Making Initial Contact With Sources

In an era when whistleblowers are under attack from the authorities and confidential sources are being compromised by state surveillance, how can the people who provide journalists with valuable information be protected?

The initial contact between a journalist and his or her source can be tricky. How can a source make initial contact to provide information and establish preferred methods of secure communication without risking being identified government investigators?

Platforms like SecureDrop, GlobaLeaks, and Secure Connect facilitate anonymous contact or the anonymous sharing of documents. They are used by several well-known news organizations to allow for private sources and whistleblowers to make contact with a journalist. 

If your organization is in a position to receive information from confidential informants, private sources, or others who may need to provide sensitive information, consider running SecureDrop, GlobaLeaks, or Secure Connect through your web-site. When using these platforms, the use of the Tor Browser helps to ensure total privacy. 

The Globe & Mail has a step-by-step YouTube guide to using SecureDrop. 

The New York Times has a Confidential Tips page that shows various ways for sources to make contact with the newspaper.

The article '16 privacy steps every journalist should take to protect themselves and their sources' also provides useful information about protecting sources.

The Government Accountability Project has resources that provide information about working with whistleblowers.

By providing ways for sources to securely reach out to journalists we are more likely to get information necessary to expose government corruption and misconduct, and hopefully through public exposure correct correct government malfeasance and wrong-doing.

If you are a whistleblower or otherwise have sensitive information to share with the press, the Freedom of the Press Foundation has an article 'Here's how to share sensitive leaks with the press' that will be of interest.