Wikileaks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Launched December 2006
Current status Online at http://88.80.13.160
Wikileaks is a website that allows whistleblowers to anonymously release government and corporate documents, allegedly without possible retribution. Wikileaks operates on modified MediaWiki software, although it has no association with the Wikimedia Foundation. It claims that postings are untraceable by anyone attempting to do so. It was launched in December 2006 and, as of November 2007, claims to contain over 1.2 million documents.[1] Its primary site is with the Internet service provider PRQ in Sweden.


Mission
Wikileaks was designed to be an unblockable wiki for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. Their goal is to attempt to ensure that whistle-blowers and journalists have a service freely available to allow them to anonymously release to the public sensitive or classified documents via the Internet. They implement checks intended to keep the system from being flooded with false or promotional documents. The design is intended to allow all users to comment on all documents, analyze them, and identify false material. This is done in the spirit of the Freedom of information legislation, against excessive secrecy and to encourage Open government. One of their assumptions is that the Streisand effect will discourage those whose secrets are disclosed to pursue the matter.[2][3][4]



Wikileaks looks like Wikipedia. Anybody can post comments to it. No technical knowledge is required. Whistleblowers can post documents anonymously and untraceably. Users can publicly discuss documents and analyze their credibility and veracity. Users can discuss the latest material, read and write explanatory articles on leaks along with background material and context. The political relevance of documents and their veracity can be revealed by a cast of thousands.[5]

According to the Wikileaks website, their main targets for leaked disclosure are the former Soviet bloc, sub-Saharan Africa, and Middle Eastern nations, but they expect it to be used for leaks of information about Western governments and corporations.[6][4][7]

Comparisons have been made to Daniel Ellsberg's leaking of the Pentagon Papers in 1971.[8] Additionally, at least in the United States, leaking of some documents may be legally protected. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Constitution guarantees anonymity, at least in the area of political discourse.[8] Whitley Strieber, author and journalist, has observed the benefits of the Wikileaks project, noting that "Leaking a government document can mean jail, but jail sentences for this can be fairly short. However, there are many places where it means long incarceration or even death, such as China and parts of Africa and the Middle East."[9]

In response to concerns about the possibility of misleading or fraudulent leaks, Wikileaks said misleading leaks “are already well-placed in the mainstream media. [Wikileaks] is of no additional assistance.”[10] Wikileaks' Web page about itself states that "the simplest and most effective measure here is a worldwide community of informed users and editors who can scrutinize and discuss leaked documents."[5]