Peter Geoghegan on getting SLAPP’d: ‘It had a huge chilling effect’
From Media Confidential by Prospect Magazine
May 28, 2026 · 41 min · Season 3 · Episode 71
About this episode
Peter Geoghegan discusses the impact of SLAPP lawsuits on journalism and democracy.
On this week’s Media Confidential Alan and Lionel talk to Peter Geoghegan, journalist, broadcaster and founder of Democracy for Sale. The three discuss the problem of SLAPPs, lawsuits used by the wealthy to silence and intimidate critics. They talk about the chilling effect these lawsuits can have have on democracy, and how they discourage journalists from pursuing stories in the public interest. Why has the government made such slow progress in tackling them? They’ll discuss what it is like as a small media outlet or single journalist to receive the financial and emotional weight of a SLAPP and the lobbying actions of media lawyers. The three will also discuss Democracy for Sale’ s investigation into Labour Together and ask about the thinktank's impact on UK politics. Read the investigation here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Hosts: Alan, Lionel
Guest: Peter Geoghegan
Topics covered
- SLAPP lawsuits
- journalism
- democracy
- media
- politics
- intimidation
Keywords
- SLAPP
- lawsuits
- journalists
- intimidation
- Democracy for Sale
- Labour Together
- UK politics
- media lawyers
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Democracy for Sale, Labour Together, UK
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