Tactic 7: Keep Your Sources Safe
The Journalist Security Guide, published by the Committee to Protect Journalists, in essence advises that we “think before contacting.”
Many journalists feel that what they are doing is largely transparent, and that they have nothing to hide. But think about the dangers to sources if the information they have provided to you was more widely known. What may seem innocuous personal information to you might be incriminatory to others.46
Information security issues are addressed at length in CPJ’s handbook,47 and in reports from Internews48 and other organizations that outline practical steps for using encryption, avoiding hacks, and steering clear of suspicious links to protect sourcing, your own equipment and information. However, technology and software change all the time so it is very important to think about these changes and how to keep sources–and yourself–safe.
When I started blogging in Saudi Arabia in 2004 I only used my first name, out of fear for my security. But a few weeks after I began, I realized that my security effort was deeply flawed: I’d already revealed other information about myself on the blog, such as where I was going to school, making it fairly easy for someone to figure out all my credentials. Eventually, I decided to use my full name and real identity, because I thought it would encourage people to take the blog more seriously.
As my site grew more known, both inside and outside Saudi Arabia, it became clear that having a high profile actually offered some protection. If authorities arrest an anonymous blogger, it can go unnoticed. But if you are well known and get arrested, people will know–possibly leading to protests on your behalf and pressure on the government to release you. While I tried to keep a balanced tone on the blog, despite my efforts the government eventually contacted my family to express its displeasure with what I was writing. I kept on blogging anyway, until I moved to the United States a few months later to study journalism.
Now, back in Saudi Arabia, I report for the Wall Street Journal. I have the support and resources of a major international media organization, which enables me to tackle more serious stories than I could as an individual blogger. But it also means my work is more carefully scrutinized by authorities than the blog, Saudi Jeans, ever was. I remind myself regularly that when reporting digitally, my sources may be operating in a more dangerous legal, technical, and security context than I am. Before making contact, I consider my responsibility for knowing what risks they face just for communicating with me.