"Ethical dilemmas with open source analysis are common. Analysts and journalists working with open source information have stories of feeling uneasy about publishing something. They weigh possibly risking harm to themselves, their employer, other individuals, or even international security. After publishing, they worry whether they did the right thing. These stories are shared quietly or hesitantly—compared to stories of journalistic or analytic feats—but ethical challenges are part of the day-to-day experience. Those analysts and journalists also acknowledge they could use more training, guidance, support, and focused discussion on their ethical practices. This paper aims to help elevate those stories and perspectives. It offers observations from a series of 28 structured interviews with analysts and journalists who use open source and geospatial analysis to inform their work on international security and nonproliferation policy. The goal of the paper is to make it easier for individuals, organizations, and community stakeholders to join discussions on enhancing their ethical practices with open source analysis. The paper isn’t a critique of existing practices. Nor does it prescribe an ethical framework. Instead, it is an attempt to learn with practitioners and help identify potential bottom-up solutions to the common ethical challenges they face." (Page 3)

"The survey was conducted using a semistructured interview format over a Zoom audio connection. Twenty-eight people were interviewed: 20 analysts who work with geospatial and open source data directly and 8 journalists who use geospatial analysis in their repor ting. The analysts represented a range of roles, functions, and levels of professional experience in the nonproliferation analysis community." (Methodology, page 13)