Amnesty International: Defending Press Freedom
In October 2023 Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna travelled to a Russian-held part of Ukraine to report on life under occupation, but was detained by Russian police and had then disappeared.
Finally in May 2025 her body was returned to Ukraine by Moscow.
According to CNN “forensic examination found numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment… including abrasions and haemorrhages on various parts of the body, a broken rib andpossible trace evidence of electronic shock. Experts have determined the injuries were sustained while Roschyna was still alive.”
This is a horrific case, but Ms Roschyna is not alone. Last year, 124 journalists were killed — the highest number ever recorded (according to the CPJ).
Many of those deaths occurred during Israel’s military assault on Gaza, where journalists were specifically targeted.
Around the world — and here in the UK — the press is under increasing attack. Many more journalists are silenced through censorship, violence, and imprisonment.
The threats may be less visible in the UK, but they are growing. Some journalists face legal intimidation, online abuse, and political pressure. Independent reporting is stifled, and public trust is eroded by disinformation and smear campaigns.
It’s easy to be critical of the press. But the role of journalism is exactly that: critical.
In a world where misinformation, ‘fake news’, and dangerous authoritarians like Donald Trump andVladimir Putin are on the rise, journalists can still hold power to account, expose corruption, and bring us the truth.
Together with AmnestyInternational UK, we wanted to encourage more people to join the fight to defend press freedom. It seemed the best place to start was using the original protest and medium (and in fact the first way that journalism was first ever recorded).With graffiti.
First they came for the journalists, and I did not speak out, Because they said it was all fake news.
Then they came for the protestors and I did not speak out, Because at least the disruption stopped.
Then they came for our laws, and I did not speak out, Because I though that couldn’t’ happen here.
Then they came for the truth, and I did not speak out, Because I didn’t know what it was any more.
Now they have come for me, and I can’t speak out, Because it’s too late.
Our new poem based on the antifascist prose poem by Pastor Niemoller: ‘First They Came for the Communists’ – to highlight the dangers the world faces without journalism.
As well as being transformed into a social film we also created a stunt in the heart of London. The full poem was spray-painted onto a giant yellow double-sided wall by graffiti artist and illustrator Andrew Hudson at the Observation Point on London’s South Bank (between the OXO Tower and National Theatre).
Once completed, it was then ‘redacted’, line by line. While it was being redacted on one side of the wall, the poem was rewritten on the reverse side.
Our artist and censor will swap places multiple times, so the poem is written, then erased, over and over. Each time the poem is redacted, it represents the ongoing battle between press freedom and censorship.
The stunt kicked off a wider campaign which included an animated typographic video version of the poem, for social media and VOD; OOH billboards featuring shortened versions of the poem, social posts featuring leading journalists including Christina Lamb, Gary Younge, Ash Sarkar, Michael Walker and Alex Crawford – and a bespoke Direct Mail package reaching out to existing and lapsed supporters of Amnesty International UK.
Amnesty International: Defending Press Freedom
In October 2023 Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna travelled to a Russian-held part of Ukraine to report on life under occupation, but was detained by Russian police and had then disappeared.
Finally in May 2025 her body was returned to Ukraine by Moscow.
According to CNN “forensic examination found numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment… including abrasions and haemorrhages on various parts of the body, a broken rib andpossible trace evidence of electronic shock. Experts have determined the injuries were sustained while Roschyna was still alive.”
This is a horrific case, but Ms Roschyna is not alone. Last year, 124 journalists were killed — the highest number ever recorded (according to the CPJ).
Many of those deaths occurred during Israel’s military assault on Gaza, where journalists were specifically targeted.
Around the world — and here in the UK — the press is under increasing attack. Many more journalists are silenced through censorship, violence, and imprisonment.
The threats may be less visible in the UK, but they are growing. Some journalists face legal intimidation, online abuse, and political pressure. Independent reporting is stifled, and public trust is eroded by disinformation and smear campaigns.
It’s easy to be critical of the press. But the role of journalism is exactly that: critical.
In a world where misinformation, ‘fake news’, and dangerous authoritarians like Donald Trump andVladimir Putin are on the rise, journalists can still hold power to account, expose corruption, and bring us the truth.
Together with AmnestyInternational UK, we wanted to encourage more people to join the fight to defend press freedom. It seemed the best place to start was using the original protest and medium (and in fact the first way that journalism was first ever recorded).With graffiti.
First they came for the journalists, and I did not speak out, Because they said it was all fake news.
Then they came for the protestors and I did not speak out, Because at least the disruption stopped.
Then they came for our laws, and I did not speak out, Because I though that couldn’t’ happen here.
Then they came for the truth, and I did not speak out, Because I didn’t know what it was any more.
Now they have come for me, and I can’t speak out, Because it’s too late.
Our new poem based on the antifascist prose poem by Pastor Niemoller: ‘First They Came for the Communists’ – to highlight the dangers the world faces without journalism.
As well as being transformed into a social film we also created a stunt in the heart of London. The full poem was spray-painted onto a giant yellow double-sided wall by graffiti artist and illustrator Andrew Hudson at the Observation Point on London’s South Bank (between the OXO Tower and National Theatre).
Once completed, it was then ‘redacted’, line by line. While it was being redacted on one side of the wall, the poem was rewritten on the reverse side.
Our artist and censor will swap places multiple times, so the poem is written, then erased, over and over. Each time the poem is redacted, it represents the ongoing battle between press freedom and censorship.
The stunt kicked off a wider campaign which included an animated typographic video version of the poem, for social media and VOD; OOH billboards featuring shortened versions of the poem, social posts featuring leading journalists including Christina Lamb, Gary Younge, Ash Sarkar, Michael Walker and Alex Crawford – and a bespoke Direct Mail package reaching out to existing and lapsed supporters of Amnesty International UK.
