A Typology of Digital Leaks as Journalistic Source Materials

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.