WikiLeaks is building a system that would enable any website to host a form for collecting disclosures:
The upload system will give potential whistleblowers around the world the ability to leak sensitive documents to an organization or journalist they trust over a secure connection, while giving the receiver legal protection they might not otherwise enjoy.
WikiLeaks hopes this system will help journalists and others who receive specific submissions to study and report on those submissions in depth, because a massive collection of raw information that’s not studied and reported on will get little or no attention:
Once Wikileaks confirms the uploaded material is real, it will be handed over to the Web site that encouraged the submission for a period of time. This embargo period gives the journalist or rights group time to write a news story or report based on the material.
The embargo period is a key part of the plan, [WikiLeaks Advisory Board member Julien] Assange said. When Wikileaks releases material without writing its own story or finding people who will, it gains little attention.
“It’s counterintuitive,” he said. “You’d think the bigger and more important the document is, the more likely it will be reported on but that’s absolutely not true. It’s about supply and demand. Zero supply equals high demand, it has value. As soon as we release the material, the supply goes to infinity, so the perceived value goes to zero.”
