Wikis Leaking?

In this week’s blog I am going to write about how wikileaks has effected in today’s world and, if the use of wikileaks is benefiting anyone?

Firstly I’ll start off by explaining what wikileaks is. “WikiLeaks is an independent, non-profit online media organization that publishes submissions of otherwise unavailable documents from anonymous sources. The WikiLeaks website was launched in 2006 by the Sunshine Press. Within a year of its launch, the site claimed a database that had grown to more than 1.2 million documents.” Reference from: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/WikiLeaks

Well why did wikileaks start off in the first place? What’s the reason for it? “The organization’s self-stated mandate explains “Our primary interests are oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to those in the west who wish to reveal unethical behaviour in their own governments and corporations.”-Reference from: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/WikiLeaks

Wikileaks can’t be all bad then? I mean if the website is just publishing home truths about the government and, the US government surely there must be a reason for this. Well at first I thought confident that the US government didn’t have anything to hide, I mean what secrets are there to hide? Well we all know about the war in Iraq and, Saddam Hussein, WMD, fight for oil etc. Well Wikileaks managed to find some very interesting footage about just what goes on in Iraq…

In that video is real life footage of US soldiers killing innocent Iraqis as if it were a Call of Duty™, shooting people from their aircraft. Ok people may argue and have every right to question the footage, for its authenticity.

On the Wikileaks website they claim to “We assess all news stories and test their veracity. We send a submitted document through a very detailed examination a procedure. Is it real? What elements prove it is real? Who would have the motive to fake such a document and why? We use traditional investigative journalism techniques as well as more modern rtechnology-based methods. Typically we will do a forensic analysis of the document, determine the cost of forgery, means, motive, opportunity, the claims of the apparent authoring organisation, and answer a set of other detailed questions about the document. We may also seek external verification of the document For example, for our release of the Collateral Murder video, we sent a team of journalists to Iraq to interview the victims and observers of the helicopter attack. The team obtained copies of hospital records, death certificates, eye witness statements and other corroborating evidence supporting the truth of the story. Our verification process does not mean we will never make a mistake, but so far our method has meant that WikiLeaks has correctly identified the veracity of every document it has published.

Publishing the original source material behind each of our stories is the way in which we show the public that our story is authentic. Readers don’t have to take our word for it; they can see for themselves. In this way, we also support the work of other journalism organisations, for they can view and use the original documents freely as well. Other journalists may well see an angle or detail in the document that we were not aware of in the first instance. By making the documents freely available, we hope to expand analysis and comment by all the media. Most of all, we want readers know the truth so they can make up their own minds.”- Reference: http://wikileaks.org/About.html.

To be honest it’s exactly like what the Wikileaks people say its up to the people to make their own minds up. If you choose to believe then you can if you don’t then, it is also your choice. But I think that there are millions of rumours and stories around today and barely a few questions scratch the surface, and get to be asked to the leading powers in the world today. So I say, if Wikileaks is out here giving us the truth or not let it stay up! Because the government get away with so much activities today and, leave many things unanswered so from my point of view it’s about time we questioned them for what’s really going on? And demand some answers and, Wikileaks is our best advantage of that.

For more information about the creator of Wikileaks visit: