WikiLeaks website appears to be coming apart at the seams, with more and more of the organizations content unavailable without explanation.
WikiLeaks technical issues, which have been ongoing for months, have gotten worse in recent weeks as increasingly larger portions of its website no longer function. Even attempting to visit wikileaks.org is a gamble in itself, often producing a 502 message that indicates an error was detected on the websites server.
When the website does become available, problems still abound. The main banner on WikiLeaks, which includes the organizations logo as well as links to subdomains such as the About page, has been entirely missing since earlier this month. A similar banner at the bottom of the page, which once showed links to sites for Bitcoin and the Tor Project, is now gone as well.
A search bar that once scoured the site for information also appears to no longer work and instead redirects users to the homepage.
But the biggest issue relates to WikiLeaks entire purpose: Leaks.
Many of the groups leaks have either vanished or become inaccessible to the public. Of the seven leaks highlighted on the homepage, three produce no content. Two of those redirect to error pages while the third merely sends users back to the homepage.
Some of the organizations most prominent leaks have also been affected. A cache of more than 1 million emails from Hacking Team released in 2015, the now-defunct Italian surveillance vendor, are gone. An archive of tens of thousands of emails from former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons private email are inaccessible. The Democratic National Committee emails, provided to WikiLeaks ahead of the 2016 election by Russian state entities posing as rogue hackers, are similarly missing.
Although WikiLeaks long boasted that it released more than 10 million documents in 10 years, at current, less than 3,000 documents remain accessible, according to an analysis by the Daily Dot of the websites leaks archive. The issues have become so apparent that supporters of the group are now voicing concerns across social media.
In a post on the WikiLeaks subreddit over the weekend, one user complained that every search request made on the website produced an error message.
The site is completely down for me, another responded. All I get is a 502 bad gateway error.
And despite similar complaints on Twitter, many of which tag WikiLeaks account, the organization has failed to publicly address any of the issues. WikiLeaks did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Dot over Twitter DM.
Even organizations tied to WikiLeaks appear to be struggling. The website for Defend WikiLeaks, a group that raised funds for the legal defense of WikiLeaks imprisoned founder Julian Assange, has now been taken over by a Vietnamese sports blog.
The website for the Courage Foundation, which similarly raised funds for whistleblowers and journalists including Assange, Chelsea Manning, and Edward Snowden, was also taken over in the past week and transformed into a Japanese blog selling knockoff designer merchandise. The domain now shows nothing more than a blank page. The Daily Dot reached out to the Courage Foundation over Twitter DM to inquire about the issue but did not receive a reply.
The latest technical issues are not the first for WikiLeaks. The Daily Dot noted in February that despite openly asking for leaks on Twitter, none of WikiLeaks submission tools were actually working. In July, the Daily Dot reported on WikiLeaks release of a new submission portal for whistleblowers that still didnt work.
The organization has largely moved away from releasing leaks in an apparent effort to rally behind Assange, who is currently being held in a U.K. prison while fighting extradition to the U.S. on charges related to his work with WikiLeaks.
While the organization is raising money for Assanges defense, it appears none of those funds go to website maintenance.
Update 3:02pm CT: Following the Daily Dots reporting, the websites for both the Courage Foundation and Defend WikiLeaks were taken offline. The Twitter account for the Courage Foundation also appears to have removed a link to its website from its bio in recent days.
We crawl the web so you dont have to.
Sign up for the Daily Dot newsletter to get the best and worst of the internet in your inbox every day.
*First Published: Nov 22, 2022, 8:30 am CST
Mikael Thalen is a tech and security reporter based in Seattle, covering social media, data breaches, hackers, and more.
Visit link:
WikiLeaks' Website Is Slowly Falling Apart
- Beguiling new documentary puts WikiLeaks star Jacob Appelbaum in the spotlight - The Globe and Mail - June 18th, 2024
- WikiLeaks' Assange extradition appeal to be heard next month By Reuters - Investing.com - June 18th, 2024
- Will the First Amendment Save Assange? - The American Conservative - June 10th, 2024
- WikiLeaks founder Assange wins right to appeal against an extradition order to the US - Manchestertimes - May 25th, 2024
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's legal saga could soon end in UK | AP ... - May 25th, 2024
- London Court To Decide Whether WikiLeaks Founder Assange Is Extradited To The US - Newstalk 750 - 103.7 KFQD - KFQD - May 25th, 2024
- London court rules WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal an extradition order to the US - Montana Right Now - May 25th, 2024
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal extradition to the US, UK court rules - KABC-TV - May 25th, 2024
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange allowed to appeal extradition from UK to US - The Times of India - May 25th, 2024
- London court rules WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal an extradition order to the US - Leader Publications - May 25th, 2024
- WikiLeaks founder Assange wins right to appeal against an extradition order to the US - News10NBC - May 25th, 2024
- Wife Of Wikileaks Founder, Stella Assange Vows To Fight On As He Faces Extradition To The U.S. - Moneycontrol - May 15th, 2024
- The Cultivation of Don Jr: A Framework to Think of the Russian Attack - Emptywheel - May 15th, 2024
- Peace People founder urges Joe Biden to release Julian Assange if Wikileaks publisher is extradited to the US - The Irish News - April 28th, 2024
- WikiLeaks editor-in-chief on why the world needs Assange to be freed - The Saturday Paper - April 28th, 2024
- Not too late to block Assange extradition, WikiLeaks editor says - The Independent - April 11th, 2024
- Not too late to block Assange extradition, WikiLeaks editor says - Evening Standard - April 11th, 2024
- Julian Assange: UK court orders delay to extradition of WikiLeaks founder to US - The Associated Press - April 2nd, 2024
- Julian Assange: UK court orders delay to extradition of WikiLeaks ... - April 2nd, 2024
- Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, given chance to appeal against U.S ... - April 2nd, 2024
- U.K. court gives WikiLeaks Julian Assange three weeks before extradition - The Washington Post - The Washington Post - April 2nd, 2024
- WikiLeaks' Julian Assange wins temporary reprieve from extradition to US - TRT World - April 2nd, 2024
- Julian Assange wins temporary reprieve from extradition to US - Reuters UK - April 2nd, 2024
- Timeline of the Assange legal saga as he faces further delay in bid to avoid extradition to the US - The Associated Press - April 2nd, 2024
- UK delays extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US - The Hill - April 2nd, 2024
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will not be immediately extradited to the U.S., British court rules - CNBC - April 2nd, 2024
- Will Julian Assange Be Extradited to the US? Why Its Complicated - Bloomberg - April 2nd, 2024
- Julian Assange gets brief reprieve in the UK - OCRegister - April 2nd, 2024
- US granted extension by UK High Court to provide 'satisfactory assurances' for fair trial of WikiLeaks founder - JURIST - April 2nd, 2024
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange wins partial victory in U.S. extradition case - The Globe and Mail - April 2nd, 2024
- Julian Assange wins temporary reprieve in case against extradition to US - The Guardian - April 2nd, 2024
- Julian Assange Scores Temporary Win in Fight Against Extradition - The Daily Beast - April 2nd, 2024
- Assange granted temporary reprieve from extradition to U.S. - The Hindu - April 2nd, 2024
- Protect the founder of WikiLeaks for the future of press freedom - The Baylor Lariat - March 21st, 2024
- The Trust Fall: Julian Assange film review impassioned documentary about the WikiLeaks founder - Financial Times - March 21st, 2024
- The Trust Fall: Julian Assange review partisan portrait of WikiLeaks man - The Guardian - March 21st, 2024
- Rep. Massie bringing Julian Assange's brother as guest to State of the Union - Fox News - March 13th, 2024
- Assange's extradition would mean the end of legality, Russia believes - Prensa Latina - March 13th, 2024
- The Press Freedom Case of the Century - Random Lengths - March 13th, 2024
- UN expert on freedom of expression urges end to Julian Assanges prosecution over press freedom concerns - Fox News - March 5th, 2024
- WikiLeaks has not released the footage of NASAs moon landing shot in the Nevada Desert. - Factly - March 5th, 2024
- Public meetings called by the SEP/IYSSE in Britain: The fight to free Julian Assange is the fight against war! - WSWS - March 5th, 2024
- Why extradition of WikiLeaks Julian Assange to US would be cataclysmic for press freedom - Committee to Protect Journalists - March 5th, 2024
- Stella Assange: This case has normalized intimidating journalists everywhere - EL PAS USA - March 5th, 2024
- China and Iran Have Their WikiLeaks Moment - AOL - March 5th, 2024
- 'It would be a good thing if British courts give Assange necessary protection': German Chancellor - The New Indian Express - March 5th, 2024
- Navalny And Assange: Exposing Crimes Of The Powerful Like No "Ordinary" Journalists Could - Worldcrunch - March 5th, 2024
- US Refuses to Assure UK Judges That Assange Won't Be Executed If He's Extradited - Truthout - March 5th, 2024
- WikiLeaks - Wikiwand - February 25th, 2024
- Assange targeted by U.S. and Trump over his WikiLeaks exposures, lawyer says - Reuters - February 25th, 2024
- Julian Assange: Who is he and what secrets did Wikileaks reveal? - BBC.com - February 25th, 2024
- WikiLeaks founder Assange begins final attempt to avoid ... - PBS - February 25th, 2024
- Wikileaks founders last bid to resist extradition to the U.S. - CNN - February 25th, 2024
- What to know as Julian Assange faces a ruling on his U.S. extradition case over WikiLeaks secrets - CBS News - February 25th, 2024
- Who is Julian Assange? Will the WikiLeaks founder be extradited to the US? - Al Jazeera English - February 25th, 2024
- WikiLeaks founder Assange may be near the end of his long fight to stay out of the US - The Associated Press - February 25th, 2024
- Wife of WikiLeaks' Assange calls U.S. extradition hearing a 'farce' - NBC News - February 25th, 2024
- WikiLeaks' Assange faces wait to find out whether he can challenge extradition to the US - The Associated Press - February 25th, 2024
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange starts final UK legal battle to avoid extradition to US on spy charges - The Associated Press - February 25th, 2024
- 'Created a serious and imminent risk': US lawyers argue for spying charges against WikiLeaks founder Juli - The Times of India - February 25th, 2024
- Julian Assange is fighting extradition to the US. Here's what you should know about the WikiLeaks founder's situation - ABC News - February 25th, 2024
- Julian Assange: Who is he and what secrets did Wikileaks reveal? - BBC - February 25th, 2024
- Julian Assange's father calls on government to pressure UK, US to release WikiLeaks founder - ABC News - February 25th, 2024
- Australian lawmakers approve motion calling for release of Julian ... - February 17th, 2024
- WikiLeaks founder Assange will die if extradited to US: Wife - Press TV - February 17th, 2024
- WikiLeaks founder: Assange 'will die' if UK appeal fails and sent to US: wife - RTL Today - February 17th, 2024
- The Last Flurry: The US Congress and Australian Parliamentarians seek Assange's Release - CounterPunch - January 24th, 2024
- Vault 7 - Wikipedia - November 17th, 2023
- WikiLeaks - Wikipedia - May 3rd, 2023
- 12 Years Of Disruption: A WikiLeaks Timeline - NPR.org - February 25th, 2023
- Who is Julian Assange? What to know about the WikiLeaks ... - February 25th, 2023
- How Much Did WikiLeaks Damage U.S. National Security? - February 25th, 2023
- Julian Assange - WikiLeaks, Arrest & Facts - Biography - February 25th, 2023
- Ram Madhav writes on BBC documentary on PM Modi: A hit job that is a damp squib - The Indian Express - January 30th, 2023
- WikiLeaks - BadMFS -- Developer Guide - January 6th, 2023
- News Outlets Urge U.S. to Drop Charges Against Julian Assange - The New York Times - December 4th, 2022
- Elon Musk starts new Twitter poll on whether Assange and Snowden should be pardoned - Republic World - December 4th, 2022
- WikiLeaks - Government - October 31st, 2022
- WikiLeaks - What is WikiLeaks - October 31st, 2022
- WikiLeaks - Statement from Edward Snowden in Moscow - October 23rd, 2022