Virtual black markets, cryptocurrency scams, digital hideouts for hackers and pedophiles. These are the images that the darknet tends to conjure in the popular imagination. But the darknet is more than a secret space for illicit activity. It is also a digital frontier that provides refuge for imperilled reporters and their sources. Over 600 journalists have been killed in the last six years. Hundreds more are imprisoned every day. Turkey alone has jailed 275 journalists since 2016. As the crackdown on freedom of the press escalates, journalists across the globe and the organizations that employ them should consider using the darknet to protect themselves, defend sources, and bypass firewalls.