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MuckRock’s Leaks and FOIA FAQ

Everything You Wanted To Know About Transparency (But Were Afraid to Ask Twitter): “With so many hot takes being offered on Wikileaks these days, we thought it would be good to clear the air with a simple primer on the difference between information obtained via the Freedom of Information Act and information obtained from leaks… Broadly, FOIA releases are government records that have extensively and exhaustively reviewed as part of the FOIA process, to prevent the release of information considered too sensitive or dangerous to be reasonably considered as part of the public record. Think nuclear access codes, social security numbers, and geological information on wells for some reason. Leaks are not. There’s no official process to vet leaks, and they don’t have to be government records, for that matter…”

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