ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Will Potter - Investigative journalist
Award-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era.

Why you should listen

Independent journalist and TED Fellow Will Potter is based in Washington, D.C.; his current work examines how whistleblowers and non-violent protesters are being treated as terrorists.

The author of Green Is The New Red: An Insider's Account of a Social Movement Under Siege, Potter has extensively documented how non-violent protest is slowly being criminalized. His reporting and commentary have been featured in the world's top media outlets, including the Washington Post, NPR, Rolling Stone, El Pais, and Le Monde. He has testified before the U.S. Congress about his reporting, as the only witness opposing the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act -- and he is a plaintiff in the first lawsuits challenging so-called "ag-gag" laws as unconstitutional.

Will has also lectured at many universities and public forums about his work, including Georgetown University, Harvard Law School, and the House of Democracy and Human Rights in Berlin. International speaking tours have included Germany, Austria, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Spain, and he was the international guest lecturer for Australia's 2014 animal law lecture series.

His reporting has overturned criminal prosecutions, and it has both been praised in Congressional reports and monitored by the Counter-Terrorism Unit.

More profile about the speaker
Will Potter | Speaker | TED.com
TED2014

Will Potter: The shocking move to criminalize nonviolent protest

Will Potter: La xocant acció de criminalitzar la protesta no-violenta

Filmed:
1,127,722 views

Al 2002, el periodista d'investigació i amic de TED Will Potter va decidir de prendre's un descans de la seva feina regular, escrivint sobre tirotejos i assasinats per al Chicago Tribune. Va anar a ajudar a un grup local que feia campanya en contra de les proves en animals: "Vaig pensar que seria una manera segura de fer alguna cosa positiva", diu. En comptes d'això, va ser detingut, i així va començar el seu viatge dins en un món on la protesta pacífica es ven com a terrorisme.
- Investigative journalist
Award-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
It was lessmenys than a yearcurs after SeptemberSetembre 11,
0
531
2576
Feia menys d'un any després de l'11 de setembre,
00:15
and I was at the ChicagoChicago TribuneTribuna
1
3107
1675
i jo estava al Chicago Tribune
00:16
writingescrivint about shootingsrodatges and murdersassassinats,
2
4782
1874
escrivint sobre assassinats i tirotejos,
00:18
and it was leavingsortint me feelingsensació
3
6656
1462
cosa que em deixava
00:20
prettybonic darkfosc and depresseddeprimit.
4
8118
1782
fet pols i deprimit.
00:21
I had donefet some activismactivisme in collegeuniversitat,
5
9900
1582
Havia fet una mica d'activisme a la universitat,
00:23
so I decidedva decidir to help a locallocal groupgrup
6
11482
1647
així que vaig decidir ajudar a un grup local
00:25
hangpenjar doorporta knockersbaldes againsten contra animalanimal testingWikipedia.
7
13129
2709
a penjar picaportes en contra de proves de laboratori en animals.
00:27
I thought it would be a safesegur way
8
15838
1507
Vaig pensar que seria una manera segura
00:29
to do something positivepositiu,
9
17345
1882
de fer una cosa positiva
00:31
but of coursecurs I have the absoluteabsolut worstel pitjor lucksort ever,
10
19227
2566
però clarament vaig tenir la pitjor sort
00:33
and we were all arresteddetinguts.
11
21793
2325
i ens van detenir a tots.
00:36
PolicePolicia tookva prendre this blurryborrós photoFoto of me
12
24118
2212
La policia em va fer aquesta foto borrosa
00:38
holdingtenint leafletsfullets as evidenceevidència.
13
26330
3226
subjectant pamflets com a evidència.
00:41
My chargescàrrecs were dismissedacomiadat,
14
29556
1864
Els càrrecs en contra meva es van retirar,
00:43
but a fewpocs weekssetmanes latermés tard,
15
31420
1136
però setmanes més tard,
00:44
two FBIeL FBI agentsagents knockedcopejat on my doorporta,
16
32556
2037
dos agents de l'FBI van trucar a la porta,
00:46
and they told me that unlessa menys que I helpedajudat them
17
34593
1761
i em van dir que si no els ajudava
00:48
by spyingespionatge on protestprotesta groupsgrups,
18
36354
2101
a espiar als grups de protesta,
00:50
they would put me on a domesticintern terroristterrorista listllista.
19
38455
3817
em posarien en una llista de terroristes domèstics.
00:54
I'd love to tell you that I didn't flinchflaquejar,
20
42272
2036
M'agradaria poder dir que no vaig encogir,
00:56
but I was terrifiedaterrit,
21
44308
1991
però estava atemorit,
00:58
and when my fearpor subsideddisminuït,
22
46299
1884
i quan la por em va passar,
01:00
I becamees va convertir obsessedobsessionat with findingtrobar out
23
48183
1917
em vaig obsessionar en descobrir
01:02
how this happenedsucceït,
24
50100
1117
com tot això havia passat,
01:03
how animalanimal rightsdrets and environmentalambiental activistsactivistes
25
51217
2178
com els activistes dels drets animals i de l'entorn
01:05
who have never injuredlesionat anyoneningú
26
53395
2214
que mai han fet mal a ningú
01:07
could becomeconvertir-se en the FBI'sDe el FBI numbernúmero one
27
55609
1913
podien acabar sent l'amenaça terrorista
01:09
domesticintern terrorismterrorisme threatamenaça.
28
57522
3204
domèstica número u de l'FBI.
01:12
A fewpocs yearsanys latermés tard, I was invitedconvidat to testifytestificar
29
60726
1970
Uns quants anys més tard, vaig ser convidat a testificar
01:14
before CongressCongrés about my reportinginformes,
30
62696
2504
davant del Congrés sobre el que havia reportat,
01:17
and I told lawmakerslegisladors that, while everybodytothom
31
65200
1358
i vaig explicar als legisladors que, mentre tothom
01:18
is talkingparlar about going greenverd,
32
66558
1725
parla de tornar-nos més verds,
01:20
some people are riskingarriscant theirels seus livesvides
33
68283
1538
hi ha gent que arrisca la seva vida
01:21
to defenddefensar forestsboscos and to stop oiloli pipelinescanonades.
34
69821
3512
per defensar boscos i aturar oleoductes.
01:25
They're physicallyfísicament puttingposant theirels seus bodiescossos on the linelínia
35
73333
2049
Que estàn posant els seus cossos físicament entre
01:27
betweenentre the whalers'dels baleners harpoonsArpons and the whalesbalenes.
36
75382
3425
els arpons dels pescadors de balenes i les balenes.
01:30
These are everydaycada dia people,
37
78807
1689
Són gent normal,
01:32
like these protestersmanifestants in ItalyItàlia
38
80496
2086
com aquests protestants a Itàlia
01:34
who spontaneouslyespontàniament climbedva pujar over
39
82582
2062
que van saltar espontàniament
01:36
barbedpues wirefilferro fencestanques to rescuerescatar beaglesBeagles
40
84644
2301
tanques de filferro amb pues per rescatar beagles
01:38
from animalanimal testingWikipedia.
41
86945
2161
de proves de laboratori.
01:41
And these movementsmoviments have been incrediblyincreïblement effectiveeficaç
42
89106
2676
I aquests moviments han estat increïblement efectius
01:43
and popularpopular,
43
91782
1938
i populars,
01:45
so in 1985, theirels seus opponentsopositors madefet up a newnou wordparaula,
44
93720
3861
així que al 1985, els seus oponents van crear una nova paraula,
01:49
eco-terroristEco-terrorista,
45
97581
1564
eco-terrorisme,
01:51
to shiftcanvi how we viewveure them.
46
99145
2124
per canviar la manera com els veiem.
01:53
They just madefet it up.
47
101269
1887
Simplement s'ho van inventar.
01:55
Now these companiesempreses have backedamb respatller newnou lawslleis
48
103156
2537
Ara aquestes companyies han donat suport a noves lleis
01:57
like the AnimalAnimal EnterpriseEmpresa TerrorismTerrorisme ActActe,
49
105693
2739
com l'Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act,
02:00
whichquin turnsgirs activismactivisme into terrorismterrorisme
50
108432
2119
que converteix l'activisme en terrorisme
02:02
if it causescauses a losspèrdua of profitsbeneficis.
51
110551
2768
si això causa una pèrdua de beneficis.
02:05
Now mostla majoria people never even heardescoltat about this lawLlei,
52
113319
2999
La majoria de gent ni ha sentit a parlar mai d'aquesta llei
02:08
includingincloent membersmembres of CongressCongrés.
53
116318
2126
incluïnt membres del Congrés.
02:10
LessMenys than one percentpercentatge were in the roomhabitació
54
118444
1911
Menys d'un u per cent es trobava a la sala
02:12
when it passedpassat the HouseCasa.
55
120355
2460
quan es va aprovar a la Casa Blanca.
02:14
The restdescans were outsidefora at a newnou memorialmemorial.
56
122815
2903
La resta eren fora a un nou acte commemoratiu.
02:17
They were praisinglloant DrDr.. KingRei
57
125718
1661
Elogiant al Dr. King
02:19
as his styleestil of activismactivisme was brandedmarca as terrorismterrorisme
58
127379
3426
mentre el seu estil d'activisme s'anomena terrorisme
02:22
if donefet in the namenom of animalsanimals or the environmentmedi ambient.
59
130805
3651
quan es fa en nom dels animals o del planeta.
02:26
SupportersPartidaris say lawslleis like this are needednecessari
60
134456
1937
Els que hi donen suport diuen que lleis com aquesta es necessiten
02:28
for the extremistsextremistes:
61
136393
1849
per als extremistes:
02:30
the vandalsvàndals, the arsonistspiròmans, the radicalsradicals.
62
138242
2949
els vàndals, els incendiaris, els radicals.
02:33
But right now, companiesempreses like TransCanadaTransCanada
63
141191
2262
Però ara mateix, companyies com TransCanada
02:35
are briefingsessió d'informació policepolicia in presentationspresentacions like this one
64
143453
3325
reuneixen als policies en presentacions com aquesta
02:38
about how to prosecuteperseguir nonviolentno violenta protestersmanifestants
65
146778
2689
per explicar-los com procedir als protestants no-violents.
02:41
as terroriststerroristes.
66
149467
2138
com a terroristes.
02:43
The FBI'sDe el FBI trainingentrenament documentsdocuments on eco-terrorismEco-terrorisme
67
151605
3623
Els documents d'entrenament del l'FBI en eco-terrorisme
02:47
are not about violenceviolència,
68
155228
1551
no van sobre violència,
02:48
they're about publicpúblic relationsrelacions.
69
156779
2713
van sobre relacions públiques.
02:51
TodayAvui, in multiplemúltiple countriespaïsos,
70
159492
1973
Avui dia, en molts països,
02:53
corporationscorporacions are pushingempenyent newnou lawslleis
71
161465
1488
les corporacions empenyen noves lleis
02:54
that make it illegalil·legal to photographfotografia
72
162953
1714
que fan que sigui il·legar de fotografiar
02:56
animalanimal crueltycrueltat on theirels seus farmsgranges.
73
164667
3260
la crueltat animal en les seves granges.
02:59
The latestel més recent was in IdahoIdaho just two weekssetmanes agofa,
74
167927
2527
La última va ser a Idaho fa dues setmanes,
03:02
and todayavui we releasedalliberat a lawsuitdemanda
75
170454
1773
i avui hem emès un plet
03:04
challengingdesafiant it as unconstitutionalinconstitucional
76
172227
1727
desafiant-la com a inconstitucional
03:05
as a threatamenaça to journalismperiodisme.
77
173954
2573
com a amenaça al periodisme.
03:08
The first of these ag-gagAG-gag prosecutionsperquisicions,
78
176527
2338
La primera d'aquestes acusacions "ag-gag",
03:10
as they're calledanomenat,
79
178865
1435
com les han anomenat,
03:12
was a youngjove womandona namednomenat AmyAmy MeyerMeyer,
80
180300
1652
va ser d'una noia que es diu Amy Meyer,
03:13
and AmyAmy saw a sickmalalt cowvaca beingser movedmogut
81
181952
1613
i l'Amy va veure una vaca malalta moguda
03:15
by a bulldozerbuldòzer outsidefora of a slaughterhouseescorxador
82
183565
2549
per una esplanadora a fora d'un escorxador
03:18
as she was on the publicpúblic streetcarrer.
83
186114
2414
mentre caminava pel carrer.
03:20
And AmyAmy did what any of us would:
84
188528
2211
I l'Amy va fer el que qualsevol de nosaltres faria.
03:22
She filmedfilmat it.
85
190739
1775
Ho va gravar.
03:24
When I foundtrobat out about her storyhistòria, I wroteva escriure about it,
86
192514
3049
Quan vaig descobrir la seva història, vaig escriure sobre ella,
03:27
and withindins 24 hourshores, it createdcreat suchtal an uproarenrenou
87
195563
2925
i en 24 hores, va crear tant d'escàndol
03:30
that the prosecutorsfiscals just droppedva caure all the chargescàrrecs.
88
198488
3250
que els fiscals van retirar tots els càrrecs.
03:33
But apparentlypel que sembla, even exposingexposar stuffcoses like that
89
201738
2018
Però aparentment, fins hi tot posant a la llum fets com aquests
03:35
is a threatamenaça.
90
203756
1820
és una amenaça.
03:37
ThroughA través de the FreedomLlibertat of InformationInformació ActActe,
91
205576
1664
A través de l'Acta de Lliure Informació,
03:39
I learnedaprès that the counter-terrorismlluita contra el terrorisme unitunitat
92
207240
1860
vaig aprendre que la unitat anti-terrorista
03:41
has been monitoringseguiment my articlesarticles
93
209100
2077
havia estat controlant els meus articles
03:43
and speechesdiscursos like this one.
94
211177
2286
i discursos com aquest.
03:45
They even includedinclòs this niceagradable
little write-upreportatge of my bookllibre.
95
213463
2226
Fins i tot van incloure aquest petit text sobre el meu llibre.
03:47
They describeddescrit it as "compellingconvincent and well-writtenben escrit."
96
215689
3115
El van descriure com a "convincent i ben escrit"
03:50
(ApplauseAplaudiments)
97
218804
4721
(Aplaudiments)
03:55
BlurbPropaganda on the nextPròxim bookllibre, right?
98
223525
3235
Propaganda per al següent llibre, no?
03:58
The pointpunt of all of this is to make us afraidté por,
99
226760
3640
L'objectiu de tot això és fer-nos por,
04:02
but as a journalistperiodista, I have an unwaveringindestructible faithfe
100
230400
1889
però com a periodista, tinc una fe ferma
04:04
in the powerpoder of educationeducació.
101
232289
1831
en el poder de l'educació.
04:06
Our bestmillor weaponarma is sunlightllum del sol.
102
234120
3567
La nostra millor arma és la llum del Sol.
04:09
DostoevskyDostoievski wroteva escriure that the wholetot work of man
103
237687
1887
Dostoevsky va escriure que tota la feina de l'home
04:11
is to provedemostrar-ho he's a man and not a pianopiano keyclau.
104
239574
3325
és per probar que és un home i no una tecla de piano.
04:14
Over and over throughouttot historyhistòria,
105
242899
1562
Una i altra vegada a través de la història,
04:16
people in powerpoder have used fearpor
106
244461
1988
les persones en poder han fetr servir la por
04:18
to silencesilenci the truthveritat and to silencesilenci dissentdissidència.
107
246449
3799
per silenciar la veritat i per silenciar discomformitat.
04:22
It's time we strikevaga a newnou notenota.
108
250248
2039
Ja va sent hora que toquem una altra tecla.
04:24
Thank you.
109
252287
1975
Gràcies.
04:26
(ApplauseAplaudiments)
110
254262
1854
Translated by Judit Piñol
Reviewed by Oscar Chillon

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Will Potter - Investigative journalist
Award-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era.

Why you should listen

Independent journalist and TED Fellow Will Potter is based in Washington, D.C.; his current work examines how whistleblowers and non-violent protesters are being treated as terrorists.

The author of Green Is The New Red: An Insider's Account of a Social Movement Under Siege, Potter has extensively documented how non-violent protest is slowly being criminalized. His reporting and commentary have been featured in the world's top media outlets, including the Washington Post, NPR, Rolling Stone, El Pais, and Le Monde. He has testified before the U.S. Congress about his reporting, as the only witness opposing the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act -- and he is a plaintiff in the first lawsuits challenging so-called "ag-gag" laws as unconstitutional.

Will has also lectured at many universities and public forums about his work, including Georgetown University, Harvard Law School, and the House of Democracy and Human Rights in Berlin. International speaking tours have included Germany, Austria, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Spain, and he was the international guest lecturer for Australia's 2014 animal law lecture series.

His reporting has overturned criminal prosecutions, and it has both been praised in Congressional reports and monitored by the Counter-Terrorism Unit.

More profile about the speaker
Will Potter | Speaker | TED.com