SEJ Webinar: Silenced Sources — When Fear of Retaliation Muzzles Facts

Across federal agencies, universities, research labs and corporations, sources are going silent. Fear of retaliation has chilled people who once spoke to journalists. Some are being polygraphed. Some are being investigated. Some are being fired. Many are simply too afraid to talk at all.

This silence threatens the public’s right to know.

Join Freedom of the Press Foundation, the Association of Healthcare Journalists and the Society of Environmental Journalists for “Silenced Sources: When fear of retaliation muzzles facts,” a webinar at 2 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Dec. 9, on what happens when whistleblowers, researchers, students and federal employees are intimidated into staying quiet.

We will be joined by:

• Lizzy Lawrence, Food and Drug Administration reporter at Stat News
• Grace Hussain, solutions correspondent at Sentient Media
• Emily Spatz, editor-in-chief of The Huntington News
• Sharon Lerner, reporter at ProPublica
• Harlo Holmes, chief information security officer and director of digital security at Freedom of the Press Foundation
• Moderator Caitlin Vogus, senior adviser at Freedom of the Press Foundation

Our panel will examine: 

• How escalating threats are shaping reporting on health, science, the environment, and campus news
• How to approach vulnerable sources ethically
• How to verify information when anonymity is necessary
• What tools like SecureDrop can do to keep sources safe

This crisis affects every beat, every newsroom, and every reader. When sources are silenced, the truth is silenced with them.