In 2011, its then general manager, Chiranuch Premchaiporn, won the Courage in Journalism award from
International Women's Media Foundation. Chiranuch, a well-known free speech advocate, has been subject to arrest and detention based on
lèse majesté accusations for not removing what authorities deem offensive material quickly enough from the website. In this matter, she has received international acclaim and support. On 30 May 2012, the
Criminal Court delivered its verdict in Black Case No. 1667/2553, in which Chiranuch faced ten alleged violations of the 2007
Computer Crimes Act, being found guilty of one charge and being sentenced to one year in prison and a 30,000 baht fine, subsequently reduced to a suspended sentence of eight months and a 20,000 baht fine. Chiranuch appealed to both the Appeals Court and the Supreme Court, both of which upheld the sentence (the latter in 2015), establishing the precedent that Internet intermediaries are liable for
lèse majesté content in Thailand. In July 2016, one of
Prachatai's reporters was arrested under the provisions of the 2016 Referendum Act, which effectively banned campaigning to reject the
2016 Thai constitutional referendum, with three other people. The four were released on bail. Following the arrests,
Prachatai’s offices were searched by the police, who were reportedly investigating whether the online newspaper had published material violating the Referendum Act. Nothing was found, and in 2018, the four were found to be not guilty of violating the Act. ==Person of the year==