Wikipedia founder blasts Wikileaks

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has attacked whistle-blower site Wikileaks over its decision to release war documents related to the Afghanistan war, saying it could “get people killed”.

“I would distance myself from Wikileaks, I wish they wouldn’t use the name, they are not a Wiki. A big way they got famous in the first place was by using the word Wiki, which was unfortunate in my view,” he said at a conference in Kuala Lumpur.

“In the most recent round of leaks, the New York Times for example… actually redacted certain information that could put people in harm’s way whereas Wikileaks is planning to publish absolutely everything,” he said.

Wales argued that it is “really important” that when sensitive information is made available, that “we rely on responsible journalists to sort through it for us”.

Wales says that he doubts Wikileaks founder Julian Assange actually wants people killed, but said that releasing everything is a dangerous position to hold.