Confidential
Leak to us
If you know about wrongdoing that the public has a right to know, we want to hear from you — and we will protect you. This page explains how to reach the IAOIJ safely, which method to choose, and what we do and do not do with what you send.
Before you start
A few minutes of care protects you
Do not use a work computer, work phone or work network to contact us — employers can monitor devices and internet traffic, and the fact that you contacted a journalist can itself be evidence.
Use a personal device on a connection you trust, such as your home network or mobile data, rather than an office or public Wi-Fi. Consider whether you can leave the building before you get in touch.
Do not tell colleagues you have spoken to us, and think about the digital trail: search history, printer logs, download records and building access cards can all place you. If you are in immediate danger, prioritise your safety over reaching us.
Secure channels
How to reach us securely
Choose the method you are most comfortable with. Signal and SecureDrop offer the strongest protection. Whatever you choose, share only what you need to and let us verify the rest.
Signal
Signal is a free, end-to-end-encrypted messaging app for phone and desktop. It is the fastest way to reach a reporter and lets us have a live, encrypted conversation and exchange files.
How: install Signal on a personal device, then message our tip line at +41 22 555 01xx. To receive the current number, or if it does not respond, email the tips desk and ask for the Signal contact.
Set disappearing messages on, and delete the conversation when you are done. Signal hides message contents but not the fact that you use Signal.
SecureDrop
SecureDrop lets you send documents and messages without revealing your identity, even to us. It runs over the Tor network and stores nothing that can be traced back to you.
How: download the Tor Browser, then visit our SecureDrop address iaoijleaks.onion (the full address is published on this page and verified over HTTPS). You will be given a codename — save it to check for our replies.
Best for large document sets and the highest anonymity. It is slower and we may reply through SecureDrop rather than immediately.
Encrypted email (PGP)
If you already use PGP, you can send encrypted email to tips@iaoij.com. Encrypt with our public key so that only we can read the contents.
Key fingerprint: 9F0C 2B71 4A83 D1E6 55C2 7B10 8E4F A902 3C6D. Our public key is available on this page and from public key servers.
Note: PGP encrypts the body and attachments but not the subject line or the fact that you emailed us — keep the subject blank and use a personal, not a work, address.
Postal mail
Sometimes paper is safest: it leaves no digital trail. You can post documents or a letter to us. Do not include a return address if you wish to stay anonymous.
Address: Investigations Desk (Confidential), IAOIJ Secretariat, Maison de la Presse, Rue de Varembé 3, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland.
Tip: post from a public letterbox away from your home or work, and send copies rather than originals where you can.
What makes a good tip
We investigate matters of genuine public interest: corruption and bribery, abuse of power, financial crime and fraud, dangerous or dishonest business practices, sexual harassment and abuse covered up at work, threats to health, safety or the environment, organised crime, and the misuse of public money. The strongest tips point us toward evidence we can verify independently.
- Documents and data help most. Contracts, emails, invoices, spreadsheets, filings, photos and recordings let us confirm a story on the record.
- Explain what it shows and why it matters — who is involved, what happened, and how you came to know it.
- It should serve the public interest, not settle a private dispute. We do not do commercial or political dirty work.
- We verify everything ourselves and corroborate through independent sources before we publish. A tip is a starting point, not the finished story.
We receive far more than we can pursue, and we cannot act on every tip or reply to each one. Silence is never a judgement on you or your courage in coming forward.
How we protect you
Protecting sources is the first duty of investigative journalism, and it is written into our code of ethics. Our commitments to you are simple and absolute:
- We never reveal our sources — not to employers, not to companies, not to police or courts. Reporters have gone to prison rather than name a source.
- We minimise metadata. We prefer channels that collect little or nothing about you, store sensitive material encrypted, and delete what we no longer need.
- You decide the terms. We agree with you in advance whether and how you can be identified, and we hold to it.
- We have legal backing. Our pre-publication review and emergency legal fund stand behind the reporting and the people who make it possible.
- We may not reply at once. Careful, secure work takes time; a delay does not mean we are ignoring you.
Whistleblower policy
Your rights when you come to us
This is our plain-language commitment to anyone who shares information with the IAOIJ in the public interest.
What we do
We treat your identity and your safety as our highest priority. We assess every disclosure on its public-interest merits, verify it independently, and give you a say in how — and whether — you are described in anything we publish. Where we can, we will point you to independent legal and psychological support, and we will be honest with you about what we can and cannot pursue.
What we do not do
We do not sell, trade or hand over source material. We do not name sources to third parties, and we resist demands to do so, including legal ones, to the fullest extent the law allows. We do not pretend a tip is safer than it is, and we will tell you plainly if a channel you have used carries risk.
What we cannot promise
We are journalists, not lawyers, and we cannot grant you legal immunity or guarantee that no one will ever try to identify you. Whistleblower protections differ from country to country and are sometimes weak. What we can do is help you understand the risks, choose the safest way to communicate, and connect you with lawyers who specialise in whistleblower and source protection before you take a step you cannot undo.
Our full commitments to accuracy, fairness and source protection are set out in our Code of Ethics.
Web form
Send a tip through your browser
This is the least secure option
A web form is convenient but it is not anonymous: your visit can be logged and it is not end-to-end encrypted. Use it only for a first, non-sensitive hello. If your information is sensitive or you could be identified, please use Signal or SecureDrop instead.
You are not alone
Thank you for your courage
Coming forward is hard. Whatever you decide, take care of your own safety first — and know that the choice of how far to go is always yours. If your message is not about a story and you simply want to reach the Association, please use our general contact page instead.