Apparently, there was trouble in paradise between Julian Assange and his number two, Daniel Domscheit-Berg.
A number of WikiLeaks defectors, including founder Julian Assange’s former right-hand man, plan to launch a rival site on Monday after accusing Mr Assange of behaving like “some kind of emperor or slave trader”.
Apparently, folks were mad over Assange’s rockstar status. It all seems to undermines Assange’s declaration that this is all for the “common good.” Openleaks’ structure:
Like WikiLeaks, it will allow whistleblowers to leak information to the public anonymously. However, Openleaks won’t host the documents itself, instead acting as an intermediary between whistleblowers and other groups including media organisations.
Several WikiLeaks members abandoned the site following perceived autocratic behaviour by Mr Assange. They said he failed to consult them on many decisions and put himself front and centre of everything WikiLeaks did.
Some members were also concerned that the Swedish rape allegations against Mr Assange were damaging the organisation’s reputation. Dagens Nyheter reported that insiders were sabotaging the site earlier this year in order to convince Mr Assange to step down.
The difference between Wikileaks and Openleaks?
From what can be gleaned about OpenLeaks, the site does not intend to publish information solely for the public, opting instead to allow other organizations access to OpenLeaks and do with it what they will. The information on the site will be produced and published by partnering organizations.
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According to Forbes, the project will initially partnered with five newspapers worldwide, but soon expand to anyone who wants to participate.
As for Assange’s opinion of OpenLeaks, Forbes reports he downplayed the notion that OpenLeaks would compete with WikiLeaks, stating. “The supply of leaks is very large. It’s helpful for us to have more people in this industry. It’s protective to us.”