A website called WikiLeaks today has a reputation for being a big noise

Absrtact: Recently, a website called WikiLeaks has been notorious for revealing footage of American helicopters killing Iraqi civilians in early April this year. The video has a total of 8 million people browsing volume, so that the U.S. military is very passive. This website specializes

30 sensitive documents posted every day

The Washington Post May 19 reported the site "revealing".

The WikiLeaks website was founded in 2006, but only appeared on the internet for the first time in January 2007. It has been a self-styled "government that opposes the excessive expansion of power, and supports civic activists, journalists and others who challenge the powers." Since its inception, the site has been a headache for many governments and businesses.

WikiLeaks, though committed to exposing its secrets, has "hidden it": The site does not disclose its office address and phone number, nor does it list the names of the main operators of the site, or even the Office mail. The outside world neither knows where its headquarters are, nor who the employees are.

According to the Washington Post, the founder of the website was an Australian journalist, Julian Assange, who was run by journalists, technicians and activists, and was "eclectic". Its core management staff is 5 people, one of whom is named Schmitt. Schmidt, aged 32, is a German living in Berlin. He was tall and thin, wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses and a moustache. Previously, he worked as a network engineer in a private company and then resigned to run the site. Like any other person in charge, he actually worked in his own home and didn't get paid, even though he worked full-time, worked hours a day, and had few days off. Schmidt has two laptops, which is his office tool. "The message from WikiLeaks is that you either choose to be transparent or ' transparent '," Schmitt said in an interview. ”

5 Core personnel to update the content of the site every day, the material uploaded to the user to the turnip. 1/3 of these materials were immediately deleted, including so-called disclosure materials, parody, and forged documents that some people had prepared for themselves. The rest are hundreds of experts to help with the review. Among the hundreds of experts are legal persons, as well as handwriting experts and video encryption experts. Of course, they are all volunteers. On average, about 30 sensitive documents are posted on the website by netizens for global netizens to watch.

In order to avoid personal attacks or lawsuit, only Schmidt and Assange have openly played their part in the site.

First American attacks on civilian video

The highly classified documents of the U.S. government and military are often "favored" by the site. Two famous leaks were the site's "starter". Palin's private email address was posted on the site after the private emails of former Governor Sarah Palin, the US Alaska State, were hacked. In addition, CIA reports, memos and surveillance footage can also be found on the web.

This April, the Web site, which has been running for 3 years, has been notorious for releasing video footage of U.S. military helicopters attacking Iraqi civilians, drawing the attention of netizens around the world. The video is about a group of Iraqis killed in Baghdad in 2007 by an armed American Apache helicopter, including two Reuters employees. The video has a total of 8 million visitors.

Previously, the Pentagon has been blocking the video. After the video was heard, April 5, the Pentagon said it regretted the injury and innocence.

According to the U.S. "anti-war network" April 13, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates criticized the "WikiLeaks" website, said the site "irresponsible", just exposure to the war nothing valuable. According to the anti-war network, Gates laments, "WikiLeaks can publish anything it wants to publish without taking any responsibility." ”

The United States is not indifferent to the site, it wants to through the internal investigation of leaks, to prevent further disclosure of confidential documents.

A 2008 U.S. Department of Defense Assessment, labeled "Confidential/Not to be released to foreign countries", said "it is necessary to take into account that WikiLeaks will receive confidential DOD reports" because previously confidential documents were posted on the site. The assessment report recommends "identifying, exposing, terminating employment or taking legal action against current or former supply insiders, informants". Interestingly, the report was also leaked by WikiLeaks.

Mr. Schmidt said they were also planning to release new leaks, including footage of the U.S. bombing of civilians in Afghanistan, and that there would be millions of hits.

But Schmidt said the site was founded not just to disclose the secrets of Western governments but to uncover the corruption and wrongdoing of totalitarian regimes in developing countries. The Washington Post reported that the site's explosion also angered some countries, and some companies are planning to collect materials to sue it.

Not following the principle of balanced reporting

WikiLeaks has no headquarters or traditional infrastructure, and the site relies on servers and supporters from dozens of countries to do a lot of things. Its founders said those who uploaded the material were also anonymous. Because of its secretive nature, WikiLeaks is relatively rarely pressured by censors, lawyers or local governments.

It is also a matter of deep concern that the global "leak machine" is not limited by traditional journalistic rules and the principle of balanced reporting. Now, the mainstream news media is also closely watching the site.

But the profit model for the site remains a problem. Until now, the site's operating capital is still funded by volunteer donations and team members ' own pockets. It is said that the cost is $300,000 a year, most of which are used to cover the cost of server and technical support. With the current super high, the website is looking for ways to attract new donors and foundation support. (