What is the Difference Between Wikileaks and Openleaks?

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Wikileaks and Openleaks are both platforms for leaking and sharing information, but they differ in their approach and structure. Here are the main differences between the two:

  1. Publication: Wikileaks receives leaked documents, inspects them, and posts them on their site for the public to read. Openleaks, on the other hand, allows leakers to anonymously submit information to a secure online dropbox, but it does not publish the information itself. Instead, it allows the source to designate any media or non-governmental organizations to receive the leaked information.
  2. Neutrality: Openleaks aims to be a neutral conduit, without a political agenda except for the dissemination of information to the media, the public, non-profit organizations, trade and union organizations, and other participating groups. Wikileaks, however, has been criticized for politicizing its content and making subjective decisions regarding what to publish.
  3. Internal Structure: Wikileaks is a centralized platform that handles all aspects of receiving and publishing leaked documents. Openleaks, in contrast, plans to provide technology to existing organizations like non-governmental organizations and news outlets, allowing them to receive and handle leaked documents without involving Openleaks in the publication process.
  4. Dissemination: Wikileaks publishes leaked documents on its platform, making them accessible to the public. Openleaks, however, functions as a secure tip box on the sites of partner organizations, allowing them to choose whether to store leaked information on their own servers or leave it in the Openleaks system.

In summary, while both Wikileaks and Openleaks facilitate the anonymous disclosure of secret information, they differ in their approach to publication, neutrality, internal structure, and dissemination of information.

Comparative Table: Wikileaks vs Openleaks

The main differences between Wikileaks and Openleaks are as follows:

Wikileaks Openleaks
Active and has released leaked documents Still in the planning process
Inspects and hosts files Will only relay information to news organizations and not host files
Founded by Julian Assange Founded by Daniel Schmitt, a former Wikileaks staff member
Has faced operation difficulties due to some companies withdrawing support Has not yet launched and is still being developed
More centralized and organized More transparent and democratic

Both websites aim to provide a platform for whistleblowers to leak sensitive information, but Openleaks plans to work slightly differently by acting as a middleman between anonymous sources and news organizations, rather than hosting the leaked documents directly.