“The AIVD and MIVD intelligence services are recruiting journalists”

Journalists are systematically recruited by the AIVD and MIVD intelligence services, NRC reports based on our own research. Journalists are also approached who could get in trouble in conflict zones like the Middle East.

The newspaper spoke with 32 editors and correspondents who cover topics or work in areas of interest to the intelligence community.

Half of the journalists say they have been approached by one of the two services. In some cases, the AIVD, the General Intelligence and Security Service, was ready to pay.

The reason for the NRC’s visit was an internal AIVD document that the newspaper saw last month. This document was previously leaked on the whistleblower website PubLeaks in 2016, but was never made public. This document contains the names of 21 “sources and agents”, including eight journalists.

Program makers Sinan Can and Thomas Erdbrink warn in the paper about the dangers journalists face when working with the services. Can says he was approached in 2018 but declined an interview.

He says he understands that the services must ensure the security of the state, but that this “still remains a bad thing, because we run a huge risk in these countries”.