VYTAUTAS MAGNUS UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND DIPLOMACY PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT Maja Mišović CONCEPTUAL ASPECTS AND PRACTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WHISTLEBLOWING: CASE STUDY OF WIKILEAKS Final Master Thesis Journalism and Media Industries Study Program, state code 621P50002 Degree in Journalism Supervisor Prof. Dr. Auksė Balčytienė (acad. title, name, surname) (Signature) (Date) Defended (Dean of the Faculty) (Signature) (Date) Kaunas, 2017
VYTAUTO DIDŽIOJO UNIVERSITETAS POLITIKOS MOKSLŲ IR DIPLOMATIJOS FAKULTETAS VIEŠOSIOS KOMUNIKACIJOS KATEDRA Maja Mišović KONCEPCINIAI PRANEŠIMŲ (WHISTLEBLOWING) ASPEKTAI IR PRAKTINĖS CHARAKTERISTIKOS: WIKILEAKS ATVEJIS Magistro baigiamasis darbas Žurnalistikos ir medijų industrijų studijų programa, valstybinis kodas 621P50002 Žurnalistikos studijų kryptis Vadovas (-ė) Prof. Dr. Auksė Balčytienė (Moksl. laipsnis, vardas, pavardė) (Parašas) (Data) Apginta (Fakulteto/studijų instituto dekanas/direktorius) (Parašas) (Data) Kaunas, 2017 1
Contents 1. Introduction... 5 2. Whistleblowing Through Academic Filters... 10 2.1. What does it mean to blow a whistle?... 10 2.2. Wikileaks X-ray... 11 2.3. Shades of whistleblowing... 12 2.4. (Non-)journalistic sides of whistleblowing... 13 2.5. Forces which drive whistleblowing... 16 2.6. Impact of whistleblowing on traditional journalism... 19 2.7. Has Wikileaks managed to change the world?... 21 2.8. What goes around, comes around... 22 2.9. Has Wikileaks any guardians?... 24 3.Wikileaks Below Magnifier... 27 3.1. It was a journey from the local to the global and back again... 27 3.2. My ordinary life would never be the same again... 29 3.3. We don t splash stories, we convey information... 29 3.4. Wikileaks in journalism and around it... 31 3.5. The data is essentially unreachable, unless the person to whom the data refers wishes to make an effort to reveal it... 32 3.6. My first word was Why? It was also my favourite... 33 3.7. From having fun to ending up wanting to change the world... 35 3.8. I was under the greatest pressure of my life. I was being surveilled... 36 3.9. The Internet is the biggest surveillance tool in the world... 38 3.10. Potentials of Wikileaks and its influences on transparency... 39 4. New Perceptions On The Issue Of Wikileaks... 42 4.1.Whistleblowing viruses... 44 4.2.Shooting the messenger... 45 4.3. Journalistic-feature enigma... 46 4.4. Wikileaks resource of consumption... 47 4.5. Fight for the right... 48 5. Conclusion... 50 Literature... 52 Academic articles... 52 Laws... 53 Academic Journals... 53 Online articles and other sources... 54 Newspapers... 55 Television... 55 2
Conceptual aspects and practical characteristics of whistleblowing: Case study of Wikileaks Summary Nowadays a global statement, that the humanity have not lived in more democratic period with the lowest rate of censorship than ever before, is spread world wide. That ubiquitous point of view is supported by the Internet and online media where the audience could be informed about everything, almost everywhere and immediately. However, thanks to whistleblowing and vast information disclosures, it is obvious that there are huge datasets that governments keep away from the public. The problem emerges to be even bigger because those materials are the part of the public interest. So, to comprehend this issue and to explain it, this paper is going to be analysis of the clash among journalistic disclosures and ethical dilemmas. The reason is that all materials are revealed thanks to hacking govermental sources or by anonymous or some illegal ways of information leaking. On the other hand, it is the right of society to be informed about war, corruption, surveillance and other hidden issues. Furthermore, this thesis is going to be devoted to the reactions of the United States of America and the United Kingdom goverments and how do they act in terms of cutting down the leaks or how to stop it completely. The whole procedure of analysing is going to be spread through the example of one of the biggest and the most important whistleblowing organizations, which is named Wikileaks. During the development and uncovering of the study case, there are going to be answered even question how does it affect the journalistic profession and which are options that could afford the clearer image of the reality to the society. Regarding goals of this master's thesis it is recapitulated what is whistleblowing and why it is beneficial for the public interest and how it supports human and media rights. Further, it is realized how whistleblowing affects journalism and which are ways to draw attention of journalists to do their job more professionally and independently. Finally, it led till solutions how to fight against govermental opressions and surveillance through the example of Wikileaks. Keywords: whistleblowing, leaking, Wikileaks, disclosure, ethics, surveillance, Assange 3
Koncepciniai pranešimų (whistleblowing) aspektai ir praktinės charakteristikos: Wikileaks atvejis Santrauka Šiandien plačiai paplitęs teiginys, kad žmonija dar niekada negyveno labiau demokratiškais laikais, kai cenzūra juntama mažiausiai. Šį dažnai daug kur matomą požiūrį pagrindžia internetas ir internetinė žiniasklaida, kur auditorija akimirksniu gali būti informuota apie bet ką ir bet kur. Vis dėlto, dėka pranešėjų (angl. whistleblowers) ir didelių informacijos atskleidimo atvejų, akivaizdu, kad yra didelis kiekis informacijos, kurią skirtinga valdžia slepia nuo visuomenės. Šią problemą dar didesne daro tai, kad slepiama informacija yra viešų interesų dalis. Tam, kad būtų galima suvokti esamą problemą ir ją paaiškinti, šiame darbe bus analizuojama priešprieša tarp žurnalistinio informacijos atskleidimo ir ir etinių dilemų. Didžioji dalis slaptos informacijos dažniausiai atskleidžiama anonimiškai ir nelegaliai, prieš valdžios valią. Kita vertus, visuomenė turi teisę būti informuota apie galimus karo, korupcijos, sekimo ir ir kitus jai aktualius atvejus. Šiame darbe tirta JAV ir Jungtinės Karalystės valdžios reakcija į slaptos informacijos nutekinimo atvejus ir atsakomieji veiksmai, kurių imamasi norint užkirsti tam kelią. Pagrindinė tyrimo analizė paremta WikiLeaks, kuri yra viena didžiausių pranešimus skleidžiančių organizacijų pasaulyje, pavyzdžiais. Atliekant tyrimą atsakyti klausimai, kokią įtaką tokie informacijos nutekinimo atvejai turi žurnalisto profesijai ir kokie yra būdai, galintys padėti visuomenei atskleisti informaciją, atspindinčią realybę. Taip pat tyrimo pabaigoje reziumuota pranešimų koncepcija, kuo tai yra naudinga viešajam interesui ir kaip tai veikia žmogaus ir žiniasklaidos teises. Be to, nustatyta, kaip pranešimai veikia žurnalistiką, kokie yra būdai, siekiant patraukti žurnalistų dėmesį, kad jų darbas būtų profesionalesnis ir labiau nepriklausomas. Galiausiai WikiLeaks atvejis parodė būdus, kaip kovoti prieš valdžios priespaudą ir sekimą. 4
1. INTRODUCTION According to my current university education, the investigative journalism has been named as a queen of journalism. The Watergate affair has been presented as the glorious example of journalistic investigations. This scandal, which is from 1972, when there were published sound recorded threats of the American President Richard Nixon towards the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation). However, I realized that nowadays there are some information disclosures which have immense datasets which cover public interest and which are much bigger than the Watergate. At the same time that documents have been released by individuals or particular organizations and not by governments. One of those examples is the media organization Wikileaks, which analyzes and publishes large datasets of censored or otherwise restricted official materials involving war, spying and corruption. So far it has published more than ten million documents and associated analyses, as it is stated at its official website. The outset was in 2006 and since then it has been continuously published. After six years, Edward Snowden, who is former Intelligence Community officer and whistleblower, hacked and revealed the documents and provided a vital public window into the National Security Agency (NSA) and its international intelligence partners secret mass surveillance programs and capabilities. The both instances have in common the illegal manner to disclose information which has public interest. At the same time the way how they found the information produces ethical clash. However, it uncovers the fact that despite freedom of speech and free press, there are still some hidden and not transparent information even though now we should live in the period when the level of censorship is the lowest, which is supported by documents as Freedom of Information (FIO) laws are. Currently, FOI laws are being adopted at an unprecedented pace. Nearly ninety countries have enacted these mechanisms, and of those countries approximately seventy have done so since 1990 states Greg Michener, who is a political scientist, in his article FOI Laws Around the World. (Michener, p. 145) Further, Brian McNair, a professor of journalism at the Queensland University of Technology approves contemporary situation about diminished censorship saying: Since the arrival of CNN in the 1980s, and intensifying with the rise of the internet in the 1990s and into the 2000s, we have seen the emergence of a globalized news culture that is always on, constantly updated and refreshed, its content communicated around the world in circumstances where official censorship becomes more and more difficult to implement. This has made 5
government and the exercise of political power and authority more problematic than at any time in recent history. (McNair, 2012, p. 78) So this is the relevance of the topic pointing out that the society should not be naive and believe in it that all of information are served for them by regular media sources as newspapers, radio, television stations and Internet portals are. Besides, laws and acts which should protect humanity, we are still facing with irregularities as hidden information is. That is the reason why it is significant to suspect and to investigate the media, because it could open more Pandora s boxes and some more prohibited and unallowed acts. Because of it there could be proposed an assumption that surveillance was present. According to this, this paper has two goals: 1)The first one is to define the term whistleblowing, to find its conceptual aspects and to outline practical characteristics. Relying on these basis, it is going to be analyzed more deeply the significance of the whistleblowing organization Wikileaks, whose founder is Julian Assange and reactions of governments of the United States of America and the United Kingdom, which find it problematic and which oppose it and criticize it. According to it, the final part of this purpose is to distinguish what is ethical and what is just mere disguised morality. For instance the American government described Wikileaks in an offensive manner in the following lines: In the wake of the first release of Afghanistan war documents, the Department of Justice considered filing criminal indictments against the Wikileaks principals for, among other charges, encouraging their sources to steal government property and classified information. Establishing that those who attempt to disclose stolen classified documents will face criminal punishment could not only shut down Wikileaks but also deter others efforts to open new, similar sites. (Fenster, 2012, p. 765) On the other hand, in the report of Draft Investigatory Powers Bill from the United Kingdom, it is described how is possible to be regulated on the law basis in terms of the legal surveillance: It is unarguable that citizens private lives and inner thoughts are now captured in communications technology to a far greater extent than previously. Intrusion by the state into this private sphere must only be done reluctantly and on grounds of necessity. At the same time, the movement of activity online includes criminal and terrorist activity, increasingly taking advantage of freely available technology which is by default encrypted. This second consequence has created new challenges for law enforcement and the security and intelligence agencies. (House of Lords, House of Commons, Joint Committee on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill, 2016, p. 5) 6
2) The other goal of this paper is to clear up the ethical dilemma and to find solutions how to enhance and upgrade morality, transparency and to secure privacy and to draw line by legal instances between surveillance and access to private information and what is harmful according to human rights and what is indispensable to be known and at the same time appropriate to the same rights. The scientific problem about Wikileaks as whistleblowing tool is controversial and that is why it is problematic to approach to it. For example: Library of Congress in United States of America have blocked access to Wikileaks, which has raised a vivid debate on censorship among libraries. Consequently, American Library Association (ALA) has compiled a proposal for a resolution to support accessibility to Wikileaks and library associations in other countries are considering the same. However, as indicated, Wikileaks may also be used as a case to support such new bills, surveillance practices and use of technologies which extend capabilities of censorship and data surveillance. Unfortunately, there is not yet much evidence of the development trend towards another direction: to strengthen transparency and increase the space for freedom of speech within the aftermath of Wikileaks. (Karhula, 2011, p. 5) Thus the object of this thesis are conceptual features of whistleblowing on the example of Wikileaks, and the governmental manipulations (misrepresentation of Wikileaks in US media and the Investigatory Powers Bill of the UK). Regarding to achieve the goals of this paper through the object, here are tasks which should be reached during the development of the final result of this paper: 1) Focusing on aspects of whistleblowing in the light of the reviewed literature to identify the most critical issues identified in the process (techniques, manners) and outcomes of performed aspects (dilemmas faced); 2) Elaboration on public service aspects and the ethical dilemmas of such performance referring to effects for the society This paper is meant to be written in analytical manner and in scientific-essayistic style in terms to cover already investigated aspects of the topic and to filtrate it through the discussion part regarding to uncover some new spheres of the analysed issues, which have not been implemented before. It is important to mention that the argumenation is on a conceptual level and the theses does not research at practical analyses of issues which are covered, rather, the questions raised here move around the ethical concerns. 7
The thesis structure is going to be divided in three main parts the introduction, the body of the paper and the conclusion. The main part is going to be mostly analytical relying on the literature academic articles and secondary information sources as newspaper articles, books, interviews are. As well in this central piece of the work, results, discussion and new outcomes are going to be implemented. That is why this part of the thesis is going to be separated by three leading chapters which are going to be organized by subchapters which are going to correspond to mapped research questions and their elaboration. According to the just described sheme the first chapter is going to be dedicated to literature review where is planned to be the critique of already elaborated papers on the topic of Wikileaks, whistelblowing and transparency. However, it is not going to be the only subject of the survey but there are going to be included secondary sources which would make it to be more objective and more complete. Simultaneously, literature review is going to be theoretical frame and the base for the following methodological part, which is going to be the analytical part of the research questions. The second chapter is going to represent the strategy how the tasks are going to be fulfilled and how the hypotheses, assumptions and specified tasks are going to be accomplished. Simply it is planned to be the accumulation of answers on research questions. Finally, the last part before the conclusion, where everything is going to be summarized, the third chapter is going to be the core of the work the discussion part where are going to be commented all of analytical and argumented answers on before defined tasks. In this part it is going to be obvious what are the purposes of this paper and how it is going to contribute to scientific analysis of whistleblowing phenomenon and (un)fair law regularities about survaillance and public interest. The literature part which is going to represent the base of the whole elaboration and there the first ideas and answers are going to be yielded. This piece of the work is going to carry the bulky part of the work. The research questions which are going to be answered are: 1. Acquaintance with the term, meaning and significance of whistleblowing - What are the main dominant aspects of whistleblowing journalism? - What are its core conceptual aspects? - What are practical characteristics? 2. Intertwining of the traditional journalism and whistleblowing 8
- When whistleblowing could be defined as journalism and in what ways it is not journalism? - What drives whistleblowing journalism and its activities? - Has whistleblowing any impact on real journalism? 3. What does it come after disclosures? - What are the consequences and reactions? - What is positive and what is negative influence of whistleblowing on American and British governments? - Are there any regulations which could protect whistleblowers or they could just rely on themselves? Beside the research questions there are hypotheses which should be clarified. After framing the topic thanks to explanations and results of the analyses of the reaching goals, it is necessary to implement the example of Wikileaks and using it to uncover these hypotheses: 1. Without disclosed documents of Wikileaks the society would never face with some information and that Wikileaks is very important in times of crisis. 2. Wikileaks follows the right moment when some of information should be revealed, tries to make transparency balance and resists manipulations of political and watchdog forces and inadequate presentations. Regarding to be objective as much as possible, in this paper there is going to be implemented information from the academic articles of scholars from various countries. The reason is that diversity could bring more disclosures. Some of the authors are Australian scholar Brian McNair, Finish information specialist Päivikki Karhula, the professor Mark Fenster from the University of Florida, USA, Athina Karatzogianni from the University of Leicester, UK, the British researcher Andrew Robinson etc. Additionally in terms of the proper elaboration of Assange s work, his writings and transcription When Google Met Wikileaks and The Unauthorized Autobiography are going to be exploited sources which would help answering research procedure. Finally, important source is going to be British Investigatory Powers Bill, Report of Draft Investigatory Powers Bill and newspaper articles on this topic about the potential law. There is lack of academic articles because this bill is from 2016. 9
2. WHISTLEBLOWING THROUGH ACADEMIC FILTERS 2.1. What does it mean to blow a whistle? Looking for the definition of whistleblowing, it is striking that it does not have to be necessarily connected just with journalism and reporting according to the following definitions which are embedded in the Law on Protection of Whistleblowers of the United States of America. What is more it is even debatable if it is just the part of journalistic field, because there is no evidence or emphasizing concretely about reporting or journalistic field. That flexible of hardly limiting character of whistleblowing shows that people who disclose information about corruption, embezzlements, frauds, irregularities, theft, are not reporters in one hundred percentages of the existing cases. At the same time, it refers that journalism is not the only way to reveal details about immoral and penal acts. The most important is that the result is positive, that it activates solution, reduction of inappropriate actions which spreads like an echo and inspired new similar disclosures. Speaking about these risky situations when fear and threats could be very welcome and very common, it is questionable if there is some law instance which could protect subjects of whistleblowing. One of those is definitely the Law on Protection of Whistleblowers of the United States of America. The draft version of this document is conceived that way that before articles, there are brief definitions of terms related to whistleblowing. Therefore, whistleblowing is disclosure of information made by a whistleblower in accordance with this Law to the state or another authority or organization about a threat to or violation of public interest; a whistleblower is a natural person who, in terms of his working relationship; employment procedure; use of services rendered by public authorities, holders of public authorities or public services; business cooperation; ownership of shares in the company; discloses, in good faith, information about a threat to or violation of public interest in accordance with the Law. (Draft of the Law on Protection of Whistleblowers, 1989, p. 1) Furthermore, in 2010 it was organized G20 Anti-Corruption Action Plan which was followed by the text Protection of Whistleblowers which is dedicated to legislation of a group of people who are eager to speak out laud about problematic situations and not to be afraid because they are protected by law. According to their survey, they found out that there is no common definition of what constitutes whistleblowing. The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines it as the reporting by employees or former employees of illegal, irregular, dangerous or unethical practices by employers. In the 10
context of international anti-corruption standards, the 2009 OECD Recommendation of the Council for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (Anti-Bribery Recommendation) refers to protection from discriminatory or disciplinary action public and private sector employees who report in good faith and on reasonable grounds to the competent authorities... (G20 Leaders, 2010, p. 7) The crucial characteristic of whistleblowers is that people speak about certain topic because of good intentions and thinking about unjustice, eager to dimish and repress similar and potential situations in the future. As it is explained in G20 Anti-Corruption Action Plan that the principle requirements are done in good faith and on reasonable grounds by whistleblowers. (G20 Leaders, 2010) 2.2. Wikileaks X-ray In a brief summary it could be said that the main dominant aspect of whistleblowing is a personal initiative to uncover a story which negatively affected rights of others or made some material, physical or emotional harassment or violation in terms to cut down the number of the similar cases in the future. Mostly people, who want to activate described procedure, should have good intentions and already collected arguments and adequate evidences. Finally, laws which could protect those people should be a crown of whistleblowing journalism. Connecting theoretical explanation of the whistleblowing with the real example of the Wikileaks, which is the online platform for millions of leaking information, there is an insight of conspiracy, which is logical to be the subjected of leaking information because of its always foolish background. Julian Assange made a vivid description of conspiratorial state to life comparing it with a beast with arteries and veins whose blood may be thickened and slowed until it falls. From his point of view that creature is unable to sufficiently comprehend and control the forces in its environment. His basic point is that leaking is not merely a tool for reform but a weapon for resistance. At the same time leaks deprive authoritative institutions of their means to control their communications and subjugate their populations. (Assange, 2011) Further he explains that the more hidden or irregular information an organization has, there are more chances for terrifying reactions about leaking. He adds that in conditions of easy leaking, secretive or unjust systems are nonlinearly hit relative to open, just systems. Since unjust systems, by their nature induce opponents, and in many places barely have the upper hand, mass leaking leaves them exquisitely vulnerable to those who seek to replace them with more open forms of governance. (Fenster, 2012) 11
However, that does not protects media organizations, as Wikileaks is for example, from conspiracy theories, potential accusations or similar claims which should be deleted in case if there is lack of truthfulness. Peeling another layer of an oninon, there is an elaboration of Trevor Timm, who is a Guardian U.S. columnist and executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, saying that the Justice Department of the United States of America has reportedly tried to avoid a problem by trying to craft charges against Wikileaks leader Julian Assange for using classified information from his source under conspiracy to commit espionage theory. Timm conveys that no media organization has ever been indicted or prosecuted under the Espionage Act. Some of constitutional scholars drew the same conclusion saying that a prosecution of a media organization would be catastrophic for press freedom and that would seriously and negatively affect the First Amendment. (Timm, 2011) Finally, it produces big suspicion would it make any sense to be a part of any view of conspiracy product and to use that kind of tools if the basic aim of the organization is whistleblowing. That would actually violate the main postulates of Wikileaks policy, so that is why it is necessarily to peel the onion till its core in terms to find the real force which runs this organization. 2.3. Shades of whistleblowing According to the literature, it seems like ethics and moral are inevitable features of whistleblowing. Vivian Weil, who is the director of the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Profession at Illinois Institute of Technology points out - The term whistleblowing is reserved for actions of disclosure when the whistleblower steps outside of approved organizational channels to reveal a significant moral problem. (Weil, 2012) Spontaneously, it introduces the other characteristic of this kind of disclosure which is collectivism. The explanation is that striking out morality does not exist just because of needs and interests of a whistleblower but because of others as well who should know about the issue and who should follow ethical principles. A group of authors J. Dungan, A. Waytz and L. Young elaborate it in their article The psychology of whistleblowing saying that there are positive and negative sides of collective spirit when it comes up to whistleblowing. The good one gives a chance for a person to reveal a piece of information in terms to enhance the level of common collaboration and to diminish self-centeredness among people. However, there is the other, less convenient side of blowing a whistle: By contrast, other studies that have examined people s responses to those who speak out against morally questionable behavior (i.e. whistleblowers); dissenting individuals are often 12
denigrated by the ones who themselves engaged in morally questionable behavior. These studies again show that whistleblowing can be to the detriment of group harmony. (Dungan, Waytz, Young, 2015, p. 129) However, this is not the only negativity when we speak about characteristics which are related to whistleblowers. There are impacts and reactions of the affected side, which are always offensively colored. The fact that they are accused for some unethical or illegal acts could cause even aspiration for revenge: Occasions when the whistle was not blown bring to mind yet another feature of whistleblowing - retaliation against the whistleblower. This is a predictable sequel and a strong deterrent. Retaliation may be the most predictable feature of whistleblowing, perhaps enough to make it a defining feature. (Dungan, Waytz, Young, 2015, p. 129) Following the Draft Law on Protection of Whistleblowers in the article 12, which is dedicated to setting down types of whistleblowing, is classified that there are three kinds of whistleblowing disclosures internal, external and to the public. The first two mentioned types are defined towards concrete subjects. The internal is making a disclosure to an employer, the external to an authorized authority. All of disclosures which are the part of ether, of the public, which are online, simply all of information which is accessible to people is classified as the third type. (Draft of the Law on Protection of Whistleblowers, 1989) The last one is definitely the one which belongs to the example of Wikileaks. So, being surrounded by positive and negative impacts, Wikileaks has to balance in terms to avoid dangerous revenge effects and to squeeze as much as possible from the media opportunities it has. 2.4. (Non-)journalistic sides of whistleblowing As it is already mentioned there are two sides of whistleblowing. One is a branch or a type of journalism and the other face of whistleblowing is the one which joins whistleblowers who are not necessarily reporters. Analyzing Wikileaks as already established example and reading about it or even just surfing through the official website, it is obvious that it is not conceived and it does not look as a regular media portal, because there are no journalistic articles, interviews, columns, comments, texts of authors, brief report as is it characteristic for each journalistic online platform. However, Wikileaks is conglomeration of analysis, vaults, as the organization names those massive leaking pieces, transcripts and other revealed material which are previously elaborated and checked. First, Wikileaks is not journalism, despite Julian Assange s legal interest in declaring that it is. The organization is a conduit for information that becomes the subject of journalism a channel 13
for data that has, in some cases and for a variety of reasons its sheer quantity, its intimacy and vascularity become newsworthy, and in doing so has impacted on the globalized public sphere. (McNair, 2012, p. 83) The same author argues that Wikileaks is news, but not journalism in the accepted sense of the term. He explains that the traditional journalistic functions of sense-making, of narration and interpreting, which is important for the Wikileaks phenomenon, but they are largely absent. The style of Wikileaks writing, which comes from the hundreds of thousands of diplomatic or military cables release, is formed in official and often impenetrable jargon as those cables are. On the other hand, Wikileaks has collaborations with various co-publishers and partners and good deal of them are newspapers and other media houses. The professor Fenster claims that Wikileaks method is basically journalistic, but that it is formed as scientific journalism and that is actually at the higher level than traditional reporting. He quotes Assange who explains that Wikileaks does not have function just to work with other newsrooms and to publish the news, but also to give testimonies that it is true. He gives details about scientific journalism which is constructed that way that readers could firstly read a news story, then to find a hyperlink and to access the original document it is based on. According to this, the audience could conclude on their own if the story is true or not. (Fenster, 2012) Further, there are more statements which make even deeper gap between the journalistic Wikileaks and the non-journalistic Wikileaks. Charlie Beckett is founding director of POLIS, the journalism think-tank in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics. As well Beckett is an award-winning journalist, who wrote a book about Wikileaks in 2011. In an interview with Hannah Vinter he talks here about how Wikileaks should not been seen as an aberration but as a tool of influence on modern journalism. He observes that people joined Wikileaks because they were not journalists. This organization as a hub for braver ones could not be compared with the work of traditional journalists because they cannot compete with it. Meanstream journalists have specific targets and goals to accomplish, they have to answer editors questions and requirements, to follow ethical codes. Wikileaks is more than that and it has to reveal the truth which had been hidden. (Vinter, 2011) What is more, analyzing and distinguishing, what is important for the audience would not be possible without journalistic knowledge and work and it is one more feature which describes the other, journalistic side of the Wikileaks. The scholar McNair explains it thanks to the Wikileaks publications in the British newspapers The Guardian and conveys that this daily newspaper and this whistleblowing organization are actually antipodes of the modern journalism and that both are located at very ends on that scale. The Guardian explains its work as product of knowledge and 14
education which is factually based. However, Wikileaks is the one which offers for people to conclude without any intrusions and to educate themselves independently. He continues that in contrast, Wikileaks does not support that anything should disturb the relation the audience information, because it belongs just to people. Additionally information could be evaluated just by readers themselves, if only someone would let them. McNair shades Assange s view of Wikileaks, which is to be there as a channel of reality. Regarding it there ought to be minimal clue that someone has edited the content, because it affects the purity of objectivism. (McNair, 2012) The same author digs deeper about Wikileaks' content concluding that besides the wide public access to Wikileaks' documents thanks to traditional media, it is necessary to adopt that text to everyone. Before the disclosure that data was hidden and it was written just for few people who could understand it and who know the other details and the background. The power of Wikileaks, in this regard, is that the information it reveals was never intended for public consumption. It was written to be private, secret, for elite eyes only. It is to that degree honest, and therefore has authenticity, which heightens its impact on those exposed to it. When mediated by mainstream news media such as The Guardian, it acquires further credibility. (McNair, 2012, p. 85) In addition to it, Beckett sees that one more difficulty which has occurred Wikileaks is that the public in general does not see the journalists as allies. He gives an example of the hacking scandal by phones. That way of hacking information did not follow rules, laws and regulations drawing a parallel with Wikileaks which does the same. However, the difference between these two instances is that the mentioned scandal did not defend public interest as Wikileaks does. It existed just as a sight of vanity which has been directed in scandalous manner. Explaining this Beckett argues that it is not necessarily to find a new type of journalism. It would be sufficient and the best if journalists would do their job as it is supposed to be done. (Beckett, 2011) Finally the same journalist concludes that from his point of view it is a pointless discussion whether Wikileaks is journalism or not. He suggests that it would be the most logical way if these disclosures would be taken as regular journalism which gets its information from the Internet and social media. (Vinter, 2011) In summary, does not matter if someone prefers more to declare Wikileaks as a part of journalism or as it is complete nonsense to connect it with reporting, the most important is that the context is clear for readers and that people who poses information, which is significant for the public, want to share it. Then there would not be any need to define Wikileaks non-journalistic features or to invent some new affiliations because it is already familiar for journalism. 15
Stefan Baack from University of Groningen in the Netherlands, who wrote in his doctoral research and relied on words of Simon Rogers, a data journalist, who commented in 2011 for The Guardian that Wikileaks did not invent data journalism, but that it has significant role in involving it in media offices. That is a reason why Baack quotes a group of authors that the cooperation and willingness to share is crucial for the good results in terms of investigative journalism: The manner of investigators - Lone wolves competing for scoops and unwilling to share with others. This is at least partly due to the interconnections between leaking and data journalism: while leaking helped to establish data journalism in newsrooms, data journalism helped to bring a mentality of sharing and collaboration to investigative journalism (Royal, 2010; Lewis and Usher, 2013; Parasie and Dagiral, 2013). (Baack, 2016) The other necessary feature for data journalism being good at dealing with unstructured documents. Baack adds that using automation on a larger scale is crucial as well. So this is one more thing which gives advance to the Internet and new media to enhance journalistic work. So it could be concluded that according to new technology and some new methods, a journalist could be reminded of some basic particulars which are essential part of it. So that normalization could represent just a disruption of journalism, which should be ubiquitous and not possible to be forbidden. Simultaneously, it could represent an irony that Wikileaks which is younger than journalism is there to be a teacher and it is logical to be vice versa. However, let it be said that the situation is not alarming if those are just reminders, before the role of governement is elaborated in this paper in fields of whistleblowing in journalism. 2.5. Forces which drive whistleblowing Besides credibility, legality, transparency and other particulars which should build whistleblowing, it is significant to find out what is that which drives those activities to whistle more frequently, again and again and more loudly. Because without that engine which gasoline is willingness to uncover more and more irregularities and to make our society to be democratic and just indeed, against hypocritical speeches and mere promises that everyone are equal while there are tons of unapproachable information. According to Fenster, who analyzed Assange's reports, it stays in his writing that Wikileaks discloses as much as possible information to put at the appropriate place in front of public eyes. However Assange draws the only case when disclosure is delayed or minimized and it is in cases when it is shared with mainstream news outlets. The aim is to avoid any harm that could affect the final result which the audience would read, watch or listen to. Hence, Fenster stresses out that 16
Wikileaks purpose is to disclose materials for everyone who is able to see evidence of the truth. (Fenster, 2012) Talking about the subsistence of Wikileaks and its force to survive it is logical to assume how it was before this whistleblowing epoch, how it would be without it and how it is now thanks to it. We cannot know precisely how the world has changed because of Wikileaks, nor can we know how the world would be without the existence of Wikileaks. What we can observe is the presence of Wikileaks in a globalized public sphere that is unprecedentedly porous and leaky, at the same time as we witness the unprecedented global spread of democratic political structures. Can the two trends be correlated? (McNair, 2012, p.83) Definitely additional strength for Wikileaks to disclose more and more is connected with reminding journalism of its work and if it is appropriate and at the level that satisfies the public interest. Beckett draws attention to the role of this media platform which existence helps journalism in terms to be its conscience and to ask again and again if the job has been done regularly and if the task has managed to avoid authorities infections. He mentions as well that does not matter if someone thinks that Wikileaks has done its mission in a good or bad way, still it is its point and it should stay like that. (Vinter, 2011) The example of Wikileaks revealed information about the war in Iraq is there to show some of reasons which drive disclosure energy and to represents its importance. Concretely this instance is there to show that wars are not just part of the history, that still exist and to increase the awareness of acts which are kept as secrets. In so doing, it confirmed to global publics what the invasion of Iraq and war in general is all about. It educated those who may not have known the true nature of the war, and placed governments and militaries on the defensive. It has already forced change in the way they do their business. This is precisely why Collateral Murder and the many more leaked dispatches about Iraq and Afghanistan that followed it provoked such fury from Western political elites. (McNair, 2012, p. 85) The force which pushes Wikileaks to run faster and on longer tracks has been shown as power which influences at more fronts. That makes essential willingness of this organization to be accomplished. What is more this instance represents that it could reveal even greater impact and even more documents comparing with Wikileaks. A Dutch PhD student Stefan Baack represents the example of the Panama Papers in his doctoral survey: The Panama Papers have been described as biggest leak in the history of data journalism with approximately 11.5 million documents provided by an anonymous source to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. Compared to the Panama Papers, Wikileaks Afghan war logs 17
were tiny: a spreadsheet with 92.201 rows describing military events (Rogers, 2011). However, its release initiated a pattern that has been replicated in almost every major leak that followed. (Baack, 2016, p. 1) It could be said that the trigger which catapulted the Panama Papers was caused during the latest step in a development that roughly started in 2010, when Wikileaks cooperated with The New York Times, The Guardian and Der Spiegel to publish the Afghan war logs. When we compare the Afghan war logs with the Panama Papers, one of the most interesting aspects is not what has changed, but what has not changed. With the exception of the Snowden leaks, where things worked out slightly differently, every major leak since the Afghan war logs included an anonymous source providing the leak using encrypted channels, an independent organization, international collaboration among whistleblowers and the proficient manipulation of data journalism technique. (Baack, 2016) WHISTLEBLOWING Unjournalistic side Journalistic Panama Papers Wikileaks Süddeutsche Zeitung -The New York Times -The Guardian -El Pais -Der Spiegel etc. Table 1. Whistleblowing and journalism The most important and the essence of Wikileaks eagerness to continue to disclose is to tear down the secrecy that enables atrocity and abuse of power to occur. In doing so, it has increased the level of transparency expected by global publics around the conduct of future wars and military affairs in democratic societies, which is the key role. 18
2.6. Impact of whistleblowing on traditional journalism The common mission of classical, real journalism and Wikileaks is to enhance democracy and to realize the right of everyone to know and to be informed. The fact that traditional media streams, reposts and publishes Wikileaks information is already its spread influence. Now it is questionable how does media manipulate with it. The significant fact is that leaks always produce news in a row which are not attractive just on one-day level, but which are published for some period, not just because of the vast information dataset, but because of the importance of that material. However, it is not difficult to misuse material which uncovers secrets and to input conspiracy features and to create it to be a scandal. Thanks to collaboration with news outlets Assange and Wikileaks have managed to turn a tool of power into a weapon of the weak, as Fenster said. At the same time Assange had learned that disclosure which is not edited would not make any impression on the society. To have effects, and especially to have specific, desired effects, disclosures require context and background, as well as wide distribution. Because of those reasons Wikileaks works with real journalistic organizations. (Fenster, 2012) The founder of Wikileaks Julian Assange explains why it is natural that his organization and journalism should be connected and in the constant collaboration and that it should not stay just on that level, but that it should be spread further and that different societies could negotiate mutually. And all of that is possible nowadays thanks to the Internet, which represents pipes where everyone could lance what they have. He goes into more details elaborating that in sooner or later there will be the new way of the production of news and that the audience would not be any more just mere observer of the served content but that they could answer, comment and be involved in its creation. That new way of broadcasting and reporting would decrease the influence of authorities. (Assange, 2011) What is more, there would have to be an alternative gathering process that would combine new information with the information which is already known to the world. He argues that it would contextualize all of information for all different actors. Wikileaks would require a way that kept the actors to be honest. That would establish journalistic ethics and fight its fake presence. So, Wikileaks founder continues that it would require the involvement of the mainstream press in the effort to publish material that led to a greater state of justice. In that way, the flow of information would not be a matter for single journalists alone, or for individual media organizations, but for societies working together. 19
On the way to accomplish it there are already some impacts that the whistleblowing organization influenced traditional news media which have adopted technologies similar to what Wikileaks has provided. According to the Dutch scholar Baack he wrote that this is the best illustrated by SecureDrop, a whistleblower submission system developed by the Freedom of the Press Foundation. More generally, there is noted the growth of awareness of online security and an adoption of encryption tools among journalists. Baack gives an example from 2014 of Glenn Greenwald who almost missed one of the most significant leaks in history because he did not want to bother with pretty good privacy (PGP) email encryption. The other example is that just six years ago it was hard to imagine different tools which function was to secure the whistleblower, the leak itself and the ongoing investigation during the Panama Papers investigations. However Wikileaks does not have just the function to create tools for disclosure and leaks, but to transfer those skills to mainstream media journalist, according to this Dutch PhD student who describes that Wikileaks adopted a role as a mediator from the ICIJ, a journalistic organization that exists much longer than Wikileaks. The difference between these two organizations is that ICIJ does not focus just on whistleblowing but provides and develops new ways how to embed leaking into their regular and traditional work. (Baack, 2016) However there are example of Süddeutsche Zeitung and the ICIJ which argues about the raw material Wikileaks publishes and gives an opportunity for readers to create impressions on their own. The mentioned media houses decided to be loyal to basic journalistic characteristics especially about confidence that a source gave to a journalist, so that is why his obligation is to keeps and to protects its anonymity. (Baack, 2016) Whistleblowing Scientific journalism Traditional journalism Data journalism Investigative journalism Table 2. Types of journalism that whistleblowing influences on So, it could be realized according to the literature that whistleblowing in journalism is inevitable and that these two information fields are really close and connected very tightly. 20
Additionally, it could be concluded that there are impacts of the both on the each other. Above everything it should be underlined that there are spheres of journalism which help whistleblowing institutions to be presented. Moreover, there are whistles which could improve the quality of reporting. The other option is to remind journalists and editors which are those basic journalistic principles. That is why whistleblowing has its signs in different kinds of journalism as already mentioned data, investigative, traditional and scientific journalisms are. There is nothing new that whistleblowing revealed but it has helped to all of these disciplines to do better work because of already developed and independent system that Wikileaks has and which some of traditional editorials do not use properly or there are authoritative impacts which influence their editing politics to be less professional. 2.7. Has Wikileaks managed to change the world? Before stating academic materials about consequences and reactions caused by Wikileaks reveals, it is significant to stress out what have been the expectations. The main one is reaching the point of the real democratic society, which sense is that information which is important for the audience that would be published. However, there are still doubts if Wikileaks have managed to make the world to be a better place for living: We cannot say for sure that digitization and the democratization of political communication permitted by YouTube, Twitter, Wikileaks and as yet unknown digital platforms to come have changed the world for the better (although, as the Freedom House figures suggest, the world has changed substantially for the better in the period these media have been in existence). We can say, without doubt, that they have made the management of the political environment much more difficult for those in power. (McNair, 2012, p. 86) Still does not matter of the result, creation of democratic society could be justifiably slow especially because of the difficulties on the way to publish it, to maintain it, to spread it and finally to make it constant and to establish the disclosure of the information of the public interest as something which is normal and which belongs to everybody without any secrecy and palliations. Because of that, this sentance still has the wise meaning Wikileaks can enforce the human right to know, the right to speak, and, above all, the right to communicate information. (Fenster, 2012, p. 773) Most importantly the impact could be seen in journalism and it is enourmously important that proclamation and defence of human rights are the subject of journalistic articles because that way its significance is more obvious and the chances to be fulfilled in reality are even higher. 21