The Memory Hole was a
website edited by
Russ Kick; it was launched on July 10, 2002, with its last post on May 11, 2009,
with a successor website appearing in June 2016. Before being hacked in June 2009, the site was devoted to preserving and publishing material that is in danger of being lost, hard to find, or not widely known. Topics include government files, corporate memos, court documents, police reports and eyewitness statements, Congressional testimony, reports from various sources, maps, patents, web pages, photographs, video, sound recordings, news articles, and books. The name is a tribute to the "
memory hole" from
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
's novel ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four'', a slot into which government officials deposit politically inconvenient documents and records for destruction.
[
]
One of the most noticeable actions was the publication of several hundred photos depicting the coffins of U.S. soldiers fallen in
Iraq. These were obtained by Kick by filing a request based on the
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
. The photos sparked a controversy regarding the publication of war photos, public opinion and the behavior of the U.S. government.
The website is the 2005 winner of the
Project on Government Oversight's "Beyond the Headlines" Award.
A successor website, The Memory Hole 2, was launched by Kick on June 16, 2016.
See also
*
WikiLeaks
*
Cryptome
Notes
External links
http://thememoryhole.org/ - Freedom of Information (FOIA) Web ArchiveThe Memory HoleThe Memory Hole - Internet ArchiveThe Memory Hole 2
2007 establishments in Sweden
Classified documents
Information sensitivity
Internet censorship
Internet properties established in 2002
National security
Online archives of the United States
Whistleblowing
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