About Us

Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPPs) have become a particular issue that has gained attention with policymakers, civil society organisations, academics and journalists. There have been several high-profile cases of journalists who have been subject to legal action because of their reporting in an attempt to silence them. The true scale of the problem that SLAPPs pose is unknown as there is no accurate data collection available. 

However, it is not just big newsrooms whose reporters have been subject to SLAPPs. Freelance journalists, bloggers and even student journalists have received legal letters threatening them to stop investigations. 

This website has been developed following a one-day workshop that was hosted by the Centre for Freedom of the Media at the University of Sheffield. In the workshop, it was emphasised that a training resource for those who might not have any formal training on SLAPPs would be beneficial. The CFOM team proceeded to then develop SLAPP’s Training. The website is intended to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ for information on SLAPPs. It does not replace professional legal advice. 

The Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM) is an inter-disciplinary research centre with global outreach on issues of media freedom, independence and plurality, hosted in the School of Information, Journalism and Communication at the University of Sheffield. CFOM aims to inform and advise governments, policy-makers and stakeholders internationally on countering threats to media freedom, and to bring about positive changes to laws, policy and practice and raise standards of journalism safety worldwide.

Contact Us 

SLAPPs Training 
Centre for Freedom of the Media
School of Information, Journalism and Communication 
The Wave 
2 Whitman Road 
Sheffield
S10 2AH 
slappstraining@gmail.com