Snowden anniversary a reminder of the need to protect whistleblowers and journalists
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
-
Whistleblower Reality Winner sentenced to longest prison term in the history of federal leak cases
For alerting the public about hacking attempts on election infrastructure, Reality was given five years in jail.
-
Trump’s anti-press rhetoric is dangerous, but his actions are worse
Over 300 news organizations join together and publish editorials denouncing Trump's attacks on the press. And while his rhetoric gets an outsized amount of attention, his administration’s actions are more dangerous to the press than anything Trump has said.
-
Did ICE detain this Mexican journalist for criticizing U.S. immigration policy?
Newly revealed ICE emails suggest that journalist Emilio Gutiérrez-Soto was targeted for deportation after criticizing U.S. immigration authorities
-
Reality and the Espionage Act
The first whistleblower prosecuted by the Trump administration, Reality Winner pled guilty to one count of violating the Espionage Act. Her case is the latest in a long history of targeting sources and whistleblowers under the draconian law.
-
Freedom of the Press Foundation statement on whistleblower Reality Winner’s plea deal
Former intelligence contractor and whistleblower Reality Winner has pled guilty to leaking a secret NSA report to the press.
-
How Snowden has changed journalism and privacy, five years later
Five years ago today, the first story based on the Snowden revelations exposing the NSA's mass surveillance regime was published. In the years that have followed, Snowden's disclosures have transformed the national and international conversation about privacy in our digital lives.
-
A Digital Security Trainer’s Lessons from #Efail
You've read the post-mortmems on #efail. How can we, as digital security trainers, unpack the vulnerability for more evergreen advice?
-
The accused FBI whistleblower indicted by Trump's DOJ allegedly leaked secret rules for spying on reporters
If alleged whistleblower Terry Albury did what he is accused of, journalists should consider him a hero.
-
An increasing number of journalists have recently faced subpoenas
Three months into 2018, the most under the radar threat to press freedom has shown itself to be not arrests or attacks on journalists, but rather subpoenas to produce documents or attempt to force journalists to testify about their sources.
-
Unconstitutional “ag-gag” laws criminalize journalism and insulate factory farms from accountability
“Ag-gag” laws are intended to protect the animal agriculture industry from public scrutiny by attempting to criminalize journalists and whistleblowers who expose its operating conditions.
