On January 1:st, a new Espionage Act came to effect in Sweden, criminalizing whistleblowers, leading to censorship and threatening free speech as we know it. To shine a light on this alarming development, Reporters Without Borders launched a self-censoring campaign in collaboration with Sweden’s largest newspaper, creating an ad that demonstrated how objective journalism is literally fading away.

The ad, featured in the December 31 edition, was partially printed with a specially designed Co2-sensitive ink. Just in time for January 1st, the ad began to censor itself.

Sweden ranks as the third best country in the world when it comes to press freedom. However, the new Espionage act may change that, as it alters the constitutional laws governing freedom of the press and freedom of expression. This new law came into effect January 2023.

Our ad was printed on one side of this law, and experienced by readers, on the other.

HEADLINE:

A Turkish billion dollar project (in special ink: with clear connections to Putin) is supported by the Swedish government.

TEXT:

Expect gaps in the news going forward.

On January 1, the new Espionage Act comes into effect. An amendment to the constitution that may result in important facts being left out of the news going forward, as anyone who draws the media’s attention to malpractices affecting our international

intergovernmental cooperations risks up to eight years in prison. A big step backwards for independent journalism.

Support our work to preserve press freedom. Visit reporterswithoutborders.se

The media was the message, and the typography itself was the media.

Carbon dioxide in the air is absorbed by the ink and chemical reactions take place that make the ink colorless. Just in time for January first, the headline created a different message entirely, show-casing the potential horrors of the new espionage act and demonstrating how free journalism was – literally – fading away.