Am I facing a SLAPP?
Use our interactive tool to find out whether you are facing a SLAPP
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (or SLAPPs) are a form of judicial harassment aimed at intimidating and ultimately silencing anyone who speaks out on issues of political or societal importance. Journalists, activists, academics, civil society organizations, local campaigners, whistleblowers and survivors of sexual violence are among those most targetted with SLAPPs.
This questionnaire is intended to be a useful tool to identify potential SLAPP tactics. If your answers coincide with the most common symptoms of a SLAPP, you will likely be told that you are facing a SLAPP.
Please note that this tool is not intended to replace legal advice. It should be used for information purposes only.
When you have finished answering all the questions and received your result, please click the Submit button to receive a copy of your answers by email if you have requested this.
The questions asked in this assessment are based on research conducted by Index on Censorship and a group of experts convened by Index. The group includes: Dr Francesca Farrington, Co-convener Anti-SLAPP Research Hub, Aberdeen University; Charlie Holt, Europe Lead, Global Climate Legal Defense (CliDef); Vanja Juric, Lawyer; Flutura Kusari, Legal Advisor, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom; Professor Tarlach McGonagle, Programme Director of the master Information Law and associate professor at Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam; Rosalind McInnes, Legal Director, BBC Scotland; Jessica Ní Mhianin, Head of Policy and Campaigns, Index on Censorship; Alexander Papachristou, Executive Director, Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice; Gill Phillips, Editorial Legal Consultant; Professor Dirk Voorhoof, Professor emeritus, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Centre, Ghent University and Nik Williams, Policy and Campaigns Officer, Index on Censorship.
We have designed this tool to support those targeted by a wide range of SLAPPs. However, due to the complexities of some cases, as well as the differences between jurisdictions, we cannot guarantee this tool will accurately identify all SLAPPs.
The development of this tool was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Justice For Journalists Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.
Your responses are not shared with third parties and Index on Censorship does not store IP addresses. Your responses are therefore completely anonymous. At the end of the tool, you will be given the option for your responses to be emailed to you for your records. This requires you to insert your email address, but please note that it is not stored and is only used to send the email.