Zippyjuan
12-20-2017, 01:32 PM
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/dec/20/wikileaks-set-lose-support-freedom-press-found/
I have noticed that Wikileaks has not been releasing anything since the election ended- kinda like the George W Bush "terror alerts" which were released about every month or so during his re-election campaign suddenly stopped after that election ended. No major events they want to influence the outcome of these days? Or just laying low while investigations are ongoing?
A non-profit created in response to the banking blockade against WikiLeaks plans to stop funding the secret-spilling website following more than five years of facilitating donations.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) is slated to sever ties with WikiLeaks next month, ending its stint as surrogate for individuals wishing to fund the site in spite of being blacklisted in 2010 by Visa, MasterCard and PayPal.
“FPF’s board unanimously found — upon review of the available evidence — that the financial blockade by the major payment processors is no longer in effect, and as such, we will soon cease processing donations on behalf of WikiLeaks readers,” Trevor Timm, the foundation’s director, wrote in a Dec. 9 email to WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
The partnership is poised to dissolve Jan. 8, at which point WikiLeaks will lose its longtime intermediary and look toward the likes of foreign proxies and cryptocurrencies for additional income, lest it risk repeating the banking blockade that previously decimated the website’s cash reserves.
“The financial censorship of WikiLeaks is ongoing in various ways as is our litigation in response,” Mr. Assange wrote in an email to Mr. Timm.
Mr. Assange posted the exchange on Twitter, and Mr. Timm confirmed its authenticity when contacted by The Washington Times.
Launched in late 2012, the FPF was a direct consequence of the banking blockade imposed against WikiLeaks in response to its publication of classified U.S. State and Defense Department later traced to Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst. Visa, MasterCard and PayPal stopped serving WikiLeaks following their publication, and that blockade “inspired” the formation of FPF, the organization announced upon launching.
“The Foundation is designed to crowd-fund a variety of journalism institutions—both start-ups and established organizations—who are dedicated to aggressive, uncompromising journalism in the vein of Watergate and the Pentagon Papers,” the FPF said at the time.
WikiLeaks was the first major benefactor of the FPF’s efforts, and the foundation ultimately raised nearly $200,000 within six weeks of launching, including $86,000 destined directly to WikiLeaks.
Donors looking to fund WikiLeaks today can use the FPF’s website as a proxy, and currently the foundation processes both one-time donations and recurring, monthly payments meant for WikiLeaks. That will end soon when the board’s vote takes effect, however, at which point the foundation intends to transfer its remaining WikiLeaks funds to Wau Holland, a German organization that similarly channels funds for Mr. Assange’s website, according to the email exchange.
The parting of ways between the FPF and WikiLeaks was first reported by The Daily Beast last month in an article that claimed that several of the foundation’s board members had become “disenchanted with WikiLeaks,” and especially Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked classified NSA documents in 2013 and joined its board the next January.
Mr. Snowden has quietly served as the FPF’s president since early 2016. He did not return messages seeking comment.
More at link.
I have noticed that Wikileaks has not been releasing anything since the election ended- kinda like the George W Bush "terror alerts" which were released about every month or so during his re-election campaign suddenly stopped after that election ended. No major events they want to influence the outcome of these days? Or just laying low while investigations are ongoing?
A non-profit created in response to the banking blockade against WikiLeaks plans to stop funding the secret-spilling website following more than five years of facilitating donations.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) is slated to sever ties with WikiLeaks next month, ending its stint as surrogate for individuals wishing to fund the site in spite of being blacklisted in 2010 by Visa, MasterCard and PayPal.
“FPF’s board unanimously found — upon review of the available evidence — that the financial blockade by the major payment processors is no longer in effect, and as such, we will soon cease processing donations on behalf of WikiLeaks readers,” Trevor Timm, the foundation’s director, wrote in a Dec. 9 email to WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
The partnership is poised to dissolve Jan. 8, at which point WikiLeaks will lose its longtime intermediary and look toward the likes of foreign proxies and cryptocurrencies for additional income, lest it risk repeating the banking blockade that previously decimated the website’s cash reserves.
“The financial censorship of WikiLeaks is ongoing in various ways as is our litigation in response,” Mr. Assange wrote in an email to Mr. Timm.
Mr. Assange posted the exchange on Twitter, and Mr. Timm confirmed its authenticity when contacted by The Washington Times.
Launched in late 2012, the FPF was a direct consequence of the banking blockade imposed against WikiLeaks in response to its publication of classified U.S. State and Defense Department later traced to Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst. Visa, MasterCard and PayPal stopped serving WikiLeaks following their publication, and that blockade “inspired” the formation of FPF, the organization announced upon launching.
“The Foundation is designed to crowd-fund a variety of journalism institutions—both start-ups and established organizations—who are dedicated to aggressive, uncompromising journalism in the vein of Watergate and the Pentagon Papers,” the FPF said at the time.
WikiLeaks was the first major benefactor of the FPF’s efforts, and the foundation ultimately raised nearly $200,000 within six weeks of launching, including $86,000 destined directly to WikiLeaks.
Donors looking to fund WikiLeaks today can use the FPF’s website as a proxy, and currently the foundation processes both one-time donations and recurring, monthly payments meant for WikiLeaks. That will end soon when the board’s vote takes effect, however, at which point the foundation intends to transfer its remaining WikiLeaks funds to Wau Holland, a German organization that similarly channels funds for Mr. Assange’s website, according to the email exchange.
The parting of ways between the FPF and WikiLeaks was first reported by The Daily Beast last month in an article that claimed that several of the foundation’s board members had become “disenchanted with WikiLeaks,” and especially Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked classified NSA documents in 2013 and joined its board the next January.
Mr. Snowden has quietly served as the FPF’s president since early 2016. He did not return messages seeking comment.
More at link.