how can you write an editorial and stay anonymous?

Question

I've been wanting to write my opinions on things but never wanted to identify myself. Every time I get the chance to write my local newspapers' editors, they want my real name and I don't want to give them that. Is there a way to be anonymous or keep my identity protected when writing an editorial or opinions on anything in public?

Answer 1

I know of few papers that will use anonymous letters. Papers I worked for required an address and phone number, too, so we could check the address in the criss-cross directory and call the person to verify they wrote the letter. We only ran the person's name and hometown, though. It's the only way to make sure the letter is legitimate. And having a name on it makes the opinion in the letter credible. If you aren't willing to stand up for your opinions, why have them?

Answer 2

The easiest thing to do is to forget newspapers and publish your editorial on blogs. You can achieve a high degree of anonymity by accessing the blog site through an anonymising proxy or network such as Tor.

Or you could of course just use a pseudonym and fake address when writing to the newspaper.

Some may question the morality of faking your identity, but legally you have the right to publish content under any name you choose. Also, the ends justify the means in this case. If publishing your opinions can threaten your job or safety, then nobody will blame you for faking your identity.

Answer 3

Good luck on that one!