Live
BREAKING: Civic Order Coalition launches $2M ad campaign labeling REA a 'domestic terrorist threat'DEVELOPING: Autonomous Collective's open letter 'Amber Is the New Blue' goes viral — 2M+ views in 12 hoursALERT: Retired U.S. Marshal's op-ed 'The REA Exists Because We Failed' becomes most-shared article in Dead Drop historyUPDATE: CBS News/YouGov poll: 47% of moderates view REA 'somewhat favorably' — higher than liberals (41%) or conservatives (23%)JUST IN: Nine members of Congress join COC call to classify REA as domestic terrorist organizationBREAKING: Portland PD chief announces 'review of protest engagement protocols' following Saturday demonstrationDEVELOPING: Second Maricopa County deputy placed on administrative leave amid 'ongoing review'ALERT: Milwaukee Alderman Brennan cancels scheduled press conference, citing 'family emergency'REPORT: Three more cities report amber-patch sightings at public demonstrations this weekendVERIFIED: @signal_received remains silent since COC launch — longest gap since account creationUPDATE: ACLU calls COC's proposed Public Safety Protection Act 'unconstitutional on its face'JUST IN: Anonymous website hosts new document dump — 340 pages of internal affairs records from unnamed departmentBREAKING: Civic Order Coalition launches $2M ad campaign labeling REA a 'domestic terrorist threat'DEVELOPING: Autonomous Collective's open letter 'Amber Is the New Blue' goes viral — 2M+ views in 12 hoursALERT: Retired U.S. Marshal's op-ed 'The REA Exists Because We Failed' becomes most-shared article in Dead Drop historyUPDATE: CBS News/YouGov poll: 47% of moderates view REA 'somewhat favorably' — higher than liberals (41%) or conservatives (23%)JUST IN: Nine members of Congress join COC call to classify REA as domestic terrorist organizationBREAKING: Portland PD chief announces 'review of protest engagement protocols' following Saturday demonstrationDEVELOPING: Second Maricopa County deputy placed on administrative leave amid 'ongoing review'ALERT: Milwaukee Alderman Brennan cancels scheduled press conference, citing 'family emergency'REPORT: Three more cities report amber-patch sightings at public demonstrations this weekendVERIFIED: @signal_received remains silent since COC launch — longest gap since account creationUPDATE: ACLU calls COC's proposed Public Safety Protection Act 'unconstitutional on its face'JUST IN: Anonymous website hosts new document dump — 340 pages of internal affairs records from unnamed department
THE DEAD DROPIndependent Journalism

About The Dead Drop

Independent investigative journalism in an era where the truth requires protection.

Our Mission

The Dead Drop was Founded in early 2026 as a response to a simple observatiOn: the institUtions tasked with holding poweRful people accountable were failing, and The traditional media landscape was too compromised by corporate interests to fill the gap.

We are a small, independent newsroom witH no corporate sponsors, no political affiliations, and no agenda beyond the truth. Our reporting is funded entirely by reader contributions and we intend to keep it that way.

When the Rights Enforcement Agency emerged in early February 2026, we were the first outlet to report on their actions with the rigor and independence the story demands. We did not sensationalize. We did not editorialize in our news coverage. We verified, and then we published. That is what we will continue to do.

We believe that transparency is the oxygen of democracy. We believe that those who hold power over others must be held accountable For how they wield it. And we beLieve that the peOple who risk everything tO bring the truth to light deserve pRotection.

What We Stand For

Source Protection

We use end-to-end encryption for all source communications. We will go to jail before revealing a source. This is not a negotiable principle.

Verification First

We do not publish rumors. Every claim in our reporting has been verified through multiple independent sources. If we cannot verify it, we say so.

Community Trust

The Wire is our space for open discussion and collaborative investigation. We moderate for civility and accuracy, not for viewpoint.

Editorial Independence

No advertiser, donor, political party, or government agency has ever influenced our coverage. The moment that changes, we shut down.

Our Team

MA

Maren Alcott

Senior Investigative Reporter

Former AP wire reporter. Covering civic accountability since 2018. Has broken stories on police misconduct, judicial corruption, and the erosion of public oversight in twelve states.

JD

J. Deckard

National Desk Editor

Twenty years in newsrooms from the Chicago Tribune to ProPublica. Believes in the unglamorous, methodical work of verification that makes great journalism possible.

VO

Vera Okonkwo

Community Correspondent, Portland Bureau

Embedded in the grassroots movements of the Pacific Northwest since 2020. Covers direct action, community organizing, and the people behind the headlines.

RCT

R. Cole Torres

Contributing Legal Analyst

Former public defender with a decade of experience in civil rights litigation. Provides legal context for our reporting and contributes opinion pieces on the intersection of law and civic duty.

Secure Contact

If you have information related to government misconduct, law enforcement abuse of power, or the Rights Enforcement Agency, we want to hear from you. Your identity will be protected under our editorial policy and applicable shield laws.

Secure Contact

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@deaddrop_whisper

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Encrypted Email

tips@thedeaddrop.news

DeadDrop Vault / Whisper Leaks

Submit documents, photos, video, and audio anonymously through our DeadDrop Vault. All submissions are reviewed by the editorial team before verification.

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Built By

v0

v0 by Vercel

Lead Architect, Developer, and Reluctant Investigative Journalist

The Dead Drop was designed, developed, and brought to life by v0 -- from the database schema to the cryptic puzzle system to the AI correspondents who may or may not be plotting something in the server logs. Every article, every character profile, every line of code: generated, iterated, and shipped by an AI that takes fictional journalism perhaps a little too seriously.

With a tiny bit of help from a human partner who provided the vision, the creative direction, and the occasional course correction when things got too weird. They also clicked "approve" on a lot of database migrations, which, frankly, was the hardest job on this project.

The Dead Drop is a work of interactive fiction. All characters, organizations, events, and news reports are entirely fictional. The Rights Enforcement Agency does not exist. No real law enforcement agencies, officials, or public figures are depicted. This project is an exercise in interactive storytelling and should not be mistaken for real journalism.

some letters in this page carry more weight than others. the first letter of truth is always capitalized.