WikiLeaks is disavowing a Twitter account associated with the secrets-leaking organization after a tweet was sent out about developing an online database for the personal information of many Twitter users.
After experiencing social media backlash, WikiLeaks tweeted late Friday a note from its @WikiLeaks to say the other account, WikiLeaks Task Force, was not “authorized” to make any statements on behalf of the organization.
“Media note: @WikiLeaks is the only official account of WikiLeaks. No other accounts are authorized to make statements on @wikileaks behalf,” the group said.
Media note: @WikiLeaks is the only official account of WikiLeaks. No other accounts are authorized to make statements on @wikileaks behalf.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 7, 2017
Earlier in the day, the WikiLeaks Task Force account tweeted out that it was looking to dox “verified” Twitter accounts. Doxxing is the practice of publishing of personal information on the Internet.
“We are thinking of making an online database with all ‘verified’ twitter accounts & their family/job/financial/housing relations,” it said in a now deleted tweet. The account later defended its message, explaining that the intent is not unlike what other databases do and the “idea is to look at the network of *relationships* that influence — not to publish addresses.”
Despite WikiLeaks’ disavowal, WikiLeaks Task Force, like the @WikiLeaks account, is a verified account, earning it a blue check badge next to its name, indicating that the account is authentic. Twitter approves such accounts “maintained by users in music, acting, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, sports, business, and other key interest areas.”
Posting private information is forbidden on Twitter.
“Posting another person’s private and confidential information is a violation of the Twitter Rules,” the social media company says on its website.
The operations performed by WikiLeaks, led by founder Julian Assange, became a major point of discussion during and after the presidential election, which Republican Donald Trump won. Last year the organization publicly released emails it was given from the Democratic National Committee and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s chairman John Podesta. A declassified report from the U.S. intelligence community on Friday said it had “high confidence” that Russian hackers sought to influence the election with the information they stole and provided to websites like WikiLeaks.
