Google Authenticator was used to login via a two-stage verification process. In this case, the information was sent by modifying a social network that allowed for more fluid conversation. After the database was ordered, the journalists could finally start work: in previous cases, such as Wikileaks, data was sent by hard drive or through software that only allowed for thread conversations. To do this as quickly as possible, some thirty servers working in parallel were required. pst files all have to be uncompressed, electronically scanned with an OCR program and checked, one by one. Once a newspaper has received documents they must be prepared: in a case like this, we’re talking about text that can be processed, once their relevance has been established, but much of it will be of no interest. Anybody who thinks that the role of the media is simply to publish an exclusive on the basis of looking into the data base is ignoring the reality of trying to navigate this ocean of information. The role of collaborating media is essential: it’s simply not possible to carry out an investigation without an understanding of the context of each country or without access to other sources of information outside the data base, such archives or public registries. Access to the information is free of charge, and all that is required is a commitment to dedicate the necessary resources. The first thing required to be done in a case like this is to establish the veracity of the documents, and then to order them and then to find partners around the world that want to publish them, which might not necessarily be the biggest newspapers. It uses open source software, and in the case of the Panama Papers, is allowed to use licensed software free of charge by its owners, given the importance of the story and the possibilities to derive interesting learning experiences from such a challenging project. The ICIJ’s credibility is based on its work in uncovering other tax evasion schemes, such as the Offshore Leaks, the Luxembourg Leaks, or the Swiss Leaks. Most media coverage of the Panama Papers, the biggest leak of confidential information ever at some 2.6 Terabytes, and 11.5 million documents, has focused on the possible illegal activities of people using tax havens to stash cash or the political fallout.įrom my perspective, what I find interesting about the whole affair is the technical dimension and the complexities involved in carrying out such an operation.Īfter receiving the papers, one Germany’s leading dailies, the Süddeutsche Zeitung, contacted the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a small but highly efficient not-for-profit organization with a Data & Research Unit run by Spain’s Mar Cabra. The Panama Papers: the technology that drives investigative journalism
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |