A recent post surfaced on 8Chan, indicating how WikiLeaks had been compromised. As one would come to expect, that news was utterly fake. Rather than sending out a tweet or a Facebook post, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange used the Bitcoin blockchain to create a tamper-proof public record of him confirming the organization is fine.
WikiLeaks Has Not Been Compromised
It is good to hear Wikileaks and all of its staff members are doing just fine. A new report by 8Chan originally hinted at the organization being compromised, but that is not the case. There is a lot of fake news circulating on the Internet these days, yet WikiLeaks used a unique method to tell the entire world they are safe. Moreover, they did this in such a way the record will remain accessible by anyone forever.
The Bitcoin blockchain played an integral role in spreading the message about WikiLeaks not being compromised. A Bitcoin address connected to WikiLeaks sent out multiple small transactions to different addresses. Every address is part of the coded message, which spells out “We’re Fine. 8Chan Post Fake”. Quite a clever trick, especially since it creates a piece of evidence that will remain accessible for the remaining future of humanity.
The 8Chan post in question was made by an anonymous individual, who claims to be part of the WikiLeaks staff. To be more precise, this user claims he or she was part of the group of people raided at the same time as Julian Assange’s Internet was cut at the Ecuadorian embassy. Moreover, the message indicates how Julian and most of the WikiLeaks personnel are missing.
That was not all this user willingly shared with the world, though. He or she made it appear as if the WikiLeaks team is not in control of the official Twitter account, even though nothing is further from the truth. Plus, the user also claimed how the recent WikiLeaks IAMA on Reddit was not conducted by staff members.
Oddly enough, this know-all “staff member” of WikiLeaks did not provide any information to back up those claims. Nor did he or she explain who is in control of the Twitter account, and who conducted the Reddit IAMA. It was clear from the moment this post surfaced something fishy was going on, but it was not related to WikiLeaks or its staffers in any case. Various 8Chan users posted questions related to these bold claims, yet the received answers only made the story look more ludicrous.
Perhaps the most telling sign of this being a hoax is how the user also pleaded with other whistleblowers not to share information with WikiLeaks from that point forward. A very unusual statement, as WikiLeaks is one of the very few organizations both consumers and whistleblowers can rely on to expose the truth. Their affinity for Bitcoin and blockchain technology is noteworthy as well, and in this case, made it quite easy to debunk this hoax.
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