14 DAY TRIAL // Wikileaks, the whistle-blower site that has made the rounds since its launch thanks to revealing more than a few secretes and sensitive documents from governments or corporations, has announced that it managed to raise enough money to stay afloat for another year. The site had shut down temporarily last week, saying that it lacked funding to continue operations. Wikileaks isn't up yet, but has announced on its Twitter account that it has raised the minimum amount required to continue.
"Achieved min. funraising [sic.] goal. ($200k / 600k); we’re back fighting for another year, even if we have to eat rice to do it," the tweet reads, indicating that it has managed to reach $200,000 in donations, though it doesn't precisely say which of the goals, the minimum required for running the site – $200,000 – or the minimum required to run the site and pay the people working for it, which currently volunteer, – $600,000. Last week, Wikileaks claimed it had raised only $130,000, not enough to keep it going for the full year.
The site hasn't been updated though and still reads, "To concentrate on raising the funds necessary to keep us alive into 2010, we have reluctantly suspended all other operations, but will be back soon." However, there are already plans to move forward and the site is contemplating whether to "transform Iceland into world centre for investigative media."
Wikileaks is run by the non-profit organization Sunshine Media and is backed by anonymous human-rights activists, journalists and other individuals around the world. The site has been the target of more than enough legal attention, it claims it fought off more than 100 legal threats in its two years of existence. One of its biggest threats came in 2008, when a California judge ordered the site to shut down after a Cayman Islands bank complained about some incriminating documents that made their way to Wikileaks.