WikiLeaks is an international non-profit founded by Julian Assange in 2006. Its stated mission: promoting transparency and accountability by publishing classified or sensitive documents leaked from governments and other firms.
It functions as a secure platform for whistleblowers to anonymously submit information, emphasizing protecting its sources while making data publicly accessible.
Since its inception, WikiLeaks has released millions of documents that have sparked global controversies. Here are 20 of the disclosures I found most troubling.
#20 Australia’s Secret Oil Deal with Timor-Leste
Cables revealed Australia bugged the country of Timor-Leste’s cabinet rooms during oil treaty negotiations to gain commercial advantage. Spying on impoverished neighbors for corporate profit—classy move, Canberra.
#19 Guantanamo’s Innocent Detainees
The Guantanamo files showed many detainees were innocent people sold to the U.S. by Pakistani and Afghan warlords for bounties. That’s not good.
#18 Shell’s Infiltration of Nigerian Government
A U.S. cable documented Shell’s claim to have infiltrated all relevant Nigerian government ministries. Corporate colonialism alive and well in the 21st century.
#17 Yemen’s President Covering for U.S. Strikes
President Saleh told General Petraeus “we’ll continue saying the bombs are ours, not
yours” regarding U.S. airstrikes killing Yemeni civilians. Outsourcing accountability—brilliant diplomacy.
#16 Vatican’s Cover-Up of Child Abuse
Cables showed the Vatican resisted Irish government’s investigation into widespread child sexual abuse by clergy. Moral authority becomes an oxymoron.
#15 Tunisia’s Kleptocratic First Family
Cables detailed President Ben Ali’s family’s massive corruption, including a pet tiger fed four chickens daily while citizens starved. These revelations helped spark the Arab Spring. Well, the tiger but mostly Obama touched off the Arab Spring.
#14 Afghan War Diary’s Unreported Civilian Deaths
Over 91,000 reports revealed systematic underreporting of civilian casualties and Pakistani intelligence supporting the Taliban. Turns out our allies were backing our enemies—awkward.
#13 Secret Trade in Enriched Uranium
Cables exposed how highly enriched uranium went missing in former Soviet states, with black market sales to unknown buyers. Sleep tight, America. Unsure of whether this uranium is related to what Hillary sold off.
#12 Pfizer’s Nigerian Drug Trial Blackmail
Documents revealed Pfizer hired investigators to find dirt on Nigeria’s attorney general to pressure him into dropping a lawsuit over an experimental drug trial that killed children. Big Pharma playing hardball with dead kids as collateral.
#11 UN Spying Program
A cable ordered U.S. diplomats to collect DNA, fingerprints, credit card numbers, and passwords from UN officials including the Secretary-General. Re-reading this, I’m not sure this is controversial - it’s the UN we’re talking about.
#10 Russia’s Use of Mafia for State Business
Cables described Russia as a “virtual mafia state” where intelligence and organized crime worked as a single entity. The line between government and gangsters? Apparently just a suggestion.
#9 Iraq War Logs’ Civilian Death Count
Nearly 400,000 documents revealed 15,000 additional unreported civilian deaths and systematic torture by Iraqi forces under U.S. supervision. Democracy-building looked more like death-enabling.
#8 CIA’s Global Hacking Arsenal
Vault 7 exposed the CIA’s ability to hack smartphones, smart TVs, and cars, bypassing
encryption on Signal and WhatsApp. Your Samsung TV might be a CIA informant.
#7 DNC Rigging Primaries Against Sanders
Hillary crony John Podesta emails showed Democrat Party officials actively worked to undermine Bernie Sanders’ campaign despite claiming neutrality. New slogan: “The Democrat Party, Now With Less Democracy”.
#6 NSA Spying on European Leaders
Documents revealed the NSA tapped Angela Merkel’s phone and spied on French presidents. U.S. citizens and allies get the same surveillance treatment as enemies—equal opportunity!
#5 Clinton’s Private Server for Classified Info
Over 30,000 emails confirmed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used a private server for classified State Department business, deleting thousands before investigation. Author Peter Schweizer revealed she was also involved in highly incriminating pay-to-play activities with the Clinton Foundation (“Clinton Cash”).
#4 Deliberate Civilian Killing: “Collateral Murder”
The infamous video showed a U.S. Apache helicopter crew laughing while gunning
down Reuters journalists and civilians in Baghdad, then firing on rescuers.
#3 CIA’s Marble Framework for False Attribution
Vault 7 revealed the CIA can mask its hacking to make it look like Russia, China, or others did it. Every cyberattack accusation now comes with reasonable doubt.
#2 Mass Surveillance of Every American
Documents confirmed the NSA collects phone records, emails, and internet activity of
virtually all Americans without warrants. The Fourth Amendment, apparently optional since 2001. “Patriot Act”, what a joke.
#1 The Afghan and Iraq War Logs: Industrial-Scale Lies
Nearly half a million military reports proved the government systematically lied about progress, civilian deaths, and war crimes in both wars for over a decade. Trillions spent, hundreds of thousands dead, and our leaders knew it was a disaster the entire time—they just kept lying. The constitutional crisis isn’t that we learned the truth; it’s that telling the truth became a crime.
Feel what you will about Wikileaks. There’s no doubt they’ve altered history through candor — information disclosure and transparency.
The soon-to-be bestseller The Illustrated Spygate is here! All 40 chapters are available online.
Look for hardcopies soon at booksellers everywhere!
Remembering Grandpa
This is my grandfather, who served twice in the U.S Navy, the second time because of World War II. He volunteered even though he had five kids at home to support. Or perhaps because he had five kids at home to support (<sarc>). A child of the Depression, Grandpa built his family’s two-story house by hand, himself.
Top 20 Outrages of Norm Eisen's War on America
Born in Los Angeles in 1960, Norm Eisen attended Harvard Law, where he received his J.D. in 1991. He was a classmate of Barack Obama and served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.