PROTECTION OF SOURCES
What kind of voice recorders must journalists
use?
Journalists can be using their mobile phones for
voice recording and in addition use the Tella App
(https://tella-app.org/) which then encrypts and
protects all documentation and audio recordings.
Are WhatsApp voice messages secure?
These are secure as they are being transmitted over
an end-to-end encrypted connection. The problem
comes when the receiver of the message has poor
security practices with their device which can then
expose these messages to the wrong hands.

take pics and blur the faces of sources too; or one can
also use ObscuraCam (https://guardianproject.
info/apps/obscuracam/) to anonymize their
pictures.
What is PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption
and how can that protect journalists?
When journalists are subjected to surveillance,
their sources are also at risk. A cardinal practice of
journalism is the protection of sources. Journalists
should never at any govern time, jeopardise the
safety of their sources. Here are a few tips for
journalists when they are subjected to surveillance,
or when they suspect that they are being surveilled.

What about Signal, Telegram, Zoom, Teams etc?
Please refer to Protecting Your Data below for these
answers; Signal Messenger can also be used to

IF YOU SUSPECT YOU ARE UNDER SURVEILLANCE – YOU SHOULD:
(a). Immediately inform your sources about your suspicion so that they take protective
action as well. If your sources are whistle-blowers, you may endanger their lives once
they are discovered. It is important to shield them from this danger by letting them know.
Vindictive regimes can ‘contact- tracing’ your sources and eliminate them.
(b). Immediately delete any metadata about your sources that you might have saved on
your gadgets. Here are the steps you can take to delete email address of a ‘sensitive’
news source when your privacy is compromised by surveillance:
1. Click the People option in the navigation bar in the bottom-left section of the screen.
2. Find and select the contact you want to delete.
3. Click the Delete option in the Ribbon, or right-click the user and select Delete from the
drop-down menu.

Investigative journalists should take care for a number of reasons. Doing investigative journalism means dealing
with a number of sources. There are ‘embedded sources’. These are new sources who are within the system,
providing leaks and other documents. They are long-term sources that will be used for a number of stories.

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A SURVIVAL TOOLKIT FOR JOURNALISTS

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