Nik Sunil Williams
@nikwilliams.bsky.social
Policy wonk at Index on Censorship and co-chair of the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition. Works on FoEx, Anti-SLAPP and digital rights. Loves Joan Didion, Dinosaurs 🦕 & My Bloody Valentine. He/Him @indexoncensorship.org
Pinned
Stop the rich and powerful ruining the lives of those who speak up
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are abusive legal threats and lawsuits filed to silence critical speech. They are used by oligarchs, public officials, sexual abusers, wa...
www.megaphone.org.uk
Abusive legal threats can weaponise the British courts against anyone who dares raise their voice. Following yesterday's debate, the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition has launched this petition calling on the public to join the call to #stopSLAPPs
www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/st...
www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/st...
Absolute kudos to @weratedogs.com to use their platform to surface this vital issue.
They could stay silent but haven't
They could stay silent but haven't
February 11, 2026 at 7:46 AM
Absolute kudos to @weratedogs.com to use their platform to surface this vital issue.
They could stay silent but haven't
They could stay silent but haven't
At the Royal Courts of Justice today to monitor the first test of England and Wales' first (and only) Anti-SLAPP powers in an application brought by @danneidle.bsky.social
February 10, 2026 at 9:19 AM
At the Royal Courts of Justice today to monitor the first test of England and Wales' first (and only) Anti-SLAPP powers in an application brought by @danneidle.bsky.social
This is a huge story and must be treated as such.
We allow too much side-stepping of accountability, with journalists often expected to bear the brunt of forcing the issue.
Journalists and their sources must be protected - if they are not, the situation is pretty dire
We allow too much side-stepping of accountability, with journalists often expected to bear the brunt of forcing the issue.
Journalists and their sources must be protected - if they are not, the situation is pretty dire
When he ran Labour Together, Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons hired a PR firm to investigate journalists
After our revelations, and a flurry of news stories, Simons finally gave his side of the story
But it doesn't seem to tally with the facts... 🧵
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/mcsweeney-...
After our revelations, and a flurry of news stories, Simons finally gave his side of the story
But it doesn't seem to tally with the facts... 🧵
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/mcsweeney-...
McSweeney goes - but Josh Simons in the frame over targeting journalists
Cabinet Office minister hired a PR firm to investigate journalists. His explanation is bewildering - and begs one big question. How can Starmer keep him on?
democracyforsale.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:20 PM
This is a huge story and must be treated as such.
We allow too much side-stepping of accountability, with journalists often expected to bear the brunt of forcing the issue.
Journalists and their sources must be protected - if they are not, the situation is pretty dire
We allow too much side-stepping of accountability, with journalists often expected to bear the brunt of forcing the issue.
Journalists and their sources must be protected - if they are not, the situation is pretty dire
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
They have been told they are being monitored by the Iranian state, despite being in exile.
Their families are interrogated and threatened with asset seizures.
Extraordinary pressure being put on BBC Persian service journalists:
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Their families are interrogated and threatened with asset seizures.
Extraordinary pressure being put on BBC Persian service journalists:
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
BBC Persian journalists say Iran monitoring them and targeting their families
Reporters say relatives in Iran have been questioned and persecuted in an effort to curb coverage of unrest
www.theguardian.com
February 9, 2026 at 10:24 AM
They have been told they are being monitored by the Iranian state, despite being in exile.
Their families are interrogated and threatened with asset seizures.
Extraordinary pressure being put on BBC Persian service journalists:
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Their families are interrogated and threatened with asset seizures.
Extraordinary pressure being put on BBC Persian service journalists:
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
A damning demonstration of how far #HongKong has fallen from democracy, the rule of law and a commitment to human rights
Hong Kong dissident Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison
Hong Kong dissident Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison
www.thetimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:37 AM
A damning demonstration of how far #HongKong has fallen from democracy, the rule of law and a commitment to human rights
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
#UnitedStates 🇺🇸 @pressfreedom.bsky.social shares accounts from Minnesota journalists reporting on ICE actions, highlighting the dangers they face, the pressure on local reporting, and the importance of community support to keep informing the public.
Minnesota reporters recount ICE actions, community solidarity: ‘I know it’s going to be dangerous’ - Committee to Protect Journalists
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol operations have intensified in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul areas as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Operation…
buff.ly
February 6, 2026 at 3:30 PM
#UnitedStates 🇺🇸 @pressfreedom.bsky.social shares accounts from Minnesota journalists reporting on ICE actions, highlighting the dangers they face, the pressure on local reporting, and the importance of community support to keep informing the public.
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
the $75 million Jeff Bezos set on fire for that Melania propaganda piece could have funded most independent newsrooms for literally decades
always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Post says one-third of its staff across all departments, not just the newsroom, is being laid off.
February 4, 2026 at 3:11 PM
the $75 million Jeff Bezos set on fire for that Melania propaganda piece could have funded most independent newsrooms for literally decades
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."
February 4, 2026 at 2:34 PM
A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."
Your regular reminder - anyone who claims #Trump gives a shit about free expression or the 1st amendment is either too dumb or lazy to interrogate the assertion or is in on the grift/power grab
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon
Under Trump, the Department of Homeland Security has weaponized administrative subpoenas to attack free speech, according to privacy and civil rights groups.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:35 AM
Your regular reminder - anyone who claims #Trump gives a shit about free expression or the 1st amendment is either too dumb or lazy to interrogate the assertion or is in on the grift/power grab
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
In a POW camp near Lviv is a Ukrainian man who fought for Russia. Did he choose to fight, or was he forced? Jen Stout investigates.
What makes a traitor?
Interviews with Ukrainians who fought for Russia reveal how they became Putin’s soldiers—and the agonising duty of those tasked with upholding their r...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 7:34 AM
In a POW camp near Lviv is a Ukrainian man who fought for Russia. Did he choose to fight, or was he forced? Jen Stout investigates.
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
Really striking going through Epstein disclosures just how often British defamation lawyers are referred to: Schillings; Paul Tweed; oblique suggestions to sue to silence
Why? Because our libel laws let rich and powerful buy silence
Why I signed this last week pressgazette.co.uk/media_law/an...
Why? Because our libel laws let rich and powerful buy silence
Why I signed this last week pressgazette.co.uk/media_law/an...
Editors unite to demand Parliament takes action on SLAPPs
Editors from national newspapers including The Guardian and The Times demand action on SLAPPs in next King's Speech.
pressgazette.co.uk
February 1, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Really striking going through Epstein disclosures just how often British defamation lawyers are referred to: Schillings; Paul Tweed; oblique suggestions to sue to silence
Why? Because our libel laws let rich and powerful buy silence
Why I signed this last week pressgazette.co.uk/media_law/an...
Why? Because our libel laws let rich and powerful buy silence
Why I signed this last week pressgazette.co.uk/media_law/an...
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
To be clear, though - one reason Orbán doesn't do this is because his authoritarian regime is consolidated to a degree that Trump's is not.
Steve Levitsky, the co-author of How Democracies Die, on the dangerous place we have reached as Trump escalates:
“Orbán doesn’t arrest journalists,” he said. “And in Hungary if you walk the streets of Budapest or other Hungarian cities, you will not find heavily armed masked men abducting people."
“Orbán doesn’t arrest journalists,” he said. “And in Hungary if you walk the streets of Budapest or other Hungarian cities, you will not find heavily armed masked men abducting people."
February 1, 2026 at 12:39 AM
To be clear, though - one reason Orbán doesn't do this is because his authoritarian regime is consolidated to a degree that Trump's is not.
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
“An unfortunate reality is that all across the UK it’s too easy for local journalists and their sources to be targeted by legal threats.” Index’s @nikwilliams.bsky.social on the impact legal threats can have on local outlets like @londonermag.bsky.social ⬇️
www.the-londoner.co.uk/the-londoner...
www.the-londoner.co.uk/the-londoner...
The Londoner is being sued by a holiday let grifter. We’re going to fight him in court
Mysterious emails, incessant demands and a fake lawyer — an editor’s note about a serious threat we’re facing
www.the-londoner.co.uk
January 30, 2026 at 2:57 PM
“An unfortunate reality is that all across the UK it’s too easy for local journalists and their sources to be targeted by legal threats.” Index’s @nikwilliams.bsky.social on the impact legal threats can have on local outlets like @londonermag.bsky.social ⬇️
www.the-londoner.co.uk/the-londoner...
www.the-londoner.co.uk/the-londoner...
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
This isn’t about convicting Don Lemon. It’s unlikely that will happen. It’s about intimidating journalists & making them censure themselves out of fear of consequences. It’s about eroding the free press because the administration can’t afford the criticism.
This just in: "Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy awards," Lemon's attorney Abbe Lowell says.
January 30, 2026 at 2:44 PM
This isn’t about convicting Don Lemon. It’s unlikely that will happen. It’s about intimidating journalists & making them censure themselves out of fear of consequences. It’s about eroding the free press because the administration can’t afford the criticism.
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
❌ Wealth should not be able to be used to silence legitimate scrutiny. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) have been used to intimidate journalists and others for far too long.
👍 We strongly support calls for universal anti-SLAPP legislation.
pressgazette.co.uk/media_law/an...
👍 We strongly support calls for universal anti-SLAPP legislation.
pressgazette.co.uk/media_law/an...
Editors unite to demand Parliament takes action on SLAPPs
Editors from national newspapers including The Guardian and The Times demand action on SLAPPs in next King's Speech.
pressgazette.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 1:09 PM
❌ Wealth should not be able to be used to silence legitimate scrutiny. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) have been used to intimidate journalists and others for far too long.
👍 We strongly support calls for universal anti-SLAPP legislation.
pressgazette.co.uk/media_law/an...
👍 We strongly support calls for universal anti-SLAPP legislation.
pressgazette.co.uk/media_law/an...
Today 127 editors, lawyers, journalists, writers, publishers, associations and civil society bodies came together to tell Keir Starmer to make time to protect #freespeech and stamp out #SLAPPs.
antislapp.uk/2026/01/28/m...
antislapp.uk/2026/01/28/m...
Over 120 editors, lawyers, academics, journalists, publishers and civil society representatives call on the Government to give parliamentary time to stamp out SLAPPs. - UK Anti-Slapp Coalition
On 28 January 2026, 127 representatives called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to include anti-SLAPP provisions in the next King’s Speech.
antislapp.uk
January 28, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Today 127 editors, lawyers, journalists, writers, publishers, associations and civil society bodies came together to tell Keir Starmer to make time to protect #freespeech and stamp out #SLAPPs.
antislapp.uk/2026/01/28/m...
antislapp.uk/2026/01/28/m...
I used to deliver digital security training in Scottish libraries but that was only possible through support from individual institutions or bodies like CILIPS and SLIC and was funded by my TINY organisation.
Proper funding could have really helped so many more people
Proper funding could have really helped so many more people
Yeah the thing that immediately pissed me off about this is how IT basics are taught in libraries and are essential to modern living and have huge - like years long - queues but where’s the funding for that?
if they can offer free AI training they could offer free media literacy training too. i know which of those would do more for the public good
January 28, 2026 at 11:06 AM
I used to deliver digital security training in Scottish libraries but that was only possible through support from individual institutions or bodies like CILIPS and SLIC and was funded by my TINY organisation.
Proper funding could have really helped so many more people
Proper funding could have really helped so many more people
A reminder that #Trump has no values or principles, he will say anything to get the heat off him.
This burns him but the heat is greater for those who profess to be principled yet still support him.
This burns him but the heat is greater for those who profess to be principled yet still support him.
Trump: "With that being said, you can't have guns. You can't walk in with guns. You just can't. You can't walk in with guns. You can't do that. But it's just a very unfortunate incident."
January 27, 2026 at 5:52 PM
A reminder that #Trump has no values or principles, he will say anything to get the heat off him.
This burns him but the heat is greater for those who profess to be principled yet still support him.
This burns him but the heat is greater for those who profess to be principled yet still support him.
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
FBI Director Kash Patel said Monday that he had opened an investigation into the Signal group text chats that Minnesota residents are using www.nbcnews.com/tech/interne...
FBI investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE, Patel says
The statement from FBI Director Kash Patel comes after right-wing media figures said they joined the chats and claimed participants were obstructing law enforcement.
www.nbcnews.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:02 AM
FBI Director Kash Patel said Monday that he had opened an investigation into the Signal group text chats that Minnesota residents are using www.nbcnews.com/tech/interne...
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
January 27, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
Reposted by Nik Sunil Williams
Today our friend and former colleague #AndreiAliaksandrau spends another birthday behind bars in #Belarus.
Watch as Margaret Atwood, Nadya from Pussy Riot, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore & Trevor Phillips come together to recite his poem.
The authorities must #FreeAndrei ⬇️
youtu.be/PtYfwV-sTNA?...
Watch as Margaret Atwood, Nadya from Pussy Riot, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore & Trevor Phillips come together to recite his poem.
The authorities must #FreeAndrei ⬇️
youtu.be/PtYfwV-sTNA?...
Margaret Atwood and other writers, artists and journalists recite a poem for Andrei Aliaksandrau
YouTube video by Index on Censorship
youtu.be
January 27, 2026 at 10:59 AM
Today our friend and former colleague #AndreiAliaksandrau spends another birthday behind bars in #Belarus.
Watch as Margaret Atwood, Nadya from Pussy Riot, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore & Trevor Phillips come together to recite his poem.
The authorities must #FreeAndrei ⬇️
youtu.be/PtYfwV-sTNA?...
Watch as Margaret Atwood, Nadya from Pussy Riot, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore & Trevor Phillips come together to recite his poem.
The authorities must #FreeAndrei ⬇️
youtu.be/PtYfwV-sTNA?...
Just listen to how dismissive she and the government are about civil liberties when talking about the roll out of LFR. This is shameful
BREAKING: Facial recognition technology is to be rolled out across England and Wales, under sweeping reforms announced by the home secretary
January 27, 2026 at 7:09 AM
Just listen to how dismissive she and the government are about civil liberties when talking about the roll out of LFR. This is shameful