investigation into the use of Pegasus spyware targeting journalists, activists, lawyers, and political figures.^[10]
• Story Killers, an investigation into global disinformation-for-hire operations and manipulation campaigns.
• Gaza Project, examining threats, violence, and killings affecting journalists covering the conflict in Gaza.
• Viktoriia Project, dedicated to continuing the reporting of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, conducted in collaboration with international partners including *The Washington Post*.

As part of its activities, Forbidden Stories developed the SafeBox Network, a secure digital platform allowing journalists under threat to store sensitive documents and unfinished investigations. The system is designed to ensure continuity of reporting if a journalist is prevented from publishing due to intimidation, imprisonment, or violence.

The SafeBox Network has been described by press freedom and journalism organisations as a tool contributing to journalist safety and investigative resilience. In 2024, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) announced a partnership with Forbidden Stories aimed at strengthening protections for journalists at risk. CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg stated that “Forbidden Stories has shown that killing a journalist won’t kill their story.”^[11]

Coverage by the International Journalists’ Network (IJNet) highlighted testimonies from reporters using the platform as a protective mechanism. Paraguayan investigative journalist Alfredo Guachiré stated that publicly disclosing his use of SafeBox and sharing investigations with the Forbidden Stories network helped deter threats against him.^[12]

Mexican journalist María Teresa Montaño Delgado, interviewed by IJNet, described how the theft of her reporting materials during a kidnapping in 2021 resulted in the loss of investigative projects. She later adopted SafeBox as part of her reporting workflow, explaining that she now transmits investigative materials progressively to the platform.^[13]

The SafeBox Network has also been adopted by investigative media organisations. In 2025, Africa Uncensored announced that it had joined the SafeBox Network, describing the initiative as an additional safeguard for sensitive journalistic material.^[14]

In Haiti, media outlets reported on a partnership between Forbidden Stories and the Association of Haitian Journalists (AHJ), aimed at enabling Haitian journalists to secure investigative materials through SafeBox.^[15]

Richard is the co-author of Pegasus: How a Spy in Our Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy (2023), a book examining the implications of surveillance technologies revealed by the Pegasus investigation. The book includes a foreword by Rachel Maddow.^[16]

The book was reviewed in *The Guardian*, which discussed its examination of spyware and the implications of pervasive digital surveillance in the context of global press freedom and personal privacy. The review described the work as a detailed account of spyware technology and its risks to society.^[17]

Laurent Richard’s work with Forbidden Stories and his investigative reporting have been cited and examined in multiple international media outlets.

The American news programme PBS Frontline featured Richard and the Pegasus Project in its coverage of the investigation into the Pegasus spyware. A *Frontline* podcast, “Behind the Explosive Investigation into Pegasus Spyware,” discussed the collaborative reporting effort and Richard’s role in coordinating the cross-border investigation with partner news organisations.^[18]

Richard and Forbidden Stories were the subject of a long profile in *The New Yorker* in 2020. In the article, the author described how, after the assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Richard organised a group of trusted reporters to work with her sons in sorting through her investigative materials and continuing her work. The *New Yorker* piece characterised Richard as a central figure in coordinating the Daphne Project and quoted the ethos behind Forbidden Stories: “even if you succeed in stopping a single messenger, you will not stop the message.”^[19]

Richard has appeared in numerous public discussions and conference panels on press freedom and investigative journalism. He spoke at international events and institutions on topics including collaborative reporting, threats to independent media, and surveillance issues. Recordings of his talks have been published on public platforms such as YouTube, including sessions in which he discusses the role of collaborative journalism and the challenges facing reporters in the digital age.^[20][21]

Richard was invited to speak at the Sir Harry Evans Summit in London, a conference bringing together leading figures in international journalism. At the same edition of the summit, he appeared alongside prominent journalists such as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to discuss press freedom and investigative reporting in the 21st century.

Laurent Richard is an investigative journalist, documentary filmmaker, and producer. Over more than two decades, he has produced and directed investigative documentaries for French and international broadcasters, covering subjects including armed conflicts, corporate practices, political influence, financial crime, and intelligence operations.

His early reporting included documentary work from conflict zones such as the Kashmir Valley and Palestine. He later directed and produced investigations addressing war, geopolitics, and state conduct.

Richard was a co-founder and editorial contributor to the French investigative television programme Cash Investigation, broadcast on France 2. The programme is known for its long-form investigations into corporate, political, and economic issues.^[22]

Among the investigations he produced for Cash Investigation was *Industrie du tabac : la grande manipulation*, an inquiry into lobbying strategies and influence within the tobacco industry.^[23]

Another report, *Mon président est en voyage d’affaires*, examined corruption, governance, and human rights issues in Azerbaijan. The investigation received an award from La Scam (Société Civile des Auteurs Multimédia), the French authors’ society, at the FIGRA festival.^[24]

Richard’s documentary work has also addressed intelligence and security-related subjects, including films examining clandestine operations and covert activities attributed to foreign intelligence services.^[25]

In addition to his reporting for broadcast, Richard has produced investigative documentaries and reports for international outlets including Arte, Canal+, PBS America (United Kingdom), ABC Four Corners (Australia), and ZDF (Germany).^[26]

Later in his career, Richard served as one of the producers of the documentary series Pegasus, broadcast by PBS Frontline, the BBC, and Arte. The series examined the global consequences of revelations concerning Pegasus spyware and surveillance targeting journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, and political figures.^[27]

The documentary received a News & Documentary Emmy Award in 2024 in the category of Outstanding Investigative Documentary.^[28]

Laurent Richard has been involved in teaching and academic initiatives related to investigative and collaborative journalism.

He designed and taught a course at Sciences Po, the Paris Institute of Political Studies, focusing on consortium-based investigative journalism. The programme introduced students to collaborative reporting methods and examined how cross-border journalistic networks can be structured to conduct complex investigations. The course emphasised practical approaches, including how to design, organise, and coordinate journalistic consortia.^[29]

Richard has also delivered masterclasses and public lectures at Sciences Po, addressing topics such as investigative journalism, press freedom, and collaborative reporting models.^[30]

His teaching and public speaking activities have reflected themes he has addressed in opinion writing, including an article published by the Columbia Journalism Review in which he argued that collaborative journalism represents an increasingly important model for investigative reporting.^[31]

Laurent Richard has authored several opinion articles in widely recognised international media. He published multiple pieces in The Guardian, including reflections following the assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and on the risks posed by spyware surveillance to journalists. He also wrote for the newspaper following the murder of Colombian journalist Rafael Moreno. In addition, Richard contributed an opinion article to the Columbia Journalism Review titled "Collaborative journalism is our only future", in which he discussed the need for cross-border cooperation among journalists in response to threats against independent reporting.^{[32][33][34][35]}

Forbidden Stories and Richard’s work have also been the subject of documentary media coverage. In 2024, the Dutch public television programme *VPRO Tegenlicht* aired a documentary titled "You Can't Kill the Story", which featured Richard and the work of Forbidden Stories, underscoring the organisation’s mission to continue reporting on behalf of journalists facing threats or violence.^[36]

Laurent Richard and investigations coordinated by Forbidden Stories have received several international journalism awards, including the European Journalist of the Year award at Prix Europa in 2018, two European Press Prize, two George Polk Awards, the RSF Impact Prize, an Emmy Award, and the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism.

In January 2026, Richard was awarded the Press Freedom Award at the 23rd edition of the El Mundo International Journalism Awards, presented by Queen Letizia of Spain. The award recognises contributions to the defence of press freedom and freedom of expression. He shared the ceremony with Emma Tucker, editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, who received the Best Journalistic Work Award.^[37]