Philadelphia · Field interview
"The numbers don't add up to work for nobody."
Volume VIII — Tipline
Send us something we should know.
If you have information that should be reported, here’s how to reach us. Securely, on your terms, with source protections that we mean.
Section 01
Before you send anything
Source protection works when both sides do their part.
If what you have is sensitive, take a minute to read this before you contact us. Source protection works best when both sides do their part.
- Use a device the people you’re worried about don’t control. Not your work laptop. Not a phone connected to a corporate MDM.
- Use an internet connection that isn’t tied to where you live or work if the situation is sensitive. Public wifi, a different cellular network, a VPN if you have one.
- Don’t include identifying details in your first message. Tell us what you have. We’ll figure out together how to verify it without burning you.
Section 02
How to reach us
Signal preferred. Email for the rest.
Signal (preferred)
Signal is end-to-end encrypted, doesn’t keep server-side message history, and lets you set messages to auto-delete.
To get our Signal handle, email us first at wethem2022@gmail.com with the subject line “Signal.” No other details needed. We’ll respond with the number through a channel you’ve already opened.
We don’t publish the Signal number openly because the bot traffic to a published number drowns out the real tips. Sources who care about secure communication know to request the handle directly. We turn it around fast.
You don’t need to introduce yourself when you reach Signal. “I have something” is enough to start.
Email — for non-sensitive tips
For story ideas, story corrections, or non-sensitive context, email is fine:
wethem2022@gmail.com
This goes to the editor on duty. We don’t share email addresses with anyone, but assume email is not encrypted end to end.
In person
If you want to meet in person, particularly for context that’s hard to send digitally, email or Signal us and we’ll arrange it. We will pay for travel if cost is a barrier.
Section 03
What happens after you contact us
You’re never left wondering.
- We acknowledge. You hear back within 72 hours, even if it’s “we received your message and are reviewing.”
- We verify. We work to corroborate what you’ve sent through other sources, public records, or documents you can provide. We won’t publish based on a single anonymous tip.
- We protect you. Your identity is never shared inside or outside WTM without your explicit, informed consent. If you ask for anonymity, we honor it. We will fight a subpoena to keep it.
- We follow up. If we publish, we tell you when. If we don’t publish, we tell you why. You’re never left wondering.
Section 04
What we’ll publish, what we won’t
Public consequence, verifiable, originally reported.
We won’t publish:
- Tips that target private individuals over personal matters with no public-interest angle
- Information obtained through our reporting that the source asked us to keep confidential
- Stolen content from outlets that paid to gather it (we will, however, follow up on the underlying story ourselves)
- Material whose authenticity we cannot verify
We will publish:
- Information about the actions of public officials, corporations, and people of public consequence
- Patterns of behavior backed by documents or multiple independent sources
- Original reporting that we can stand behind from the byline down
Section 05
Source protection commitment
If you ask for protection, here is what you get.
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Storage
Your identity is not stored in any cloud document, shared spreadsheet, or system without end-to-end encryption.
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Communications
Communications about you happen on Signal or comparable encrypted channels, with messages set to auto-delete after a defined window.
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Internal access
Your name, contact, and identifying details are not shared with WTM contributors who don’t need to know. Not even other editors.
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Legal pressure
We will resist legal demands to identify you, including subpoenas. WTM is U.S.-based; if a federal grand jury subpoena ever arrives, we will fight it in court before we comply, and we will tell you we received one (where the law allows us to).
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Deletion
If you ever ask us to delete the trail of our communication, we will, except where the law specifically forbids deletion.
Section 06
What we don’t promise
The honest version of what we can and can’t do.
We don’t promise to publish what you send us. We do promise to take it seriously, to verify with care, and to tell you what we did with it.
We don’t promise legal indemnification. If you face legal action because of information you shared, you may need your own counsel. We will support you within our means and our policies.
We don’t promise that no government, court, or third party can ever compel us to act against your interests. We promise to fight, in good faith, with everything available to us, if that day comes.
Section 07
A note on what this is for
For the cases where naming yourself would cost you something.
This tip line is open. It is also rare-ish. Most journalism happens in the open, with named sources, public records, and documents people are willing to share with their names attached.
The tip line is for the cases where naming yourself would cost you something the story isn’t worth. Your job, your safety, your standing in a community. If you’re in that position and what you have matters, reach out.
If you ask for anonymity, we honor it. We will fight a subpoena to keep it.