Impacto mediático y político del activismo hacker en la sociedad red.Estudio de caso: Wikileaks

Resumo

This research tracks the evolution of hacker culture, which underlies how and why the WikiLeaks phenomenon came about. First, we perform a theoretical, conceptual, historical, interpretative and critical analysis of the hacker ethic and culture, and of hacktivism as politically-motivated hacking. Through this approach, we identify the first documentary sources pertaining to hacker culture, the first references to hackers and hacktivists in the mass media, and the first socio-political consequences of the development of collective intelligence among hackers. This collective intelligence has been underpinned by progress in computing, the emergence of the internet and the expansion of the network society. We go on to outline the informational environment that have given rise to the network society and the conditions that contributed to the emergence of WikiLeaks. In our case study, we describe WikiLeaks as a new transnational, hacktivist network organisation; we explore its political roots and highlight its information strategy and its relationship with the mass media. We also look at storytelling in the public debate around WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, and review the transmedia narratives that have contributed to the proliferation of the WikiLeaks universe. To explain WikiLeaks’ collaboration processes, we used a methodology based on participant observation, joining its network of partners. We also provide information on WikiLeaks’ activity on Twitter and Facebook, on Google search records about WikiLeaks, on the progression of the estimated traffic on its website and the activity generated through its Wikipedia page, as well as its impact on the front pages of the five media outlets that collaborated on Cablegate. We also use computational linguistics to scrutinise the competing discourses of WikiLeaks and its partners regarding the US diplomatic cable leaks. Our intention is to clarify why WikiLeaks emerged, what its method and strategy are, how and when it achieved its maximum media and political impact, what challenges stem from this new hacker network organisation in the media landscape in general and in journalism specifically, and how it contributes to intensifying the challenge represented by the hacker ethic as an alternative spirit for the network society.