Hard Truth

Drawing on his long and distinguished reporting career, former BBC HARDtalk presenter Stephen Sackur mounts a passionate case for fearless, truth-telling journalism in a world turned toxic by disinformation.

From Woodward and Bernstein's famous expose of a crooked American president to the shocking murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia who confronted deep-rooted corruption in Malta, Hard Truth explores ten dramatic cases where journalists showed astonishing bravery in uncovering the truth; sometimes paying the ultimate price.

Stephen Sackur spent many years holding political leaders to account as the presenter of BBC HARDtalk. In Hard Truth he takes us inside a series of global investigations, highlighting the work of extraordinarily courageous journalists, many of them women, in a journey that takes him from the West Bank to Washington, Moscow to Manila.

Hard Truth is also the story of Sackur re-examining the assumptions underpinning the journalism he grew up with. Is it enough to bear witness and move on? What does impartiality mean when the truth itself is drowning in a sea of disinformation and lies? Do we need journalists who see themselves as 'activists for the truth'?

In a media landscape dominated by a handful of tech oligarchs, in which lies are weaponised and reality is warped by algorithms, independent journalists are increasingly on the front line of the fight to save democracy itself. Hard Truth shows us that there is hope. It is a fight that can still be won.