Daniel Domscheit-Berg

Daniel Domscheit-Berg (German: [ˈdaːni̯eːl ˌdɔmʃaɪtˈbɛʁk, -ni̯ɛl -]; né Berg; born 1978), previously known under the pseudonym Daniel Schmitt, is a German technology activist. He is best known as the former spokesperson for WikiLeaks and the author of Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World's Most Dangerous Website (2011).

Domscheit-Berg began working with WikiLeaks after meeting Assange at the Chaos Computer Club's annual conference in 2007. In August 2010, Domscheit-Berg was suspended from WikiLeaks by Assange after Domscheit-Berg challenged Assange's effectiveness as a leader. In September 2010, Domscheit-Berg resigned from WikiLeaks, saying "WikiLeaks has a structural problem. I no longer want to take responsibility for it, and that's why I am leaving the project."

Upon leaving WikiLeaks, Domscheit-Burg allegedly destroyed thousands of unpublished documents.

On 17 December 2010, he announced plans to open a new website for anonymous online leaks called OpenLeaks. At a Chaos Computer Club (CCC) event in August 2011, he announced its preliminary launch and invited hackers to test the security of the OpenLeaks system. The launch was a failure as it was unable to get online. The CCC criticized Domscheit-Berg for exploiting the good name of the club to promote his OpenLeaks project and expelled him from the club. This decision was revoked in February 2012. In September 2011, several news organizations cited Domscheit-Berg's split from Julian Assange and WikiLeaks as one of a series of events that led to the release that month of all 251,287 United States diplomatic cables in the Cablegate affair.

In 2011, he was named by Foreign Policy magazine in its FP Top 100 Global Thinkers.

Domscheit-Berg began working with WikiLeaks after meeting Assange at the Chaos Computer Club's annual conference (24C3) in 2007. During an online chat in August 2010, Julian Assange accused Domscheit-Berg of leaking information about the organization to Newsweek magazine. Assange suspended Domscheit-Berg from WikiLeaks during the chat after Domscheit-Berg wrote "you're not even fulfilling your role as a leader right now. A leader communicates and cultivates trust in himself. You are doing the exact opposite. You behave like some kind of emperor or slave trader."

On 25 September 2010 Domscheit-Berg told Der Spiegel that he was resigning, saying "WikiLeaks has a structural problem. I no longer want to take responsibility for it, and that's why I am leaving the project." When Domscheit-Berg resigned, the architect of WikiLeaks' submission platform and four other staffers also broke with Assange.

A book about his experience with and separation from WikiLeaks was released in Germany in February 2011, entitled Inside WikiLeaks: Meine Zeit bei der gefährlichsten Website der Welt ("My Time at the World's Most Dangerous Website"). An English translation was later released by Australian publisher Scribe Publications. In Berg's book he criticizes Julian Assange's leadership style and handling of the Afghan War Diaries. Domscheit-Berg stated he would destroy WikiLeaks data when leaving WikiLeaks. He and the other staffers leaving the project wanted to be sure that duplicates would be confirmed deleted by a notary with an affidavit. After leaving, WikiLeaks stated that Domscheit-Berg representing OpenLeaks, negotiated for eleven months over the unpublished documents and internal organisation communications with mediation between OpenLeaks and WikiLeaks conducted and terminated by organization spokesman and board member Andy Müller-Maguhn. Domscheit-Berg told weekly Der Freitag that "I took no documents from WikiLeaks with me", leading to suspension of mediations. Domscheit-Berg was eventually kicked out of Chaos Computer Club by Müller-Maguhn due to tension over the files and for using the name of the Chaos Computer Club to promote OpenLeaks.