Abstract
Whistleblowers have provided journalists with first-hand information since the dawn of journalism, but leaks have taken new forms and trajectories, thanks to digitalization. From WikiLeaks to the Facebook Papers, “public interest hacks,” and the Panama Papers mega-leak, leaked information is reaching journalists and the public sphere through a variety of actors, practices, and new contexts. Whistleblowers are no longer the only actors responsible for leaks as leaked information has increasingly emerged through cyberattacks or through hackers and hacktivists for political or activist aims, changing and impacting traditional information flows and reporting practices. Thus, although leaks have different ethical and editorial implications, they have become an integral component of present-day journalism and one of the most increasingly common sources for stories of potentially crucial public value. This chapter aims to provide a typology of contemporary digital leaks, which was developed on the basis of a framework examining the peculiarities of leaks in terms of the actors involved and their strategies and varying levels of engagement with news organizations. Overall, the chapter contributes to the understanding of the way in which leaks have become journalistic source materials in the digital age, highlighting the assemblages of components of a now fundamental reporting scenario for contemporary journalists.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnold, J. R. (2019). Whistleblowers, Leakers, and Their Network. From Snowden to Samizdat. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
Baack, S. (2016). What big data leaks tell us about the future of journalism—And its past. Internet Policy Review. https://policyreview.info/articles/news/what-big-data-leaks-tell-us-about-future-journalism-and-its-past/413.
Barnes, J.E. (2021). Ex-Intelligence Analyst Is Sentenced for Leaking to a Reporter. The New York Times, July 27th. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/27/us/politics/daniel-hale-leak-sentence.html.
Benkler, Y. (2013). WikiLeaks and the Networked Fourth Estate. In: Brevini, B., Hintz, A. & McCurdy, P. (Eds.). Beyond WikiLeaks. Implications for the Future of Communications, Journalism and Society. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 11–34.
Benton, J. (2021). In the ocean’s worth of new Facebook revelations out today, here are some of the most important drops. The Nieman Journalism Lab, October 25th. https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/10/in-the-oceans-worth-of-new-facebook-revelations-out-today-here-are-some-of-most-important-drops/.
Beran, D. (2020). The Return of Anonymous. The Atlantic, August 11th. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/08/hacker-group-anonymous-returns/615058/.
Boeyink, D. E. (1990). Anonymous sources in news stories: Justifying exceptions and limiting abuses. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 5(4), 233–246.
Bory, P., & Di Salvo, P. (2022). Weak systems unveiling the vulnerabilities of digitization. Tecnoscienza, 12(2), 79–87.
Briant, E. L. & Wanless, A. (2018). A digital ménage à trois: Strategic leaks, propaganda and journalism. In: Bjola, C. & Pamment, J. (Eds.). Countering Online Propaganda and Extremism. The Dark Side of Digital Diplomacy. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 44–65.
Cabra, M. & Kissane, E. (2016). Wrangling 2.6TB of data: The people and the technology behind the Panama Papers. ICIJ.org, April 25th. https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/data-tech-team-icij/.
Ceva, E. & Bocchiola, M. (2018). Is Whistleblowing a Duty? Cambridge: Polity.
Ceva, E. & Bocchiola, M. (2019). Theories of whistleblowing. Philosophy Compass, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12642.
Chadwick, A. (2017). The Hybrid Media System: Politics and Power (2nd edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Coddington, M. (2015). Clarifying Journalism’s Quantitative Turn. A typology for evaluating data journalism, computational journalism, and computer-assisted reporting. Digital Journalism, 3(3), 331–348.
Coleman, G. (2017). The Public Interest Hack. Limn, 8, 18–23.
Culiberg, B., & Mihelič, K. K. (2017). The Evolution of Whistleblowing Studies: A Critical Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Business Ethics, 146(4), 787–803.
Deleuze, G. & Guattari, F. (2008). A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. London: Continuum.
Di Salvo, P. (2016). Strategies of Circulation Restriction in Whistleblowing: The Pentagon Papers, WikiLeaks and Snowden Cases Authors. Tecnoscienza, 7(1), 67–86.
Di Salvo, P. (2020). Digital Whistleblowing Platforms in Journalism. Encrypting Leaks. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Di Salvo, P. & Porlezza, C. (2020). Hybrid professionalism in journalism: Opportunities and risks of hacker sources. SComS. Studies in Communication Sciences, 20(2), 243–254.
Duffy, M. J., & Freeman, C. P. (2011). Unnamed sources: A utilitarian exploration of their justification and guidelines for limited use. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 26(4), 297–315.
Eldridge, S. A. (2017). Online Journalism from the Periphery. Interloper Media and the Journalistic Field. London: Routledge.
Emmel, N. (2014). Purposeful Sampling. In: Emmel, N. (Ed.) Sampling and Choosing Cases in Qualitative Research: A Realist Approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 33–44.
Faife, C. (2022). In Ukraine, hacktivists fight back with data leaks. The Verge, March 11th. https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/11/22968049/anonymous-hacks-ukraine-russia-cybercrime-danger.
Flynn, K. (2011). The practice and politics of leaking. Social Alternatives, 30(1), 24–28.
Franceschi-Bicchierai, L. (2016a). The Vigilante Who Hacked Hacking Team Explains How He Did It. Motherboard, April 15th. https://www.vice.com/en/article/3dad3n/the-vigilante-who-hacked-hacking-team-explains-how-he-did-it-.
Franceschi-Bicchierai, L. (2016b). Hacker ‘Phineas Fisher’ Speaks on Camera for the First Time—Through a Puppet. Motherboard, July 20th. https://www.vice.com/en/article/78kwke/hacker-phineas-fisher-hacking-team-puppet.
Franceschi-Bicchierai, L. & Cox, J. (2017). Inside the ‘Stalkerware’ Surveillance Market, Where Ordinary People Tap Each Other’s Phones. Motherboard, April 18th. https://www.vice.com/en/article/53vm7n/inside-stalkerware-surveillance-market-flexispy-retina-x.
Gallagher, S. (2018). DNC “lone hacker” Guccifer 2.0 pegged as Russian spy after opsec fail. Ars Technica, March 23th. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/03/dnc-lone-hacker-guccifer-2-0-pegged-as-russian-spy-after-opsec-fail/.
Hintz, A. (2019). Leaks. In: T. P. Vos & F. Hanusch (Eds.). The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies. Hoboken: Wiley.
Horwitz, J. (2021). The Facebook Whistleblower, Frances Haugen, Says She Wants to Fix the Company, Not Harm It. The Wall Street Journal, October 3rd. https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-says-she-wants-to-fix-the-company-not-harm-it-11633304122.
Ibrahim, N. & Barabanov, I. (2021). The lost tablet and the secret documents. BBC News, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/8iaz6xit26/the-lost-tablet-and-the-secret-documents.
Johnson, B. G., Bent, L., & Dade, C. (2020). An Ethic of Advocacy: Metajournalistic Discourse on the Practice of Leaks and Whistleblowing from Valerie Plame to the Trump Administration. Journal of Media Ethics, 35(1), 2–16.
Kantrowitz, A. (2021). I’m in the consortium possessing the leaked Facebook documents. Let’s dissolve it. The Nieman Journalism Lab, October 26th. https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/10/im-in-the-consortium-possessing-the-leaked-facebook-documents-lets-dissolve-it/.
Larrondo-Ureta, A., & Ferreras-Rodríguez, E. M. (2021). The potential of investigative data journalism to reshape professional culture and values. A study of bellwether transnational projects. Communication & Society, 34(1), 41–56.
Lee, M. (2020). Hack of 251 Law Enforcement Websites Exposes Personal Data of 700,000 Cops. The Intercept, July 15th. https://theintercept.com/2020/07/15/blueleaks-anonymous-ddos-law-enforcement-hack/.
Liebes, T. & Blum-Kulka, S. (2004). It takes two to blow the whistle: Do journalists control the outbreak of scandal? American Behavioral Scientist, 47(9), 1153–1170.
McGregor, S. E. (2021). Information Security Essentials: A Guide for Reporters, Editors, and Newsroom Leaders. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Miceli, M. P. & Near, J. (1992). Blowing the Whistle. The Organizational and Legal Implications for Companies and Employees. New York: Lexington Books.
Milmo, D. (2021). Frances Haugen: ‘I never wanted to be a whistleblower. But lives were in danger’. The Guardian, October 24th. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/24/frances-haugen-i-never-wanted-to-be-a-whistleblower-but-lives-were-in-danger.
Nail, T. (2017). What is an Assemblage? SubStance, 142(46), 21–37.
Obermayer, B. & Obermaier, F. (2017). The Panama Papers. Breaking the Story of How the Rich and Powerful Hide Their Money. London: Oneworld Publications.
Reich, Z. (2008). The anatomy of leaks. Tracing the path of unauthorized disclosure in the Israeli press. Journalism, 9(5), 555–581.
Reich, Z. & Barnoy, A. (2016). The Anatomy of Leaking in the Age of Megaleaks. New triggers, old news practices. Digital Journalism, 4, 886–898.
Rid, T. (2020). Active measures: The secret history of disinformation and political warfare. New York, NY: Farrar.
Schapals, A. K. (2022). Peripheral Actors in Journalism Deviating from the Norm? Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge.
Seawright, J., & Gerring, J. (2008). Case selection techniques in case study research: A menu of qualitative and quantitative options. Political Research Quarterly, 61(2), 294–308.
Shane, S. (2019). The Age of Big Leaks. The New York Times, February 2nd. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/02/sunday-review/data-leaks-journalism.html.
Singer, J. B. (2005). The Political J-Blogger: ‘Normalizing’ a New Media Form to Fit Old Norms and Practices. Journalism, 6(2), 173–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884905051009.
Stone, G. & Bollinger, L. (2021). National Security, Leaks and Freedom of the Press: The Pentagon Papers Fifty Years On. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Süddeutsche Zeitung. (2016). John Doe’s Manifesto. https://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/articles/572c897a5632a39742ed34ef/.
The Intercept. (2015). The Drone Papers. https://theintercept.com/drone-papers/.
Thielman, S. (2019). A new group devoted to transparency is exposing secrets Wikileaks chose to keep. Columbia Journalism Review, February 6th. https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/emma-best-ddosecrets.php.
Tiffen, R. (2018). The Era of Mega-Leaks. In: Schapals, A. K., Bruns, A., & McNair, B. (Eds.). Digitizing democracy. New York, NY: Routledge.
Touchton, M.R., Klofstad, C.A., West, J.P. & Uscinski, J.E. (2020). Whistleblowing or leaking? Public opinion toward Assange, Manning, and Snowden. Research & Politics, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168020904582.
United States Department of Justice. (2019). Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election. https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco/file/1373816/download.
United States Department of Justice. (2021). Former Intelligence Analyst Pleads Guilty to Disclosing Classified Information. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/former-intelligence-analyst-pleads-guilty-disclosing-classified-information.
Wahl-Jorgensen, K. & Hunt, J. (2012). Journalism, accountability and the possibilities for structural critique: A case study of coverage of whistleblowing. Journalism, 13(4), 399–416.
Wheatley, D. (2020). A typology of news sourcing: Routine and non-routine channels of production. Journalism Practice, 14(3), 277–298.
Woodall, A. (2018). Media capture in the era of megaleaks. Journalism, 19(8), 1182–1195.
Zittrain, J. (2016). Mass Hacks of Private Email Aren’t Whistleblowing, They are at Odds With It. Just Security, October 19th. https://www.justsecurity.org/33677/mass-hacks-private-email-arent-whistleblowing-odds-it/.
Acknowledgements
This article generated within a mobility research fellowship funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), grant number P2TIP1_191492.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Di Salvo, P. (2024). A Typology of Digital Leaks as Journalistic Source Materials. In: Dunn, H.S., Ragnedda, M., Ruiu, M.L., Robinson, L. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Everyday Digital Life . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30438-5_26
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30438-5_26
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-30437-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-30438-5
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)