thePipeLine follows the adage of Katherine Graham, the owner of the Washington Post at the time of the Watergate Scandal, who stood by the old journalistic mantra,
‘News is what someone wants suppressed. Everything else is just advertising’
This means that many of our most important stories come from confidential sources who approach us because they think the public needs to know something that vested interests would rather were not disclosed, or discussed.
As a result thePipeLine has huge respect for Whistleblowers who often run personal risks to share such stories in the public interest.
- Therefore we promise that we will do all that we can to protect our sources, and we will never Disclose, Identify, or Quote, a source by name without your express permission.
To back this up we promise to abide by the UK National Union of Journalists Code of Conduct which states that a journalist;
“Protects the identity of sources who supply information in confidence and material gathered in the course of her/his work.”
If you decide that you want to tip off thePipeLine about a story of public concern which involves leaking information, or documents, there are some basic steps you can take to protect yourself.
1. NEVER contact thePipeLine from a work telephone or company e-mail account.
The most secure electronic method to make an initial contact is to use a public telephone, or a messaging app like WhatsApp or Signal which offer end to end encrypted messaging.
Our telephone number for What’s App and Signal is
+44 7958543518
2. If you want to get in touch electronically by e-mail try to use a computer in an internet cafe and use a newly generated e-mail account which you won’t use for anything else.
thePipeLine uses Proton Mail which applies end to end encryption, requires minimal information to register and is free if you sign up for a Basic plan.
Be careful what information you input when you register and make sure the computer screen is not visible in any security camera, [but see 2 below].
Our secure E-mail address is
PipeLineNews@protonmail.com
Find out more about Proton Mail HERE
3. Unless you are using snail mail, don’t send us documents or other material which could identify you straight away, just let us know you want to talk to thePipeLine.
We will discuss with you how to send the material you have as securely as possible.
4. Do not discuss what you are doing with anyone else, not even with close friends and family [This is to protect them as well as you].
5. We can make arrangements to receive electronic files safely, however no electronic communications system is completely secure.
The UK Investigatory Powers Act 2016 [aka the Snoopers Charter] also means it is much more difficult for Journalists to protect sources who use electronic communications, therefore it is often much safer to use traditional snail mail, or even to meet face to face to hand over material.
You can submit files on any electronic media including pen drives [USB sticks], CD’s DVD’s, or on a portable hard drive.
And of course you can also send us printed hard copies.
Contact us and we will send you the address to use.
Our regular [less secure] email address is: emailmortimer@gmail.com
Always remember; Phone records and text messages may be monitored or retained by your employer or phone provider and not all email providers offer encryption or guarantees that emails will not be intercepted or monitored.
