Type of site | Social networking service |
---|---|
Website | wlfriends |
Launched | May 2012 |
Current status | Some groups still active |
Friends of WikiLeaks, sometimes reduced and stylized as FoWL, was a surveillance-resistant social network site created in support of WikiLeaks.[1] Founded in May 2012, the site was intended for those who support WikiLeaks and its activities to perform advocacy.[2][3][4] In contrast to more traditional forms of social networking, FoWL aimed at bringing together like-minded people who do not yet know each other. To achieve this goal, the site would ask about the language the user speaks as well as any preferences in the ways of hobbies or other activities. The site would then find six friends who share the user's views within your country, and another six from other parts of the world who speak your language.[5] If one of those friends cancelled their account or became inactive, a new friend would be matched to the user's circle and would replace the previous inactive one.
“ | Friends of WikiLeaks is a network of people from across the globe who defend WikiLeaks, its people, its alleged sources and its mission | ” |
— Friends of WikiLeaks[2] |
With the establishment of The Wikileaks Party, the official Friends of WikiLeaks organization was shut down in 2013. However, several of the groups still remain active on Twitter and the web as of 28 July 2017.[6]