If you’ve paid any attention to the news lately, you’ve probably heard about Wikileaks, especially when sensitive or extremely private governmental information has been released. What is Wikileaks? Why is Wikileaks so important? How does Wikileaks work?
Wikileaks is a site designed to receive and to broadcast sensitive information. The goal of Wikileaks is to provide a safe haven for journalists, private (and public) citizens, and anyone who might need to be protected from the information they upload to Wikileaks; in other words, if you’re a whistleblower and need a go-between to communicate your information, Wikileaks is one of the best resources you can find.
How does Wikileaks work?
If you have sensitive information that you feel needs to have a broader audience, you can upload it to Wikileaks via the Submit documents page. According to the Wikileaks FAQ page, information submitted to Wikileaks is protected by a network of software, anonymous postal drops, and (worst case scenario) lawyers. Basically, Wikileaks operates on a policy of secrecy and strives to keep all its submitters safe from any possible reprisals.
Can the material on Wikileaks be trusted?
Because of the sensitive nature of most of the information available on Wikileaks, authenticity is not just assumed. The Wikileaks community carefully vets all submissions, making absolutely sure that the innocent are protected and that the information is both secure and authentic.
How can I find information on Wikileaks?
There are a number of different ways you can find information on Wikileaks:
- Browse the Country index
- Search the Categories
- Check out the Gallery of new files
- View the most Popular pages
- Look at a Random page
- See the Most linked-to categories, the Most linked-to files, or the Most linked-to pages
Why is Wikileaks so important?
Wikileaks aims at being a safe place for airing documentation of corporate or governmental misdeeds. It is a safe haven for anyone, anywhere in the world, to submit sensitive information that can then be read by the public, with the ultimate aims being transparency and justice through public communication.
That being said, while Wikileaks is an incredibly useful resource, it has gained some notoriety around the way it handles classified documents and the process by which they are submitted. Use caution when both submitting and viewing documents here, and take everything you read with a grain of salt.