IrishLeaks.ie launches May 1st 2011

[PaddyJoe]

I don't know anything about this apart from the piece below. Anybody with more details or comments?

IrishLeaks.ie, an Irish leaking platform modelled on WikiLeaks will launch on May 1st, with plans to enable whistleblowers to safely expose abuses of power. Dara McHugh spoke with IrishLeaks, to discuss their plans for the website.

IrishLeaks is one more, at least. The founders have accepted Domscheit-Berg's diagnosis with regards to internal organisation, but unlike his OpenLeaks project (http://openleaks.org/), they are not willing to merely provide a technical solution for organisations looking to receive leaks. Instead, they will receive, collate and release the information. The latter will be done via the website itself, with the readership expected to take it further and challenge the abuses of power exposed, instead of relying on the stoking of public outrage through big media partnerships. In keeping with this, they will aim to release all data simultaneously, rather than the drip-feeding approach taken by WikiLeaks in their release of diplomatic cables.
Internally, the Irish platform hopes to build on a member's experience with CrowdLeaks.org, the Project Anonymous-initiated website that finds, aggregates and disseminates data from WikiLeaks (and related) releases. With all those involved in the project voting on decisions and internal positions given to those who do the work, rather than those appointed, this is an attempt to trial a more democratic organisation.

http://politico.ie/crisisjam/7448-l33t-leakers-wikileaks-gets-rebooted-in-ireland

[Ah Well]

Exemplary Modding would be the order of the day re this venture one would think ...

[PaddyJoe]

Hmm, my highly paid boss, his secretary and their daschund are up to unspeakable stuff behind the bike shed on taxpayer's money. Just who am I whistle blowing to?

[Dr. FIVE]

Make or break on what people submit obviously. All they need is one big one but we don't really do leaks in this country do we?

Look a the bits thestory/gavinsblog has dug up (legally) over the years and there has been very little ripple. Something crops up, I couldn't see it going too far beyond here, the other place and twitter unfortunately. Only a handful of things from the internet have ever ended up on sixone.

Sorry if thats sounds pessimistic and Id like nothing more then to see a few things out in the open but ye know how it is yourselves.

There is some shredder magnet out there making a killing since 08.

[Frankie Lee]

Make or break on what people submit obviously. All they need is one big one but we don't really do leaks in this country do we?

Look a the bits thestory/gavinsblog has dug up (legally) over the years and there has been very little ripple. Something crops up, I couldn't see it going too far beyond here, the other place and twitter unfortunately. Only a handful of things from the internet have ever ended up on sixone.

Sorry if thats sounds pessimistic and Id like nothing more then to see a few things out in the open but ye know how it is yourselves.

There is some shredder magnet out there making a killing since 08.

Agreed, even if any information is released it will only reach at most 5% of the population on forums like these, the rest will only learn about it if it is reported in the papers and remember it if it is on RTE.

[Dr. FIVE]

Still, they might as well have a go. We need more of this no matter what form it takes.
As I said they will need a big one but thats all it takes.


My pessimistic alarm rings again as I type though. I could see some gombeen getting himself in trouble. Nothing like a bit of unethical behaviour on record to make sure you top the poll....

[PaddyJoe]

Make or break on what people submit obviously. All they need is one big one but we don't really do leaks in this country do we?

Look a the bits thestory/gavinsblog has dug up (legally) over the years and there has been very little ripple. Something crops up, I couldn't see it going too far beyond here, the other place and twitter unfortunately. Only a handful of things from the internet have ever ended up on sixone.

Sorry if thats sounds pessimistic and Id like nothing more then to see a few things out in the open but ye know how it is yourselves.

There is some shredder magnet out there making a killing since 08.
Very true what you say but at least sites like gavinsblog have built up credibility. I'm more concerned about a site that announces itself as a place to send confidential information without any kind of background information about the sites's founders or aims.

[Dr. FIVE]

Very true what you say but at least sites like gavinsblog have built up credibility. I'm more concerned about a site that announces itself as a place to send confidential information without any kind of background information about the sites's founders or aims.

Good point, considering when this was announced elsewhere everyone's favourite Cookiemonster did a quick whois and had yer man's details up on the thread by the sixth post or whatever.
What ever about protecting their own anonymity if thats what they wanted to do, having an .ie domain will bring all sorts of grief that could easily have been avoided. And might understandably flag a lack of understanding.


Best of luck to them or anyone else anyway.

[C. Flower]

Good point, considering when this was announced elsewhere everyone's favourite Cookiemonster did a quick whois and had yer man's details up on the thread by the sixth post or whatever.
What ever about protecting their own anonymity if thats what they wanted to do, having an .ie domain will bring all sorts of grief that could easily have been avoided. And might understandably flag a lack of understanding.


Best of luck to them or anyone else anyway.

I felt the same about wikileaks, but overall, it has succeeded in raising awareness of Realpolitik and how dirty and dominated by national self interest it is.

But in Ireland, if I was going to blow the whistle I would go to TDs, who have a certain amount of immunity and can raise matters in the Daíl, to the mainstream press, if a friendly journalist could be found, and back it up with judicious use of forums and comment sites.

The Unicredit Whistleblower has used all these means and is still finding it heavy going to get a hearing.

The Wikileaks "brand" has proved a useful attention getter.

Whether the same could be said of Irishleaks remains to be seen.

[antiestablishmentarian]

I felt the same about wikileaks, but overall, it has succeeded in raising awareness of Realpolitik and how dirty and dominated by national self interest it is.

But in Ireland, if I was going to blow the whistle I would go to TDs, who have a certain amount of immunity and can raise matters in the Daíl, to the mainstream press, if a friendly journalist could be found, and back it up with judicious use of forums and comment sites.

The Unicredit Whistleblower has used all these means and is still finding it heavy going to get a hearing.

The Wikileaks "brand" has proved a useful attention getter.

Whether the same could be said of Irishleaks remains to be seen.

Sorry to go off topic, but has the Unicredit whistleblower taken this to any of the ULA or SF TDs or other members of the Technical Group? They might be more inclined to fight his corner than any government backbencher or of course FF. If Joe Higgins or Shane Ross got wind of it they could turn Unicredit into a national issue as they're both good media operators and very savvy. As for Irishleaks, the guy behind it was posting over on P.ie and he didn't seem to have much idea of the legal implications of what he was doing. If anything really good was released they'd be shut down and brought to book quicker than you can say 'get credit flowing again'.

[solluce]

One reason I would be more likely to go to something like Irishleaks rather than a newspaper etc is the online submission process, it's a lot safer to send things through that then meeting up with a TD or journo.

Secondly I would be more inclined to go with someone who was going to release the entire leak rather than sumarising the whole thing in an article and leaving everyone in doubt as to whether or not the document exists or whether some spin was put on it.

However at the same time if I wasn't afraid of someone finding out who I am as a whistleblower then I would likely do the same as you suggested which is go to a TD or a journo, perhaps go to them all.

Maybe Irishleaks should be more like a mail system for journos and TDs so that anyone can send docs through them to the TDs and Journos rather than a publishing system?

[C. Flower]

One reason I would be more likely to go to something like Irishleaks rather than a newspaper etc is the online submission process, it's a lot safer to send things through that then meeting up with a TD or journo.

Secondly I would be more inclined to go with someone who was going to release the entire leak rather than sumarising the whole thing in an article and leaving everyone in doubt as to whether or not the document exists or whether some spin was put on it.

However at the same time if I wasn't afraid of someone finding out who I am as a whistleblower then I would likely do the same as you suggested which is go to a TD or a journo, perhaps go to them all.

Maybe Irishleaks should be more like a mail system for journos and TDs so that anyone can send docs through them to the TDs and Journos rather than a publishing system?

Whistleblowers have problems getting access to mainstream media because of fear of their powerful bosses suing the publisher. Or maybe they are trying to blow the whistle in relation to someone who owns mainstream media :D

Few people want to take these causes on, because they bring trouble with them. It needs people to be dedicated to the cause of transparency, or sympathetic to the aims of the whistleblower. Or, occasionally, a good journalist who wants a scoop.

How would this "mail system" work ?

Welcome to the forum, by the way.

[Baron von Biffo]

Or maybe they are trying to blow the whistle in relation to someone who owns mainstream media :D

Now there's a good observation. You give a story of murky doings to a journo and it turns out that one of the miscreants is a major shareholder in that journo's organisation. Story spiked or maybe the wrongdoer is tipped off.

It might not even need that level of connection - the threat of pulled advertising could be enough. Try to recall how many journalists were telling us about crooked developers and lawyers during the boom. Was it laziness or incompetence that caused the silence or was it the marketing departments clamping down on anything that would kill lucrative property supplements?