AP Photo/George Brich
Whistleblowers are essential to a free and unfettered press.
Whistleblowers play a critical role in informing the public and holding the government to account.
Sources who act out of conscience to leak information to the press further our democracy. Whistleblowers like Daniel Ellsberg, Chelsea Manning, and Edward Snowden, have exposed some of our government’s gravest abuses.
Unfortunately, whistleblowers are often prosecuted and jailed. That’s wrong. Whistleblowers and the journalists they work with should be celebrated, not punished.
Featured Items
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FPF talks government secrecy and national security reporting
Interview with first Ellsberg Chair Lauren Harper highlights overclassification, whistleblowers, and national security reporting
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Biden should declassify Senate report on CIA torture program
Release would help counter growing evidence that the agency has become too powerful for oversight
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New bipartisan Senate bill seeks to reduce overclassification
A World War I-era document containing a secret ink recipe that the CIA deemed worthy of classification for nearly 100 years
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Don’t let prosecutors decide when journalism isn’t journalism
Legal attack on reporter Trevor Aaronson is the government’s latest attempt to seize the power to define journalism
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11 years after Snowden revelations, government still expanding surveillance
New ‘spy draft law’ and ongoing retaliation against those who expose government secrets show there’s a long way to go in combating overreach
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Surveillance expansion threatens press freedom – and everyone else's
Bill allows the government to draft citizens into spying and swears them to secrecy
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House bill on Section 702 would enlarge government’s power to spy on journalists
It’s not too late for the Senate to refuse to reauthorize Section 702 without meaningful reforms to protect Americans’ privacy
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Grassley should support the PRESS Act
Iowa senator can further his legacy of supporting whistleblowers and First Amendment freedoms
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FPF explains the importance of the PRESS Act
Bipartisan bill would protect journalist-source confidentiality and put a stop to government surveillance of reporters
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Ex-CIA employee deserves a long prison sentence — but not for leaking documents
It’s troubling that our government apparently views disclosing its secrets as an exponentially more serious offense than possessing troves of child pornography