Copycat WikiLeaks sites make waves

[Turborama]

Spin-off whistleblower sites emerge in weeks after WikiLeaks publishes leaked US diplomatic cables.

Ben Piven Last | Dec 17 2010

As the political impact of sensitive diplomatic information continues to reverberate, a set of WikiLeaks spin-offs hopes to capitalise on the successes of the whistleblowing site and its Australian chief, Julian Assange.

The US and other authorities have cracked down on WikiLeaks and Assange since the site started publishing thousands of confidential US diplomatic cables that have embarrassed both the US and other parties around the world.

Assange, who founded WikiLeaks in 2006, seems to have inspired a flood of new gossip-mongering sites. If just a few of the copycat organisations manage to provide useful information to the public, Assange's positive contribution to global civil society might be more widely acknowledged.

In an interview with Forbes magazine the embattled activist said, "It's not something that's easy to do right" but then added, "it's helpful for us to have more people in this industry".

Here are five notable new imitations of the WikiLeaks model: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2010/12/20101216194828514847.html

OP with updates about Indoleaks here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x25893

[bemildred]

1. LOL. A new industry is born.

Reporters Without Borders" for real this time.

[MineralMan]

2. Reporters without journalistic standards is more like it.

We already have plenty of that going around in the blogosphere. We now publish more bullshit than fact, overall.

[bemildred]

3. Well, that's not really new. The "News" has always had a large admixture of bullshit.

Though we moderns have turned that into an art. And to be fair, there is nothing new about anonymous news sources either, it's the bread and butter of the state propaganda organs and public relations firms everywhere. What is new is that the barriers to entry are gone, another group of former information middle men (the news media) made obsolescent by the internet.

But I was thinking about this Manning guy today, he cannot be too bright, or he would have never let on. I wonder is he is sorry he outed himself now? If he had not done that, this whole sequence of events would be much different. With 2.5 million having access to that information, he would still be walking around. There is no greater sin in this world than not knowing when to keep your mouth shut.

[TalkingDog]

6. How is that different from the bought and sold media

who suppress stories like these?

http://www.projectcensored.org/


Journalistic standards would most likely include actually printing stories that cast governments and corporations in a negative light, don'tcha think?

[rAVES]

7. HAHA.. thats funny..you crack me up... journalistic standards!!!

hahahahaaa

[DavidDvorkin]

4. The more, the merrier.

[saras]

5. Gossip-mongering? WTF?

Excuse me, gossip-mongering is what the REST of the internet does. Wikileaks releases documents, mostly.

And it takes a thick skin to be a diplomat. "Sensitive" information should go work somewhere else.

[ixion]

8. uh, "gossip-mongering"

Well, no. That would be your average MSM broadcast.