Submissions

Before sending documents . Read above our moral policies and the briefing of our data management dynamics.

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Data management and moral policies

1. Moral policies

The AWP only accepts restricted or censored material of political, scientific, ethical, diplomatic or historical significance. Rumor, opinion, stories and other kinds of first hand accounts or material that is publicly available elsewhere will not be accepted. Materials which violate individual privacy will not be accepted unless they speak up on violations and abuses that affect the public sphere.

All materials submitted to the AWP will be verified by staff members to decide whether they follow these guidelines or not. If they do not, the staff will proceed to delete the data. If they do, the staff will proceed to the following steps of data management.

 

2. Submitting/receiving
The AWP’s local submission platforms work with technology developed by Globaleaks, an open source framework for sending/receiving files anonymously through the Internet which was specially designed for whistle-blowing. Thanks to this cutting edge technology, it is impossible for the AWP to know the source of the information being sent.

All the local whistle-blowing platforms redirect to the same international AWP’s submission node, which sends the files to our secure servers in Iceland. After the information has been received, all files are stored off-line until all content is analyzed.

Whistle-blowers sending information can select the level of complexity and security when submitting files by choosing the method (‘Standard’, ‘Safe’ and ‘Safest’) that better suits their needs. The AWP recommends using the safest method possible, and will provide detailed instructions in order to further protect the identity of a source.

Note: The AWP does not have any direct formal or legal connection with Globaleaks and its relations with the initiative are the same as any other modern media initiative willing to use their technology.

3. Cross-checking

First of all AWP staff members will perform a thorough cross-check to verify whether the files correspond to true information or not, that is, if they are reliable. This will be done to the furthest extent possible, analyzing factors such possible motives for forgery, cost or difficulty of forgery. Should the case demands it, second opinions will be sought for.

If needed media partners will be asked to provide support in this research. This will depend on the relevance and nature of the files.

4. Redacting and cleaning

In some cases, files sent by whistle-blowers can be a threat to their own anonymity. In these cases, where content or meta-content can lead to the disclosure of a sources’ identity, it is necessary to redact the information for their safety.

In some cases it is the digital content or structure of files (metadata) which can lead to the disclosure of sources, as photos, videos or scanned documents can identify the date or device used to generate the data.The same can be applied not only to the source, but to others who are not directly involved but could be endangered by the disclosure of the information.

AWP’s staff shall redact documents and clean meta-data from the digital structure of files so they don’t endanger sources and/or third-parties.

5. Analysis

If a batch of data has been cleared through the first three steps of management it is ready to be analyzed by the AWP’s team of journalists and media partners.

In the case of the AWP, this analysis will be done as hard news: in reference to information oriented pieces that lean as little as possible on the writer’s style, personal motivations or opinions. What is important is the research into what are often very large files, the selection of key facts and the explanation of context so that the reader may understand why these facts have been selected as relevant. Longer pieces will be considered as research or essays.

Analysis of the information consists of two main steps. First of all a thorough investigation and read-through will be done into what are normally very large files in formats (such as emails or internal memos) in order to locate relevant information. This information will later be put into context, explaining actors, motives and consecuences in relation to the organizations or states in question.

6. Publishing

Every resulting news piece produced by the AWP’s staff or independent contributors will be published in the news-wire, where subscribed media organizations and partners can access them in order to republish in their own channels.

Afterwards this work will be openly accessible on the AWP’s main news website. News pieces will also be developed and published by investigative media partners in their own channels to inform the maximum amount of people as possible. The goal is a network of media working together to reach a wide and varied audience.

7. Our commitment: Everything will be published
Although working with media partners and establishing agreements regarding releases, the AWP is morally compromised to publish all information that it receives through its submission platforms that pass the required submission policies: that is, no rumors, no first hand accounts or subjective information, only restricted or censored material of political, scientific, ethical, diplomatic or historical significance, if they aim to prove corruption or criminal activities.