The Daily Princetonian launches Signal tip line for sensitive sources

The Daily Princetonian began accepting tips on Signal, a secure messaging app, at the beginning of the academic year. While the existing tip form will remain active, the new method allows sources to continue communicating with reporters while maintaining their anonymity.

Signal is the industry standard across news organizations including The Associated Press, The New York Times, and The Washington Post for receiving tips for potential articles. It is regarded as one of the most secure messaging applications, in part due to its “sealed sender” feature that is intended to “minimize the data that is retained about Signal users.”

In addition, Signal uses end-to-end encryption, meaning that messages can only be read by the intended recipients, and the company itself is unable to view messages that are sent using its platform.

Jerry Zhu ’27, editor-in-chief of the ‘Prince,’ detailed the rationale for opening the Signal tip line in an interview.

The online tip form has helped alert the newsroom to “certain things that we weren’t aware of,” Zhu said. However, he said its usefulness was limited as writers could not contact anonymous sources from the tip form.

“Our previous tip methods didn’t allow us to easily follow up with people who wanted to be anonymous,” Zhu said. “[Sources] would give us something that was potentially newsworthy, but often, it’s very hard to follow up on just a block of text that’s in a web form.”

Using Signal, users are able to create a profile name that does not identify them personally. Reporters can then contact those users through Signal, learning more about the tip without the source sharing their phone number or other identifying information.

On the online form, “a lot of tippers, out of concern for their anonymity, wouldn’t leave a name or any contact information,” Zhu said. “It is far, far more helpful for us if we are able to ask the source questions.”

“I think most of our tips are not secure enough that they would really necessarily warrant Signal. But I think it’s important that we give people the option,” Zhu added.

The Daily Princetonian’s Signal username is @DailyPrincetonian.76. Sources can also continue to submit ideas on the existing form, anonymously or otherwise.

Clara Docherty is the assistant News editor for the ‘Prince’ leading faculty, graduate students, and alumni coverage. She is from Lafayette, N.J., and can be reached at claradocherty[at]dailyprincetonian.com.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.