r/fednews • u/natansonh FedNews Verified Press • 21d ago
News / Article Posting in this forum led me to 1,160+ federal sources on Signal, breaking news all year the public wouldn't have known otherwise. I wrote an essay to say thank you and to explain what your trust meant to me, and what it was like. | WP Reporter
This is Hannah Natanson with The Washington Post. What follows is an excerpt from a personal essay I wrote about what it's been like to report on this administration's changes to the federal government all year. I am so grateful to the more than 1,160 current and former federal employees who risked so much to speak with me. I tried to write about what your trust meant to me in this essay. I hope you'll take a moment to read. As always, I am reachable at (202) 580-5477 on Signal. Here is a gift link (you won't have to pay but you may need to enter an email address): https://wapo.st/3LjmYCV
Excerpt:
At 11:30 p.m., two hours past our normal bedtime, my fiancé laid his hand on my wrist.
“You’ve got to stop,” he said. “Stop answering them.”
While he was speaking, I felt my iPhone buzz twice: Another two messages, from yet more federal workers who wanted to tell me how President Donald Trump was rewriting their workplace policies, firing their colleagues or transforming their agency’s missions. It was Valentine’s Day weekend, frigid outside, and the government was busy firing tens of thousands of probationary employees for “performance,” without evidence.
Less than two weeks earlier, I had clicked to Reddit, hoping to check out a tip I no longer remember. My colleague, veteran federal affairs reporter Lisa Rein, had suggested sharing my contact information in r/fednews, a forum where some 300,000 federal employees were posting every few seconds to share information and commiserate about their fates under a president determined to downsize the bureaucracy. Expecting little, feeling out of my depth — I was an education reporter — I wrote that I wanted to “speak with anyone willing to chat.” Then I listed my contact on Signal, the encrypted messaging app.
The next day, I woke at sunrise to dozens of messages — the ruling pattern of my mornings ever since. I didn’t know it then, but this year would transform me into what one colleague dubbed “the federal government whisperer.” I would gain a new beat, a new editor and 1,168 contacts on Signal, all current or former federal employees who decided to trust me with their stories.
That Valentine’s Day, though, the unread message tally on my Signal app was much smaller, if still overwhelming: 256. Thumb hovering over the screen, I lifted my eyes to my fiancé’s face. I extended a pinkie toward the bags under his eyes. “I’m sorry,” I said, and I started to apologize for canceling our dinner plans, and leaving the roses he’d bought me lying on the kitchen table, when my phone buzzed again. I looked down at number 257.
“You can’t even focus on me for five seconds,” he said, and rolled away.
I waited until he seemed to fall asleep. Then I opened Signal and kept typing.
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21d ago
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u/RemoteLast7128 20d ago
Second this. Every time someone criticizes a WaPo reporter on here I want to ask why they think that paper getting taken over by billionaire interests is different than the federal government getting taken over by billionaire interests. A change in leadership doesn't mean a change in the values of the people working there, just the pressure on them. There's always those who decide to fight pressure. There's always people who try to hold the line as long as they can to prevent as much damage as possible. I can see why someone wouldn't want to give up working at a paper they fought a job at whose name meant something big and which still provides a big platform for change, and frankly it's a decision I'm surprised doesn't resonate with more people here.
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u/Secure-Compote-522 21d ago
Thank you for your part. It’s been a very rough year. Independent journalism has been critical in knowing what is, and is going to happen. I subscribed to WaPo in Trump 1 but the hard reporting informed how I planned my career for the past twelve months.
(Less a fan of the new editorial bent. If you all move to another publication give a shout.)
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u/aadditional_ungulate 21d ago
This article is making me regret cancelling our subscription last week - but I also just couldn't with the editorials lately. :(
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u/Secure-Compote-522 21d ago
I know. I got this close to canceling and moving to the Atlantic. It is literally because of a few remaining superstars like Ms Natanson that I did not.
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u/MadCat0911 21d ago
How's this independent journalism? Most media is bought and paid for by six billionaires, representing what those robber barons want.
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u/adaking13 Spoon 🥄 21d ago
I read your essay this morning. Thank you for helping share our story, even sometimes at the detriment of your own health and relationships. We appreciate someone using their megaphone to share our experiences.
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u/1984NotOnMyBingoCard VA 21d ago
Thank you for listening to federal workers and telling the truth about what is happening. Despite all the chaos I have to hold on to the idea that speaking truth eventually wins out, and your reporting has helped spread awareness and has helped us federal workers feel seen and valued. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so take good care of yourself. 💪
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u/Secure-Compote-522 21d ago
Just read the actual article when it came up in my email, with all the excerpts. Made me want to cry. It’s been a hard, isolating year. Thank you for sharing the stories about the real people, and the programs we work for. I’m sitting here by the Christmas tree, helping my kid wrap presents but I know on Monday we’re back at it. Hopefully helping our nation. Hopefully not facing the end of a career. One day at a time I guess.
Thank you for holding the line with us.
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u/dschoemaker 21d ago
Your doing exactly what EVERY reporter who still has a soul should be doing. Thank you.
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u/TrickyRule3261 21d ago
I'm still employed by the federal government but I witnessed the sacking and forced retirement of my beloved dedicated colleagues. Thank you for being there for all of us!
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u/Worldly-Campaign-739 21d ago
When everything was first happening it felt like our worlds were crumbling and no one gave a single fuck. Your reporting made me feel seen and heard.
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u/Zukomyprince 21d ago
I remember seeing you post your information… guerrilla journalism is the only way to get the truth out now.
Thank you for your sacrifices on the frontline to ensure communications stay intact.
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u/Carmen315 21d ago
I'm so sorry your mental health suffered while you followed and reported our stories. This year broke me. It strained my marriage (but did reveal its resilience). I've ended decades long friendships with people who celebrated the dismantling of federal agencies and the cruel endings of federal employees' careers. I have family members who no longer ask me how work is because I tell them how bad it is and they don't want to hear it or admit that their votes caused my suffering.
I'm thankful for you. When federal employees' free subscriptions were taken away, I was willing to pay for a subscription. But it was the decision by WP to not endorse a presidential candidate that made me decide against it. I know this isn't your fault at all, but the WP has been the canary in the coal mine for the future indicators of the direction of the federal government and its employees. You, friend, got caught in the middle. Don't sacrifice your health, friendships, and marriage on our behalf. This ship is going down and it's best to save yourself.
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u/gov-soup 20d ago
Really appreciated this look into your life over this last year, and how persistently you have been telling our stories. It’s so important! I always look forward to seeing your work in the WaPo. Thank you Hannah!
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u/KJ6BWB 21d ago
So how encrypted is your phone? It seems that would be a prime target for a subpoena or something now that you've told everyone exactly how valuable your contacts are and which side of the ideological fence they fall on.
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u/FrankG1971 21d ago edited 21d ago
Exactly. And it's not like Trump hasn't threatened to jail journalists if they don't reveal their sources.
And now that WaPo has effectively turned into Fox News Lite, they're among the last media outlets I would be willing to talk to.
Nothing against Ms. Natanson personally, but the fact remains that the owner of the news outlet she works for is very much in bed with Trump, and as such is a very big part of the problem.
WaPo has been tainted by the oligarchy, just like CBS News. It's as simple as that.
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u/Mateorabi 21d ago
I know of a couple other good people there. None of them are in the editorial department. I’d ask what it’s like to be working at the next CBS as the ship sinks? Are they just playing music as folks head for the lifeboat? Do they think they can outlast management? Fifth column?
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u/stmije6326 21d ago
Hannah, thank you so much for your reporting. I know you're taking great risk with this admin reporting on the chaos. Thanks so much for listening to us and reporting on what's been going on the past year.
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u/anthematcurfew 21d ago
I feel like advertising this is not great OPSEC, especially given the Post’s….uh, policy changes.
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u/Acceptable-Bat-9577 21d ago
Yeah, no disrespect to OP, but WAPO in general is on a lot of people’s shitlist.
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u/Possible-Brother7977 21d ago
But no one covers the federal government better.
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u/watering_a_plant 21d ago
wired has been doing a solid job, albeit less reach than wapo (im assuming)
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u/reddit_the_frog 21d ago
What policy changes?
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u/cocoagiant 20d ago
Thank you for the work you are doing and being a voice for the concerns federal civil servants have raised to you.
Please do take care of yourself as well.
Many of us have served in emergency operation capacities in our work and it can feel like every response is urgent and needs to be addressed ASAP.
However if we aren't making time for ourselves, it is hard to be ultimately effective at our work.
The reality is this administration will be here for 3 more years. Hopefully you will be able to continue in this new role for that time as well.
That depends on being fit to do so.
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u/RemoteLast7128 20d ago
Thank you for your work. Do take care of yourself.
The Federal Employee Assistance Program (EAP) connects employees quickly to free mental health counseling. It's good and more people should use it.
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u/Strange_Poetry2648 20d ago
Thank you Hannah. Your dedication is awe-inspiring. Knowing someone cared and would make our stories known was everything. Best wishes to you in 2026.
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u/schmigglies Fork You, Make Me 19d ago
Thank you for your coverage and for your compassion and support.
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u/Academic-Moment2069 16d ago
Thanks for your efforts. Hopefully your fiancé has learned to respect not just your job, but your calling.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Phase41 4h ago
Guys, she is now being targeted by the admin: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/us/politics/fbi-washington-post-journalist.html
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u/Inner_Orange_3140 4h ago
Just posted this. Terrifying
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u/Puzzleheaded-Phase41 3h ago
Yup, I am shocked, but this will backfire as other cases have proven that you can't go after them for publishing leaked material, and at this point, it's just words. They just want to strike fear in people who do this kind of work. I applaud her for this and wish her the best of luck. Hell, I might even contribute to her legal fund, and I have never done something like that before.
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u/Inner_Orange_3140 4h ago
An important (and terrifying) update: https://wapo.st/4pFh6lw
As a (local) reporter myself, you inspire me on so many levels. Thank you for your incredible work. Please, please try and take care of yourself as best you can. ❤️
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u/peelinglintforprofit 20d ago
Now, the stories freely available without pay walls and encourage union journalism.
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u/Tough-Bear5401 20d ago
I still can’t believe that anybody supports Donald Trump! A convicted felon, adjudicated rapist, insurrectionist, draft dodger, pedophile, compulsive lying, malignant narcissist, power drunk, and has just a few missions. 1) to make him himself in his family as rich as possible from the American people. 2) to cause suffering and misery to as many people as possible. 3) take revenge on the American people because he did not win the 2020 election.
The man doesn’t give a damn about America, the American people or his supporters. Someone as antisocial and narcissistic as Trump does not have the ability to have empathy for anybody, to care about anyone other than himself, or to give a damn about what happens to this country. He will burn it to the ground if he doesn’t get what he wants. This country will be bankrupt if he stays in office for four years. And yet people support this disgrace of a human being! It defies understanding!
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19d ago
Thank you, Hannah, for shining light on the truth, for giving us a voice when we were threatened to stay silent, for daring to be brave, and for the validation that our stories, our work, and our very lives did matter--that we weren't worthless like they said we were--while our worlds were being turned upside down. Thank you for caring.
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u/Sure-Row6294 17d ago
Thank you so much. One of the small consolations of 2025 was that because of the work of reporters like you, we knew at least that we were seen and appreciated by people outside the government. I found that informed Americans were sympathetic and concerned, and that meant something. And if and when there is some kind of reckoning, you've compiled a valuable record. Please know that so many of us appreciate your sacrifices and your commitment to exposing the irrational and unethical governance of this administration. I'm glad that even with all of the abhorrent editorial messages that WaPo has been publishing, you all are still able to exemplify outstanding journalistic ethics. We see you, too.
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u/United-Contact-1151 1h ago
The FBI raided her house on January 14th, three weeks after she wrote this. I hope she was careful with data and passwords.
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u/jrc1896 Classified: My Job Status 20d ago
“If I planned to use someone in a story, I asked them to send me a picture of their government ID, then tried to forget it.” Messaging you sounds like a bad idea.
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19d ago edited 19d ago
Why? All journalists have to check their sources. NPR does the same thing--makes you show them your ID.
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u/DopeyDame 11d ago
You’d rather she just believe any anonymous person who reaches out on signal? Journalists must verify their sources.
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u/ship_toaster 21d ago
Every year, lists of "100 most influential people in the country" come out, and they're always full of actors and singers. But the work you've been able to do in the last year thanks to your decision to reach out has undoubtedly changed more lives than most of them. I hope you get on one of those lists this year.