WikiLeaks has taken another step to protect the Afghan War Logs from censorship by recording them on the Bitcoin blockchain. By using the Ordinals protocol, this historical information becomes immutable and accessible to future generations.
Afghan War Logs immortalized on Bitcoin
The Afghan War Logs, a collection of 76,911 internal US military and government documents, were released in 2010 by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. These documents reveal shocking details about the Afghan war, including civilian deaths and controversial interrogation techniques. Despite their public availability, there remain risks of this information being suppressed.
To combat this, the entire Afghan War Logs are recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain via the Ordinals protocol. This process uses a tool called OrdinalsBot and starts on December 5 via ProjectSpartacus.org. This ensures that even if the WikiLeaks website goes offline or other archives are attacked, the information remains accessible.
According to Gabriel Shipton, Assange’s brother and chairman of the Assange Campaign, this approach is an “incredible use case” for the Ordinals protocol. He emphasizes that distributing this information via nodes worldwide helps keep it available forever.
Blockchain as a shield against censorship
The process of recording the Afghan War Logs on the blockchain is extensive. Each of the 76,911 documents is individually “inscribed” on satoshis (the smallest units of bitcoin). This makes the data immune to manipulation or deletion.
Toby Lewis, founder of OrdinalsBot, calls this one of the most complex projects to date. The collection will also be available on the new Ordinals marketplace Trio from December 12. While this initiative does not directly raise money for Assange’s legal fight, it does highlight Bitcoin’s power as a censorship-resistant platform.
Assange and the history of Bitcoin
Assange’s relationship with Bitcoin dates back to the early days of the cryptocurrency. WikiLeaks began accepting bitcoin donations as early as 2010, adding to the digital asset’s fame. This move was not without controversy, however; even Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto warned at the time that the attention WikiLeaks brought “could threaten the project.”
Despite these challenges, Bitcoin has played a crucial role in the survival of WikiLeaks. During a global bank blockade, bitcoin served as a “proof of concept” for Nakamoto’s vision of a censorship-resistant currency. According to Shipton, this perfectly illustrates the power of Bitcoin as a means of protecting and sharing information.
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Source: https://newsbit.nl/wikileaks-gebruikt-bitcoin-blockchain-om-afghan-war-logs-te-beschermen/