WikiLeaks is an international non-profit organization, established in 2006 by Julian Assange, that publishes secret information, news leaks, and classified media from anonymous sources. Its primary goal is to promote transparency and justice by exposing oppressive regimes and human rights violations worldwide. Over the years, WikiLeaks has released more than 10 million documents, including US military logs, diplomatic cables, and controversial emails related to various political events. However, the organization has faced criticism for its lack of content curation[1], promotion of conspiracy theories, and alleged associations with the Russian government. It has also faced numerous legal and financial challenges, including a banking blockade by several major corporations. Despite these controversies, WikiLeaks continues to make a significant impact on global politics and journalism.
WikiLeaks (/ˈwɪkiliːks/) is a media organization and publisher of leaked documents. It is a non-profit and is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by Julian Assange, an Australian editor, publisher, and activist, who is currently challenging extradition to the United States about his work with WikiLeaks. Since September 2018, Kristinn Hrafnsson has served as its editor-in-chief. Its website states that it has released more than ten million documents and associated analyses. WikiLeaks' most recent publication of original documents was in 2019 and its most recent publication was in 2021. From November 2022, numerous documents on the organization's website became inaccessible. In 2023, Assange said that WikiLeaks is no longer able to publish due to his imprisonment and the effect that US government surveillance and WikiLeaks' funding restrictions were having on potential whistleblowers.
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Type of site | Document archive and disclosure |
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Available in | English, but the source documents are in their original language |
Owner | Sunshine Press |
Founder(s) | Julian Assange |
Key people | Julian Assange (director) Kristinn Hrafnsson (editor-in-chief) Sarah Harrison (journalist) |
URL | wikileaks |
Commercial | No |
Registration | Optional |
Launched | October 4, 2006 |
WikiLeaks has released document caches and media that exposed serious violations of human rights and civil liberties by various governments. It released footage of the 12 July 2007 Baghdad airstrike, titling it Collateral Murder, in which Iraqi Reuters journalists and several civilians were killed by a U.S. helicopter crew. It published thousands of US military field logs from the war in Aghanistan and Iraq war, diplomatic cables from the United States and Saudi Arabia, and emails from the governments of Syria and Turkey. WikiLeaks has also published documents exposing corruption in Kenya and at Samherji, cyber warfare and surveillance tools created by the CIA, and surveillance of the French president by the National Security Agency. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign, WikiLeaks released emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and from Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, showing that the party's national committee had effectively acted as an arm of the Clinton campaign during the primaries, seeking to undercut the campaign of Bernie Sanders. These releases resulted in the resignation of the chairwoman of the DNC and caused significant harm to the Clinton campaign. During the campaign, WikiLeaks promoted false conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party and the murder of Seth Rich.
WikiLeaks has won awards and been commended for exposing state and corporate secrets, increasing transparency, assisting freedom of the press, and enhancing democratic discourse while challenging powerful institutions. WikiLeaks and some of its supporters say the organization's publications have a perfect record of publishing authentic documents. The organization has been the target of campaigns to discredit it, including aborted ones by Palantir and HBGary. WikiLeaks has also had its donation systems interrupted by payment processors. As a result, the Wau Holland Foundation helps process WikiLeaks' donations.
The organization has been criticized for inadequately curating content and violating personal privacy. WikiLeaks has, for instance, revealed Social Security numbers, medical information, credit card numbers and details of suicide attempts. News organizations, activists, journalists and former members have also criticized WikiLeaks over allegations of anti-Clinton and pro-Trump bias, various associations with the Russian government, buying and selling of leaks, and a lack of internal transparency. Journalists have also criticized the organization for promotion of conspiracy theories, and what they describe as exaggerated and misleading descriptions of the contents of leaks. The US CIA and United States Congress defined the organization as a "non-state hostile intelligence service" after the release of Vault 7.