--- title: "ProPublica Finds New Home On Internet’s Dark Frontier" id: "31642" type: "post" slug: "propublica-finds-new-home-on-internets-dark-frontier" published_at: "2016-01-09T00:51:02+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T15:18:05+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/01/09/propublica-finds-new-home-on-internets-dark-frontier/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/01/09/propublica-finds-new-home-on-internets-dark-frontier.md" excerpt: "The nonprofit news site ProPublica this week found a new way to distribute its content: through the \"dark web,\" using the secure Tor platform. As a result, the Pulitzer-winning publication is now the first major news organization to have a..." taxonomy_category: - "Advocacy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "consultants" - "dark web" - "journalism" - "Media" - "privacy" - "Technology" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Manager" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Industry Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » ProPublica Finds New Home On Internet’s Dark Frontier You may not be on the “dark web,” but one nonprofit publication is ready to stake its claim. [ProPublica (opens in a new tab)](https://www.propublica.org/) , an independent journalism organization that has won a variety of awards since its 2007 launch—including two Pulitzer Prizes—this week revealed that it had released a version of its website that works on Tor, the encrypted protocol that is commonly used to ensure website anonymity. (The Tor protocol [is itself run by a nonprofit organization (opens in a new tab)](https://www.torproject.org/index.html.en) .) That makes it the first general news website to publish on the dark web, which has traditionally been associated with illicit activity due to its strong focus on security. According to ProPublica developer Mike Tigas, who helped launch the platform, the news site is doing this in the interest of offering more options to its readers—and making it so readers can access more-secure reading options without ISPs knowing what’s being read. “Everyone should have the ability to decide what types of metadata they leave behind,” [Tigas told Wired this week (opens in a new tab)](http://www.wired.com/2016/01/propublica-launches-the-dark-webs-first-major-news-site/all/1) . “We don’t want anyone to know that you came to us or what you read.” Traditionally, news outlets that have used Tor for secure access have primarily used it in the context of acquiring information securely. Along with ProPublica, publications such as *The New Yorker* and *The Guardian* have, over the past few years, made available a service called [SecureDrop (opens in a new tab)](https://securedrop.org/) , which allows for the dissemination of sensitive material to media outlets. While the idea of creating a secure outlet for merely reading online content may seem a bit over the top for the average user, Tigas noted that some of ProPublica’s own content presents some risk for some readers—for example, [this piece of data journalism (opens in a new tab)](https://projects.propublica.org/firewall/) that tracks whether China is blocking its citizens from accessing certain online news sites. While most users might be safe using the standard URL inside of the Tor browser, there are limits to how secure a reader might be if using a standard web address. Admittedly, you have to really want to read ProPublica on Tor if you type in its address for the protocol—[http://propub3r6espa33w.onion/ (opens in a new tab)](http://propub3r6espa33w.onion/) , which is necessarily complex in order to allow for encrypted access—but in cases where such security is essential or desired, it could come in handy. (By the way, that URL won’t work in your normal browser; [you have to download a specialized client (opens in a new tab)](https://www.torproject.org/download/download-easy.html.en) provided by Tor.) ProPublica’s move could also help to draw interest in the dark web beyond its traditional affiliations. A handful of sites offer secure access to users via the Tor platform, [most notably Facebook (opens in a new tab)](http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/31/7137323/facebook-adds-direct-support-for-tor-anonymous-users) , but by creating general access sites accessible through the network, it could help burnish the reputation of the platform. “Personally I hope other people see that there are uses for hidden services that aren’t just hosting illegal sites,” Tigas added in his comments to *Wired*. “Having good examples of sites like ProPublica and SecureDrop using hidden services shows that these things aren’t just for criminals.” (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#consultants](https://associationsnow.com/tag/consultants/) [#dark web](https://associationsnow.com/tag/dark-web/) [#journalism](https://associationsnow.com/tag/journalism/) [#Media](https://associationsnow.com/tag/media/) [#privacy](https://associationsnow.com/tag/privacy/) [#Technology](https://associationsnow.com/tag/technology/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoMessage from Gordon Taylor III, Chief Sales Officer for Destination ClevelandMay 17, 2024](https://associationsnow.com/2024/05/17/message-from-gordon-taylor-iii-chief-sales-officer-for-destination-cleveland/) - [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) - [VideoNCRA: Safeguarding Cancer Surveillance: An Advocacy Response to FY26 Budget ThreatsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/ncra-safeguarding-cancer-surveillance-an-advocacy-response-to-fy26-budget-threats/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2016%2F01%2F09%2Fpropublica-finds-new-home-on-internets-dark-frontier%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !