Hacking/​Journalism

Tags: 2010s Hacking Journalism WikiLeaks

Authors: Salvo, Philip Di

Published: April 2017

URL: https://limn.it/articles/hackingjournalism/

Abstract: On May 19, 2011, The Washington Post published an article about one of the ways in which the “boundaries of journalism have expanded” into hacking through the adoption of encryption tools in whistleblowing cases. The article discusses the use of encryption tools in leaks including WikiLeaks’ Afghan and Iraqi War Logs, the Cablegate leaks, the Panama Papers, and Snowden’s leaks. In each of these leaks, encryption “played an enabling role in that whistleblowing” in part because it “played a fundamental part in facilitating communication between the source and the journalists.” Now, journalists and reporters are “routinely embedding traditional hacking tools within their toolbox” because encryption has “become a crucial strategy for reporters in need of a safe digital environment…or to…shield their work.” As such, “hacking-influenced journalism has proven to be a catalyst for investigative reporting” at the news outlets that embrace hacking.