Editing Hacktivism (section)

=== WikiLeaks ===
{{Main|WikiLeaks}}
[[File:CollateralMurder.ogv|thumb|The video released by WikiLeaks, showing the slaying of [[Reuters]] employee [[Namir Noor-Eldeen]] and a dozen other civilians by a U.S. helicopter. ]]
<!--This section is based on the lead of the main article per WP:SUMMARY-->WikiLeaks is a [[Media (communication)|media]] organisation and [[publisher]] founded in 2006. It operates as a non-profit and is funded by donations{{refn|<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cardoso |first1=Gustavo |last2=Jacobetty |author-link1=Gustavo Cardoso|first2=Pedro |title=Aftermath: The Cultures of the Economic Crisis|chapter=Surfing the Crisis: Cultures of Belonging and Networked Social Change|date=2012 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |editor-last1=Castells|editor-first1=Manuel|editor-link1=Manuel Castells|editor-last2=Caraça|editor-first2=João|editor-last3=Cardoso|editor-first3=Gustavo|editor-link3=Gustavo Cardoso|location=Oxford |isbn=9780199658411|pages=177–209|quote=WikiLeaks is also based on an openness culture, as it is a crowd-sourced, crowd-funded non-profit organization operating internationally.|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/aftermath-9780199658411}}</ref><ref name=PoSk19>{{cite book |last1=Pogrebna |first1=Ganna|author-link1=Ganna Pogrebna|last2=Skilton |first2=Mark |title=Navigating New Cyber Risks: How Businesses Can Plan, Build and Manage Safe Spaces in the Digital Age |date=2019 |publisher=[[Palgrave MacMillan]] |location=Cham, Switzerland |isbn=9783030135270 |page=2 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-13527-0 |s2cid=197966404 |quote=WikiLeaks is an international non profit organization that receives and subsequently shares on its website confidential documents from large organizations or governments.|url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-13527-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Braccini |first1=Alessio Maria |last2=Federici |first2=Tommaso|editor-last1=Baskerville|editor-first1=Richard|editor-last2=De Marco|editor-first2=Marco|editor-last3=Spagnoletti|editor-first3=Paolo|chapter=New Internet-Based Relationships Between Citizens |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-642-33371-2|title=Designing Organizational Systems: An Interdisciplinary Discourse |date=2013|quote=Julian Assange had introduced a new term into the lexicon of several generations. This term was 'WikiLeaks' and described an international non-profit organisation, committed to publishing secret information, news leaks, and classified media provided by anonymous sources.|publisher=[[Springer Nature]] |location=Berlin |isbn=978-3-642-33370-5 |pages=157–179|doi=10.1007/978-3-642-33371-2 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hindman |first1=Elizabeth Blanks |last2=Thomas |first2=Ryan J |title=When Old and New Media Collide: The Case of WikiLeaks|quote=WikiLeaks was founded in 2006 as an international non-profit organization specializing in the publication of 'classified, censored or otherwise restricted material of political, diplomatic or ethical significance' obtained via anonymous sources|journal=[[New Media & Society]]|publisher=[[SAGE Publishing]]|date=June 2014 |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=541–558 |doi=10.1177/1461444813489504|s2cid=30711318 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dodds |first1=Klaus J.|author-link=Klaus Dodds |title=The WikiLeaks Arctic Cables|quote=With a keen sense of timing, given the Greenlandic and Danish governments' hosting of the 7th Arctic Council ministerial meeting, seven 'sensitive' US diplomatic cables were leaked by WikiLeaks, an international non-profit organisation that publishes materials from anonymous sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers|journal=[[Polar Record]]|location=Cambridge|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|date=2012 |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=199–201 |doi=10.1017/S003224741100043X|bibcode=2012PoRec..48..199D |s2cid=129682201 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Benkler |first=Yochai|author-link=Yochai Benkler|title=A Free Irresponsible Press: Wikileaks and the Battle over the Soul of the Networked Fourth Estate |journal=[[Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review]] |date=2011 |volume=46 |issue=2|location=Cambridge|publisher=[[Harvard Law School]]|pages=311–397|via=[[Harvard Library]]|url=https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/10900863|quote=Wikileaks is a nonprofit that depends on donations from around the world to fund its operation. A second system that came under attack on a model parallel to the attack on technical infrastructure was the payment system... Like the Sunlight Foundation and similar transparency-focused organizations, Wikileaks is a nonprofit focused on bringing to light direct, documentary evidence about government behavior so that many others, professional and otherwise, can analyze the evidence and search for instances that justify public criticism. }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Fuchs |first1=Christian |title=Social Media: A Critical Introduction |date=2014 |publisher=[[SAGE Publishing]] |location=London/Thousand Oaks |chapter=WikiLeaks: Can We Make Power Transparent?|quote=WikiLeaks (www.wikileaks.org) is a non-commercial and non-profit Internet whistleblowing platform that has been online since 2006. Julian Assange founded it. It is funded by online donations.|isbn=978-1-4462-5730-2 |pages=210–233 |url=https://sk.sagepub.com/books/social-media-a-critical-introduction}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Beckett |first1=Charlie |title=Wikileaks: News in the Networked Era |date=2012 |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-745-65975-6 |page=26 |url=https://www.wiley.com/en-ie/WikiLeaks:+News+in+the+Networked+Era-p-9780745659756|quote=WikiLeaks is independent of commercial, corporate, government or lobbygroup control or ownership. It is a non-membership, non-profit organisation funded by donations}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Flesher Fominaya |first1=Cristina |title=Social Movements in a Globalized World|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|date=2020|page=177|location=London |isbn=9781352009347 |edition=Second |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/social-movements-in-a-globalized-world-9781352009347/|quote=As a non-profit organization, Wikileaks is funded by crowdfunding donations, which were subsequently blocked by PayPal, Mastercard, a Swiss Bank and Bank of America in protest over their political activity, a troubling example of 'the ability of private infrastructure companies to restrict speech without being bound by the contraints of legality, and the possibility that government actors will take advantage of this affordance in an extra-legal public-private partnership for censorship'.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Daly |first1=Angela |title=The Privatization of the Internet, WikiLeaks and Free Expression |journal=[[International Journal of Communication]] |date=2014 |volume=8 |pages=2693–2703|ssrn=2496707|location=Los Angeles|publisher=[[USC Annenberg Press]]|url=https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/35102|via=[[European University Institute]]|quote=In late 2010, the online nonprofit media organization WikiLeaks published classified documents detailing correspondence between the U.S. State Department and its diplomatic missions around the world, numbering around 250,000 cables.}}</ref>|name=intNP}} and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous [[Source (journalism)|sources]].<ref name=":10">{{cite news |title=WikiLeaks |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/w/wikileaks/ |access-date=17 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130094619/http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/w/wikileaks/index.html |archive-date=30 January 2016}}</ref> It was founded by [[Julian Assange]], an [[Australians|Australian]] [[editor]], publisher, and [[activist]], who is currently [[Indictment and arrest of Julian Assange|challenging extradition to the United States]] over his work with WikiLeaks.<ref name="McGreal">{{cite news |last=McGreal |first=Chris |date=5 April 2010 |title=Wikileaks reveals video showing US air crew shooting down Iraqi civilians |work=[[The Guardian]] |place=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/05/wikileaks-us-army-iraq-attack |url-status=live |access-date=15 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110626230310/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/05/wikileaks-us-army-iraq-attack |archive-date=26 June 2011}}</ref> Since September 2018, [[Kristinn Hrafnsson]] has served as its [[editor-in-chief]].<ref name=":11">{{cite news |title=WikiLeaks names one-time spokesman as editor-in-chief |language=en-US |work=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.apnews.com/df4b97d353c34ce4baa02f671dd6321b |access-date=26 September 2018}}</ref><ref name="Bridge">{{cite news |last=Bridge |first=Mark |date=27 September 2018 |title=Loss of internet forces Assange to step down from Wikileaks editor role |work=[[The Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/loss-of-internet-forces-assange-to-step-down-from-wikileaks-editor-role-q8ndg5jkc |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 April 2019}}</ref> Its website states that it has released more than ten million documents and associated analyses.<ref name=":22">{{cite web |title=What is Wikileaks |url=https://wikileaks.org/What-is-WikiLeaks.html |access-date=14 April 2020 |website=WikiLeaks}}</ref> WikiLeaks' most recent publication was in 2021, and its most recent publication of original documents was in 2019.<ref name="Gizmodo-2022b2">{{Cite web |date=22 November 2022 |title=WikiLeaks' Website Is Falling Apart |url=https://gizmodo.com/wikileaks-julian-assange-1849813101 |access-date=24 December 2022 |website=Gizmodo |language=en}}</ref> Beginning in November 2022, many of the documents on the organisation's website could not be accessed.<ref name="Gizmodo-2022b2" /><ref name=":122">{{Cite web |last=Thalen |first=Mikael |date=22 November 2022 |title=Millions of documents disappear from WikiLeaks as site completely breaks down |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/wikileaks-website-assange-hacked-documents/ |access-date=24 December 2022 |website=[[The Daily Dot]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Burgess |first=Matt |title=Apple Tracks You More Than You Think |url=https://www.wired.com/story/apple-iphone-privacy-analytics-security-roundup/ |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028 |access-date=24 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="HDblog.it">{{Cite web |author=<!--staff writer--> |date=22 November 2022 |title=WikiLeaks è in grave difficoltà: sito a malapena online, leak ormai assenti |url=https://www.hdblog.it/internet/articoli/n563620/wikileaks-problemi-funzionamento-sito-offline/ |access-date=24 December 2022 |website=HDblog.it |language=it-it}}</ref>

WikiLeaks has released [[List of material published by WikiLeaks|document caches]] and media that exposed serious violations of [[human rights]] and [[civil liberties]] by various governments. It released footage, which it titled ''Collateral Murder'', of the [[July 12, 2007, Baghdad airstrike|12{{nbsp}}July 2007 Baghdad airstrike]], in which Iraqi [[Reuters]] journalists and several civilians were killed by a U.S. helicopter crew.<ref name="RSF-Julliard-2010a">{{Cite web |title=Reporters Sans Frontières - Open letter to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange: ''A bad precedent for the Internet's future'' |url=http://en.rsf.org/united-states-open-letter-to-wikileaks-founder-12-08-2010,38130.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100815072941/http://en.rsf.org/united-states-open-letter-to-wikileaks-founder-12-08-2010,38130.html |archive-date=15 August 2010 |access-date=1 May 2022}}</ref> WikiLeaks has also published leaks such as [[United States diplomatic cables leak|diplomatic cables from the United States]] and [[Saudi Arabia]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Hubbard |first=Ben |date=20 June 2015 |title=Cables Released by WikiLeaks Reveal Saudis' Checkbook Diplomacy |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/world/middleeast/cables-released-by-wikileaks-reveal-saudis-checkbook-diplomacy.html |access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Zorthian |first=Julia |date=19 June 2015 |title=WikiLeaks Begins Releasing Leaked Saudi Arabia Cables |url=https://time.com/3928584/wikileaks-saudi-arabia-cables/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref> [[Syria Files|emails from the governments of Syria]]<ref>{{cite news |date=5 July 2012 |title=Syria files: Wikileaks releases 2m 'embarrassing' emails |publisher=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18724328 |access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Greenberg |first=Andy |date=5 July 2012 |title=WikiLeaks Announces Massive Release With The 'Syria Files': 2.4 Million Emails From Syrian Officials And Companies |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/07/05/wikileaks-announces-its-largest-release-yet-in-the-syria-files-2-4-million-emails-from-syrian-officials-and-companies/#752b7eae5081 |magazine=[[Forbes]] |access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref> and [[Turkey]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Yeung |first=Peter |date=20 July 2016 |title=President Erdogan emails: What is in the Wikileaks release about Turkey's government? |work=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/wikileaks-turkey-erdogan-emails-government-coup-a7145891.html |access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Doctorow |first=Cory |date=29 July 2016 |title=Wikileaks' dump of "Erdogan emails" turn out to be public mailing list archives |publisher=BoingBoing |url=https://boingboing.net/2016/07/29/wikileaks-dump-of-erdogan.html |access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref><ref name="fp071216">{{cite magazine |last=Gramer |first=Robbie |date=7 December 2016 |title=Latest Wikileaks Dump Sheds New Light on Erdogan's Power In Turkey |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/12/07/latest-wikileaks-dump-sheds-light-erdogan-turkey-berat-albayrak-redhack-hackers-oil/ |magazine=Foreign Policy |access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref> corruption in [[Kenya]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Dahir |first=Abdi Latif |date=13 April 2019 |title=It all started in Nairobi: How Kenya gave Julian Assange's WikiLeaks its first major global scoop |url=https://qz.com/africa/1594656/the-kenyan-roots-of-julian-assanges-wikileaks/ |access-date=20 April 2019 |publisher=Quartz Africa}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Rice |first=Xan |date=31 August 2007 |title=The looting of Kenya |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/aug/31/kenya.topstories3 |access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref> and at [[Samherji]].<ref>{{Cite web |author=<!--staff writer--> |date=7 March 2022 |title=The Fishrot scandal |url=https://pplaaf.org/cases/fishrot.html |access-date=13 March 2022 |website=pplaaf.org |language=en}}</ref> WikiLeaks has also published documents exposing [[Vault 7|cyber warfare and surveillance tools]] created by the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Menn |first=Joseph |date=29 March 2017 |title=A scramble at Cisco exposes uncomfortable truths about U.S. cyber defense |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-defense-idUSKBN17013U |access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shane |first1=Scott |last2=Rosenberg |first2=Matthew |last3=Lehren |first3=Andrew W. |date=7 March 2017 |title=WikiLeaks Releases Trove of Alleged C.I.A. Hacking Documents |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/world/europe/wikileaks-cia-hacking.html |access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref> and surveillance of the French president by the [[National Security Agency]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Regan |first1=James |last2=John |first2=Mark |date=23 June 2015 |title=NSA spied on French presidents: WikiLeaks |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-wikileaks/nsa-spied-on-french-presidents-wikileaks-idUSKBN0P32EM20150623 |access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rubin |first1=Alyssa J. |last2=Shane |first2=Scott |date=24 June 2015 |title=Hollande Condemns Spying by U.S., but Not Too Harshly |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/world/europe/wikileaks-us-spying-france.html |access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref> During the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 U.S. presidential election campaign]], WikiLeaks [[2016 Democratic National Committee email leak|released emails]] from the [[Democratic National Committee]] (DNC) and from [[Podesta emails|Hillary Clinton's campaign manager]], showing that the party's national committee had effectively acted as an arm of the Clinton campaign during the [[United States presidential primary|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 [[Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign|Clinton campaign]].<ref name="Baum-Gussin-2016">{{cite news |title=Why it's entirely predictable that Hillary Clinton's emails are back in the news |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/11/01/why-its-entirely-predictable-that-hillary-clintons-emails-are-back-in-the-news/ |access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref> During the campaign, WikiLeaks promoted false conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton, the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] and the [[murder of Seth Rich]].<ref name="Ohlheiser-2016">{{Cite news |last=Ohlheiser |first=Abby |date=4 November 2016 |title=No, John Podesta didn't drink bodily fluids at a secret Satanist dinner |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/04/no-john-podesta-didnt-drink-bodily-fluids-at-a-secret-satanist-dinner/ |access-date=8 November 2016 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name="Seitz-Wald-2016">{{Cite news |title=WikiLeaks Fuels Conspiracy Theories About DNC Staffer's Death |publisher=[[NBC News]] |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/wikileaks-fuels-conspiracy-theories-about-dnc-staffer-s-death-n627401 |access-date=8 November 2016 |quote=WikiLeaks ... is fueling Internet conspiracy theories by offering a $20,000 reward for information on a Democratic National Committee staffer who was killed last month ... in what police say was robbery gone wrong ... Assange implied this week in an interview that Rich was the source of the leak and even offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of his murderer. Meanwhile, the Russian government funded propaganda outlet RT had already been covering Rich's murder two weeks prior. RT and other Russian government propaganda outlets have also been working hard to deny the Russian government was the source of the leak, including by interviewing Assange about the Rich murder. ... The original conspiracy theory can be traced back to a notoriously unreliable conspiracy website}}</ref><ref name="bloomberg">{{cite web |last1=Chafkin |first1=Max |last2=Silver |first2=Vernon |date=10 October 2016 |title=How Julian Assange turned WikiLeaks into Trump's best friend |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-11/how-julian-assange-turned-wikileaks-into-trump-s-best-friend |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109132018/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-11/how-julian-assange-turned-wikileaks-into-trump-s-best-friend |archive-date=9 November 2016 |access-date=17 April 2022 |website=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]]}}</ref>

WikiLeaks has won a number of awards and has 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 organisation's publications have a perfect record of publishing authentic documents. The organisation has been the target of campaigns to discredit it, including aborted ones by [[Palantir Technologies|Palantir]] and [[HBGary]]. WikiLeaks has also had its donation systems disrupted by problems with its [[payment processor]]s. As a result, the [[Wau Holland Foundation]] helps process WikiLeaks' donations.

The organisation has been criticised for inadequately curating some of its content and violating the personal privacy of individuals. WikiLeaks has, for instance, revealed [[Social Security number]]s, [[Medical record|medical information]], [[credit card numbers]] and details of [[suicide attempt]]s.<ref name="Brustein-2016">{{Cite news |last=Brustein |first=Joshua |date=29 July 2016 |title=Why Wikileaks Is Losing Its Friends |publisher=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-29/why-wikileaks-is-losing-its-friends}}</ref><ref name="Satter-2016">{{Cite news |last1=Satter |first1=Raphael |last2=Michael |first2=Maggie |date=23 August 2016 |title=Private lives are exposed as WikiLeaks spills its secrets |language=en-US |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b70da83fd111496dbdf015acbb7987fb/private-lives-are-exposed-wikileaks-spills-its-secrets |url-status=dead |access-date=6 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107170443/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b70da83fd111496dbdf015acbb7987fb/private-lives-are-exposed-wikileaks-spills-its-secrets |archive-date=7 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="Peterson-2016">{{Cite news |last=Peterson |first=Andrea |title=Snowden and WikiLeaks clash over leaked Democratic Party emails |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/07/28/a-twitter-spat-breaks-out-between-snowden-and-wikileaks/ |access-date=28 July 2016}}</ref> News organisations, activists, journalists and former members have also criticised the organisation 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 criticised the organisation for promotion of false flag conspiracy theories, and what they describe as exaggerated and misleading descriptions of the contents of leaks. The [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] defined the organisation as a "[[Non-state actor|non-state]] hostile [[Intelligence agency|intelligence service]]" after the release of [[Vault 7]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 October 2021 |title=U.S. prosecution of alleged WikiLeaks 'Vault 7' source hits multiple roadblocks |url=https://news.yahoo.com/us-prosecution-of-alleged-wiki-leaks-vault-7-source-hits-multiple-roadblocks-235450811.html |access-date=16 October 2022 |website=news.yahoo.com |language=en-US}}</ref>