Leakers helped exonerate Rümeysa Öztürk

Dear Friend of Press Freedom,

We don’t yet know whether the government will appeal the dismissal of its deportation case against Rümeysa Öztürk for co-writing an op-ed it didn’t like. Regardless, others — like Ya’akub Vijandre — remain locked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for exercising their press freedom rights. Read on for more on the week in press freedom.

Leakers helped exonerate Rümeysa Öztürk

Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk’s deportation case was finally thrown out this month, although the government can still seek review of the dismissal. The ruling came after a memo leaked to the press revealed that the administration knew before arresting her that its allegations of terrorism and antisemitism were false. Öztürk’s supporters were right all along — the case was based entirely on her co-authorship of a relatively tame pro-Palestinian op-ed.

Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern wrote for The Intercept about how the case is yet another example of leaks — which the government claims pose a dire risk to national security — instead serving the public good and exposing misconduct. When the government lies to the people and ignores the Freedom of Information Act, it’s inevitable that people of conscience will bring important documents like the Öztürk memo to the press.

How free news helped Chicago get through Operation Midway Blitz

When immigration authorities invaded Chicago last year, they often targeted lower-income neighborhoods, meaning the people who most needed news about their activities were unlikely to be able to afford a newspaper subscription.

Fortunately, Chicago is full of news outlets that don’t paywall their excellent reporting (as are Los Angeles and Minneapolis, Minnesota, which experienced similar assaults in recent months). But the next city might not be so lucky. Stern and FPF founding board member, actor, and activist John Cusack joined “In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons” on Chicago’s NPR affiliate, WBEZ, to discuss that and other press freedom issues.

Uber for authoritarians

Speaking of leakers bringing us important news, a manual for ICE’s immigrant-targeting computer system, Palantir ELITE, was leaked on Jan. 30 via 404 Media.

John Skiles Skinner, an engineering manager at FPF, took a break from improving SecureDrop (more on that later) to evaluate the manual and the dark road it shows we’re on. He writes that “the software allows the administration to order up a goon squad wherever they want, at the touch of a button. Like Uber for authoritarians. Let’s call it repression as a service.”

Five security lessons from the FBI’s Washington Post raid

The January FBI raid of the home of Washington Post federal government reporter Hannah Natanson, in connection with a leak probe involving a government contractor, was a dangerous escalation against press freedom and likely runs afoul of the Privacy Protection Act. It shouldn’t have happened at all, but it might preview what’s to come.

FPF Deputy Director of Digital Security Dr. Martin Shelton recently examined a court document that shines light on some specifics of the case, and wrote about five lessons journalists can learn.

SecureDrop keeps getting better

FPF is proud to announce the latest version of SecureDrop — open source software whistleblowers use to communicate anonymously with journalists.

The release lays the groundwork for the upcoming SecureDrop App and other exciting efforts to make SecureDrop faster, cheaper, and more secure for newsrooms worldwide. Stay tuned.

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