Just a small piece on the ethics of undercover reporting I found online.
They talk about ethics is a hot-button topic in undercover reporting and that In general, undercover reporting is allowed only when the information to be obtained is of the utmost importance and when there's no other way to gain that information.
I'd say you have put your finger exactly on it. The rule seems to be don't do it casually, but we never say never do it. I seem to be a little more indulgent than the average editor, possibly because reportorial timidity seems to me to be more of a problem among serious journalists than its opposite. The key word back there is *serious*.
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