Press Freedom in Washington
Strongly protected
against retaliatory lawsuits over what you say
IFS grade
Washington scores 93 of 100 on the Institute for Free Speech's anti-SLAPP rubric, against a median of 85 across the 51 jurisdictions.
How much of what you say the statute reaches
What it actually does once it applies
The overall score is two parts coverage to one part protections, as IFS weights them.
What Washington actually gives a defendant
The five protections IFS scores. A statute can cover every kind of speech and still leave a defendant paying their own lawyer for two years.
- Case pauses while the motion is heardFull marks: 20 / 20
- Plaintiff must show the case has meritFull marks: 12 / 12
- Denial can be appealed at onceFull marks: 25 / 25
- Winning defendant recovers legal costsFull marks: 40 / 40
- Courts told to read the law broadlyFull marks: 3 / 3
Washington scores on all five, which only a minority of jurisdictions do.
Incidents logged in Washington
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has logged 37 press-freedom incidents in Washington since 2014, of which 12 are since January 1, 2021.
- Assault30
Physical attacks on journalists covering a story
- Equipment Damage9
Cameras and gear broken during coverage
- Subpoena/Legal Order5
Legal demands for notes, sources or footage
- Arrest/Criminal Charge2
Journalists arrested or charged while reporting
This is a count, not a score. It tracks where the protests and the newsrooms are as much as where the law is hostile, so a big state will out-count a small one whatever its statute says. An incident can carry more than one category, so the categories sum to more than the total. Nothing here is added to the anti-SLAPP score.
Where this comes from
The grade and the five component scores are the Institute for Free Speech's 2025 Report Card entry for Washington. Incident counts are the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, used under CC BY 4.0. Both retrieved September 19, 2026. The score is IFS's own judgement and is not part of the FreedomRankings score.
Anti-SLAPP law is one part of press freedom, not all of it — shield laws, public records law and how Washington courts actually rule are not scored here. None of this is legal advice; talk to a lawyer about an actual dispute.