Dubbed as “Openleaks” and run by Assange’s former number two at WikiLeaks Daniel Domscheit-Berg, the site has no content on it at the moment apart from a logo and the message “Coming soon!”. Wikileaks has published a series of secret documents including cables between US and foreign ministries. Its frontman, Julian Assange, has grabbed headlines around the world.
Speaking in a TV documentary, Domscheit-Berg revealed that OpenLeaks is expected to launch today (Monday, December 13) and aims to help people channel potentially sensitive insider information from beneath the veil of anonymity. According to an unnamed backer offering support to OpenLeaks, the new site will serve as an info intermediary that provides “a strong, transparent platform to support whistleblowers—both in terms of technology and politics—while at the same time encouraging others to start similar projects.”
Unlike WikiLeaks, however, it won’t dump all that information directly onto the public Web; instead, it will let contributors designate any media or non-governmental organizations they select to check the facts, redact sensitive information, and publish it themselves. The creation of OpenLeaks may be just another distraction. Former Wikileaker Daniel Domscheit-Berg talks of Assange’s dictatorial methods. But some Assange supporters welcome the appearance of another whistleblower.
Assange, a 39-year-old Australian who founded WikiLeaks in 2006, is in police custody in Britain after a European arrest warrant was issued by Sweden, which wants to question him about allegations of sexual crimes. He denies the allegations.
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