Legal defence
Advice before disclosure, representation in employment and criminal proceedings, and defence against defamation or secrecy charges. Filter the directory by “Legal defence” →
Photos · Vlad Tchompalov, Antenna, Hoach Le Dinh, Ufoma Ojo / Unsplash
If you are the one at risk
You should not have to work this out alone
This page is written for the person deciding whether to speak, and for the person who already has and is now paying for it. Read it before you contact anybody — including us.
Read this first.
The Truth Teller Society is a network and an advocacy body. We are not lawyers, we do not offer confidential legal advice, and we do not accept documents, files or leaks — not by email, not by post, not through any form on this site. Anything sent to us could in principle be subject to legal process. If you have material to disclose, go to a lawyer or a newsroom with a proper secure-drop system. We will help you find one.
Step one
Before your first message to anyone
- Change device and network. Do not research, draft or send anything from an employer device, an employer network, or an account your employer administers. Assume browsing history, printer logs, badge swipes and file access are all recoverable.
- Tell no one you do not have to. Most disclosures are traced socially, not technically. Every additional person who knows is a route back to you.
- Slow down. Almost nothing is so urgent that it cannot wait forty-eight hours for advice. The hours after discovery are when people make the mistakes that cost them everything.
- Get legal advice before you disclose, not after. In many countries protection depends entirely on who you told and in what order. Telling the wrong body first can void your protection permanently.
- Document what happens to you. Keep a dated, private record of meetings, changes to your duties, and anything said to you. Store it outside your workplace.
- Do not take what you are not entitled to. In several jurisdictions the act of copying material is prosecuted separately from the disclosure itself. Ask a lawyer what you may lawfully retain.
What help exists
Six kinds of support, and who provides them
Most people only know about the first one. The other five are just as decisive.
Digital security
Helplines that respond to phishing, spyware, account takeover and device seizure — often within hours, in many languages, free. Filter by “Digital security” →
Emergency money
Rapid grants for rent, travel, medical bills and legal fees when income stops overnight. Applications are usually short and confidential. Filter by “Grants & funds” →
Relocation & refuge
Temporary residencies, cities of refuge, visas and safe houses for people who must leave, with or without their family. Filter by “Relocation & refuge” →
Psychosocial care
Trauma-informed counselling. Isolation, insomnia and hypervigilance are the ordinary consequences of this, not a personal failing. Filter by “Psychosocial care” →
Getting it published
Newsrooms and consortia that can verify, corroborate and publish while shielding a source — and that will not burn you for a scoop. Filter by “Investigation” →
Straight answers
Questions people ask us
Can I stay anonymous?
Sometimes, and less often than people hope. Anonymity is easy to lose through the content of what you disclose — a document only nine people could have seen identifies you regardless of how you sent it. Plan for the possibility of exposure from day one, and choose a route that still protects you if it happens.
Am I protected by law?
It depends entirely on your country, your sector, your employment status and the channel you use. The EU Whistleblower Directive, the US federal statutes and a growing number of national laws offer real protection — but almost all of them impose strict conditions on the order in which you report. This is precisely why the first call should be to a lawyer or an advice line, not to a journalist.
I have already been fired. Is it too late?
No. Many protections are retrospective, deadlines to file a claim are often measured in weeks rather than years, and emergency funds exist precisely for this moment. Contact an advice line the same week if you can.
Should I go to a journalist or to a regulator?
Both routes have consequences that are hard to reverse. Regulators may be legally required to protect you but slow, captured or obliged to notify your employer. Journalists move faster and reach the public, but going to the press first can strip your legal protection in some jurisdictions. Take advice before choosing.
Can the Society represent me?
No. We do not practise law and we will never pretend to. What we can do is point you to the member organisation best matched to your country and your problem, and — where you want it — public recognition and attention, which is often a genuine form of protection.
Will you publish my name?
Never without your explicit, written and revocable consent. If you are nominated at Truth Icons and would rather not be, tell us and the nomination is withdrawn immediately, with no record kept.
If someone you know is going through this
The single most protective thing an isolated truth teller can receive is public, visible solidarity. It changes how employers, prosecutors and editors behave. Put their name forward this month.