Our who, what, why leak explainer by Hamish Boland-Rudder.
From the post:
Whistleblowers, like Deep Throat, Daniel Ellsberg, Karen Silkwood, Mordechai Vanunu, Linda Tripp, Jeffrey Wigand, Edward Snowden, Bradley — now Chelsea — Manning and John Doe, come from all walks of life, and stigma and myth tend to surround them.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has lots of experience with information leaks. In the past five years alone, we’ve sifted through about 30 million leaked documents to produce groundbreaking investigations like the Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, Swiss Leaks and Lux Leaks.
The common denominator? Whistleblowers providing information, secretly, in an attempt to expose hidden wrongs.
Famously, whistleblowers have toppled President Richard Nixon, effectively ended the Vietnam War, exposed an Oval Office tryst, revealed nuclear secrets, uncovered environmental and health catastrophes and focused global attention on offshore tax havens.
ICIJ is often approached by concerned citizens who believe they’ve found an injustice that they’d like us to investigate, but few know the first thing about becoming a whistleblower or how to provide information to journalists.
So we thought a basic guide to leaking might prove useful, one laid out using an old journalistic tool: the five W’s and a H (loosely interpreted!)
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I deeply respect the work the International Consortium of Investigative Journalist (ICIJ) has done in the past, is doing in the present and will continue to do in the future. Amazing work that has made a real difference for millions of ordinary people around the world.
On the other hand, I have been, am and will be highly critical of the ICIJ over its hoarding of leaks for limited groups of reporters and editing those leaks in a display of paternalism for readers, who haven’t asked for their help.
All that said, do pass this information from the ICIJ around. You never know where the next leaker may be found.
PS: I would not target anyone in government with the material. Better to send everyone in the EPA the same advice. So no one stands out. Same for other government agencies. Your a citizen, write to your government.