Tim Schwartz - A Public Service: Whistleblowing, Disclosure and Anonymity

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First printing 2019

2019 Tim Schwartz

Published by OR Books, New York and London

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Typeset by Lapiz Digital Services. Printed by Bookmobile, USA, and CPI, UK.

paperback ISBN 978-1-68219-222-1 ebook ISBN 978-1-68219-225-2

Table of Contents

Introduction

In 1965, 28-year-old Peter Buxtun was hired by the U.S. Public Health Service in San Francisco as a venereal disease investigator. Shortly after starting his job, Buxtun began hearing about a little-known, ongoing study on African-American males with syphilis. To Buxtuns ears, this didnt sound rightby the late 1940s, penicillin had been shown to be an effective drug against syphilis. How could there be an ongoing study of people with a disease that had become rare, thanks to a cheap and effective treatment that was discovered 20 years ago?

Though distracted by a return to school and a law degree, Buxtun continued to follow the trail, contacting the Centers for Disease Control and gathering documentation on the under the radar study. He continued to share the story with those around him, but no one he spoke with knew what to do. Was the study illegal? Surely it was unethical, but would it be possible to do anything about it?

Finally, in 1972, Buxtun found a partner who was interested. He sat down with a reporter from the Associated Press and delivered the information he had gathered. The public was outraged, and this was the start to the end of the federally sponsored Tuskegee Study. A class-action lawsuit was filed against the U.S. government. Congress passed the National Research Act in 1974, leading to the creation of the Office for Human Research Protections.

Though it was a long time coming, President Bill Clinton eventually offered a formal apology to the survivors in 1997: The United States government did something that was wrongdeeply, profoundly, morally wrong, said Clinton in his speech to survivors. It is not only in remembering that shameful past that we can make amends and repair our nation, but it is in remembering that past that we can build a better present and a better future.

The shameful story of the Tuskegee study might never have come to light if someone hadnt decided to speak up and disclose information about the deeply racist experiment. Buxtun listened to his internal moral compass and did something about it. And he wasnt alone: Buxtun had a partner who helped him amplify and contextualize the information for the public.

Unethical actsnot just illegal onesneed to be revealed. Society can only evolve when individuals stand up and shine a light on unethical practices. If you see something that doesnt seem right, speak up. Trust your gut.

The past few years saw a wave of revelations as a result of the #MeToo movement and its cascading disclosures by strong individuals who decided to speak up and reveal the truth. Sexual harassment and assault are rampant around the world, and because these individuals brought this to the forefront of our awareness, others have been able to better identify harassment and understand the actions they can take to do something about it. Our thanks are merited to those who have stood up to harassers and organizations that have allowed illegal or immoral behavior to go unchecked, especially to those who didnt have a clear and safe way to report the harassment. Your work is creating new pathways, hopefully making it easier for those who follow in your footsteps.

This book is for those who want to use information to stand up and shine a light on unethical or illegal practices. The goal is to help people prepare for challenging situations that they might face in the future, and to gain a better understanding of their options and the implications. If you see something you think is wrong but dont know how to do anything about it, let this book be your guide. Challenge systemic issues, point out threats to the public, and disclose fraud, waste, and abuse. Do so by safely releasing information. But there is no reason that you need to lose all youve worked for in your life or go through years of mental anguish and stress because someone else did something wrong. Speak up, but be safe about it!

If you do, you will be joining the ranks of those who have spoken up around the world about sexual harassment, corporate fraud, civil rights violations, mistreatment of animals, medical malpractice, bribery schemes, unethical policing, and anything else that wrongdoers want to keep secret.

Of course, there will be challenges. In 2018, the Global Business Ethics Survey found that employees who reported corruption suffered retaliation 44 percent of the time. Combine this with the fact that we are constantly tracked, leaving a digital trail that reveals where weve been, what weve looked at, and with whom weve communicated, and the odds of disclosing information without retaliation or consequences are slim. But we can increase your chances.

In this book, we offer an alternative solution to this quandary: anonymous research and disclosure. By remaining anonymous, you can stay in control of your identity while planning how to best disclose sensitive information, all while limiting how you can be tracked and attacked by those who might want to stop you. Well show how to be methodical and how to do research before sending a document to the press. Your first instincts may be your worst option.

Chances are that this will be your first and only time disclosing informationblowing the whistle, as its known. This isnt something that makes a career. If you screw upand sometimes even if you dontthere will be consequences. Instead of attempting this process alone, you can partner with someone who can help you navigate the legal, technical, and even emotional challenges that you will face. Whom you choose as your partner will depend on your circumstances and goals. It might be a lawyer, a journalist, or someone who works at a public advocacy organization. No matter with whom you decide to work, you should focus on building trust. Do this by being open, by setting and meeting expectations, and by discussing the best ways to work together. By doing this, you will have much better chances of success and reduce the likelihood of retaliation.

Also, stay up to date. Technology is changing all the time, so researching the technological recommendations in this book on your own is critical. Though these are the best practices at the time of this writing, they may not be by the time you are reading this, though many of the general strategies will hopefully still apply. Do your homework.

For instance, before you start searching for things such as how to disclose information safely in your favorite online search engine, read the recommendations in this book. A record of that search could be a piece of data that makes it easy to identify you later on. By the time you have finished reading the chapter on anonymous research, you should be ready to learn more on your own. Until that point, stick with the printed words here. Though you may not realize it, the printed word is likely more secure than anything you could learn on your smartphone or computer. If you can, purchase this book anonymously or gift it to a friend anonymously.