If you substitute “leak” for “data” in this essay by Daniella Lowenberg, does it work for leaks as well?
Data Publication: Sharing, Crediting, and Re-Using Research Data by Daniella Lowenberg.
From the post:
In the most basic terms- Data Publishing is the process of making research data publicly available for re-use. But even in this simple statement there are many misconceptions about what Data Publications are and why they are necessary for the future of scholarly communications.
Let’s break down a commonly accepted definition of “research data publishing”. A Data Publication has three core features: 1 – data that are publicly accessible and are preserved for an indefinite amount of time, 2 – descriptive information about the data (metadata), and 3 – a citation for the data (giving credit to the data). Why are these elements essential? These three features make research data reusable and reproducible- the goal of a Data Publication.
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As much as I admire the work of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ, especially its Panama Papers project, sharing data beyond the confines of their community isn’t a value, much less a goal.
As all secret keepers, government, industry, organizations, ICIJ has “reasons” for its secrecy, but none that I find any more or less convincing than those offered by other secret keepers.
Every secret keeper has an agenda their secrecy serves. Agendas that which don’t include a public empowered to make judgments about their secret keeping.
The ICIJ proclaims Leak to Us.
A good place to leak but include with your leak a demand, an unconditional demand, that your leak be released in its entirely within a year or two of its first publication.
Help enable the public to watch all secrets and secret keepers, not just those some secret keepers choose to expose.