The Ferret

The Ferret Scotland's award-winning online investigative journalism cooperative - independent, reader-owned and transparent. Join us. But The Ferret will not be dour.

Join The Ferret now and help build a better media: https://theferret.scot/subscribe/

Good, investigative journalism is suffering in Scotland. The advertising revenues that have traditionally funded journalists to uncover scandals are being swept away in the whirlwind of the electronic information revolution – and nobody is quite sure what to do about it. We believe that something has to be done.

In a democracy like ours few things are more important than a free, fair and independent media holding the powerful to account by discovering their secrets. Without serious, fact-based journalism in pursuit of the public interest and beholden to no-one, Scotland would be a smaller place. That is why we are now proposing The Ferret: a new platform for investigative journalism unlike any that have gone before. It will not be owned by some distant corporation: it will be owned by its members and run as a not-for-profit operation in Scotland. It will not be aligned with any political party or any vested interest. It will be utterly transparent and totally accountable in all it does. It will be challenging, irreverent, cheeky even. It will tap into the rich vein of Scottish journalism to produce good writing, exclusive, and must-read stories. And it will listen to its readers, who will all have a say in what it does. There is still much detail to work out. We are open to suggestions on the best combination of grants, donations, subscriptions, crowdfunding, sales and other sources of income to help transform an important idea into a working reality. We welcome all thoughts on how we should be organised, and how members should be involved. But this is the starting point. Scotland needs good, investigative journalism and the Ferret is our way of helping to ensure that. Let us know what you think and watch this space. If you’d like to follow our progress, please become a supporter of The Ferret.

“Fanning the flames of racism and emboldening far right and fascist beliefs and behaviours has an intolerable human cost...
06/10/2025

“Fanning the flames of racism and emboldening far right and fascist beliefs and behaviours has an intolerable human cost"
https://bit.ly/4n93sGl

Lord Malcolm Offord of Garvel – the Scottish Tory treasurer – will join a panel hosted by "climate denial" group the Glo...
02/10/2025

Lord Malcolm Offord of Garvel – the Scottish Tory treasurer – will join a panel hosted by "climate denial" group the Global Warming Policy Foundation at the Conservative party conference in Manchester next week.

https://bit.ly/471ueLL

The Ferret is 10! We've spent a decade digging where others won’t — now we’re taking a night off to celebrate.Join us fo...
01/10/2025

The Ferret is 10! We've spent a decade digging where others won’t — now we’re taking a night off to celebrate.

Join us for music, dancing and some very special guests. Get your tickets:

Come and celebrate with music, dancing and special Ferret guests

“We ask everyone to do just one thing.” From knitting blankets to hauling sandbags, Edzell’s flood group shows how resil...
30/09/2025

“We ask everyone to do just one thing.” From knitting blankets to hauling sandbags, Edzell’s flood group shows how resilience is built together.

Our latest: https://bit.ly/42W0Unp

🔴 NEW: The Scottish Government’s green watchdog has been urging the Royal Navy to remove potentially radioactive waste f...
30/09/2025

🔴 NEW: The Scottish Government’s green watchdog has been urging the Royal Navy to remove potentially radioactive waste from the UK nuclear bomb base on the Clyde to reduce the risk of leaks and pollution.

Find out more: https://bit.ly/4npuaLr

In 2012, a flood forced Dr Fiona Work out of her home in Edzell for 10 months. Eleven years later, the village flood gro...
29/09/2025

In 2012, a flood forced Dr Fiona Work out of her home in Edzell for 10 months. Eleven years later, the village flood group she helped form saved the community during Storm Babet.

Our latest: https://bit.ly/4nTw0nK

In Brechin, Storm Babet brought the worst flooding residents could remember. Nearly two years on, many are still struggl...
28/09/2025

In Brechin, Storm Babet brought the worst flooding residents could remember. Nearly two years on, many are still struggling to recover.

https://bit.ly/4gH3ALn

An SNP MP claimed thousands of drug deaths in England had been 'written out of the figures'. This is not accurate.https:...
24/09/2025

An SNP MP claimed thousands of drug deaths in England had been 'written out of the figures'. This is not accurate.

https://bit.ly/46HfW1B

Some residents accused the spaceport of making commitments “which have as yet failed to materialise”. There were also “u...
23/09/2025

Some residents accused the spaceport of making commitments “which have as yet failed to materialise”. There were also “unanswered questions about the future impacts of the spaceport in Unst and its infrastructure”
https://bit.ly/3VWo9d5

🔴 NEW: Disgruntled islanders have criticised Scotland’s first spaceport in the far north of Shetland for a “culture of s...
22/09/2025

🔴 NEW: Disgruntled islanders have criticised Scotland’s first spaceport in the far north of Shetland for a “culture of secrecy and bad stewardship”, according to a new report.

Read the full story in comments 👇

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The Ferret is an investigative journalism project based in Scotland.

You can subscribe for just £2.50 per month.

The Ferret is a co-operative. When you subscribe, you become a part-owner of the project. You can find out more about us here: https://theferret.scot/about-us/

Avowedly non-partisan, The Ferret is also home to The Ferret Fact Service.