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Module 04 — Working with leaks alongside RTI

RTI for Journalists — Investigative Filing Course Module 04

Quick Reply: RTI for Journalists — Investigative Filing Course — Module 04: Working with leaks alongside RTI. Cross-validate leaked documents using RTI.

Goal: Cross-validate leaked documents using RTI.

The legitimacy ladder

Story credibility, ranked:

  1. Leaked document alone: low (forgery risk)
  2. Leaked document + RTI confirming key fact: medium-high (corroboration)
  3. RTI alone with citation + serial: high (legally sourced)
  4. Court / SIC order: highest

The RTI step is what moves a story from 'allegation' to 'reportable'.

Validation patterns

  1. Date validation: RTI for the official's calendar / register / log on the date the leaked document is dated. If the meeting noted in the leak occurred, RTI shows it.
  2. Fund-trail validation: leaked invoice → RTI for the corresponding bank credit / treasury entry. If the payment happened, RTI confirms.
  3. Signatory validation: leaked order signed by X → RTI for X's posting / charge during that period.
  4. Recipient validation: leak says 'sent to Y dept' → RTI to Y dept for inward letter register entry.

Source protection

  1. Never reference the leak in the RTI. Frame as if you stumbled into the question.
  2. Don't ask for the leaked document itself — ask for the next link in the chain.
  3. File from a personal address, not the newsroom address.
  4. Don't share the RTI ref no. with the source.
  5. Use IPO + Speed Post (paper trail you control) over online portal (state logs IP).

Before publishing RTI-sourced data:

  1. Confirm the PIO actually issued it (keep the original reply with stamp + signature).
  2. Don't paraphrase numbers in the headline if the underlying record is partial — quote the PIO's exact figure.
  3. For named individuals, get a comment first; quote the refusal/no-response.
  4. For privileged-source mention, anonymise per Bharucha Committee norms.

Coordinated publication

For state + central + city PIOs replying differently (the 'multi-PIO contradiction' play):

  1. Time the publication to the slowest reply.
  2. Publish all replies side-by-side as a primary asset (not buried in PDF).
  3. Quote each PIO by name + designation (their replies are public).
  4. Submit comment requests simultaneously to all named officers.

✅ Quiz

Quiz available from your course dashboard.

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