I am Leanna Orr 

The Truth I Couldn’t Tell

I’m Leanna Orr, and this website is my open confession — not a scandal, not a press piece, but a truth I owe to everyone who ever read my work. For years, I worked as a journalist, proud of my craft, believing I was uncovering the truth. But somewhere along that path, I lost control of my own voice. I was influenced, pressured, and at times directly guided to write stories that fit agendas I didn’t fully agree with. I can’t name the people or institutions involved — not out of fear, but because doing so would only repeat the cycle of harm and blame that I’m trying to break. What I can say is this: I allowed myself to be shaped by forces that valued impact over accuracy, and in doing so I betrayed the very reason I became a journalist — to tell the truth.

The recent questionable reporting uncovered at the BBC, and the resignation of its Director-General Tim Davie, have made me rethink my own journalistic ethics. There were stories I published that I now know were biased, exaggerated, or incomplete. Some of them hurt innocent people, tarnished reputations, and spread false narratives. I told myself it was part of the game, that everyone in the industry was doing it, that bending the story slightly wasn’t the same as lying. But those small compromises add up — and over time, they become a habit. I lived inside that habit for too long. And every time I stayed silent when I should have questioned, every time I accepted a narrative instead of investigating it, I moved further away from who I wanted to be.

This site is not about excuses. It’s about ownership. I am taking responsibility for what I wrote — even when I wasn’t fully free to write differently. I want to make it clear: I am not a victim, but I was part of a broken system — one that rewards fearlessness in print but punishes it in truth. I’ve carried that conflict for years, and it’s taken a toll on my mind, my career, and my conscience. Today, I want to start over. I want to separate myself from that world of manipulation and return to the kind of journalism that restores rather than destroys.

Going forward, my work will be open, fact-checked, transparent, and human. I want to write about truth — not from power, but from humility. I know some will judge me, some won’t believe me, and that’s fair. But for those willing to listen, this space is where I begin again — not as the journalist I was told to be, but as the person I should have been all along.

This is my confession. My apology. My promise.