This page in a nutshell: The website WikiLeaks, which publicizes leaked information, is not in any way affiliated with Wikipedia or the Wikimedia Foundation. It is an entirely separate website run by people who have no connection to Wikimedia. |
WikiLeaks is not affiliated with Wikipedia or the Wikimedia Foundation in any way whatsoever.
"Wiki" is a generic word that anyone can use; it is not a brand name or trademark. A wiki is any website that allows the creation and editing of interlinked webpages via a web browser. There are many wikis in existence, run by various organizations, which contain various types of content; thus, albeit one of the largest and best-known examples, Wikipedia is only one wiki among many. The term "wiki" was coined in 1994–1995 by Ward Cunningham, the inventor of the concept, who also created its first implementation.[1] The term was thus already in existence prior to the advent of Wikipedia (6–7 years later, in 2001),[2] and the Wikimedia Foundation therefore does not claim ownership of the term in any way.[3]
The Wikimedia Foundation has officially stated that there is no relationship between WikiLeaks and Wikipedia or Wikimedia.[3] In an 11 August 2010 article in The Daily Telegraph (London), Wikipedia's co-founder Jimmy Wales stated that he has had no connection with the Wikileaks.org website.[4]
Despite its name, since at least May 2010, WikiLeaks includes no wiki features, like editing or commenting by readers.[5]
The domain names wikileaks.com, wikileaks.net, wikileaks.us, wikileaks.biz, and wikileaks.mobi previously had a "Registrant"[6] or "Registrant Organization"[7] listed as Jimmy Wales' company Wikia, and some had Michael Davis (who is Chief Operating Officer of Wikia),[8] listed for "Registrant Name". These sites showed content from wikileaks.org. This is perhaps the basis for some of the confusion regarding Wikipedia and WikiLeaks; however, Wikia and the Wikimedia Foundation are for the most part separate organizations.
In response to a question on his talk page on 8 December 2010, Wales stated:[9]
Further, according to a previous statement by Wales on 1 October 2010:[10]
On 27 January 2011, the domain name registrations were finally assigned to Julian Assange.[11]