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A High Price
CHALLENGE
In many parts of the world, freedom of expression is increasingly under threat. For journalists and bloggers, the on-going fight for the right to be able to conduct and publish work can come at a high price; every year, hundreds of journalists are jailed and others subject to threats and assault. Our challenge was to raise awareness of this pressing issue and attract new supporters and funds for Civil Rights Defenders– an international, non-profit organisation based in Sweden, dedicated to human rights work – enabling the team to continue its work focused on keeping important voices heard.
IDEA
We thought it was time for everyone to pay a high price but in a different way; by creating the world's most expensive article. Written by Pulitzer Prize winner, Esther Htu San the piece was a powerful account of her experience living and working as a journalist in Burma. Published behind a paywall with a subscription fee of one millionSwedish crowns (approximatelyUS$100,000), the article was a symbol of the high price Esther, along with other journalists around the world all too often have to pay.
ACTIVATION & RESULTS
Activated through social media and earned media outreach, the conversation sparked huge interest and as thousands of people contributed to the crowdfunding effort, the original target was exceeded, with well over one million SEK raised and the article unlocked. The sheer scale of the response sent an important message to those trying to limit journalists’ freedom of expression and the much-needed funds ensured that Civil Rights Defenders’ work supporting journalists and human rights defenders around the world could continue.