It’s been a very long time since WikiLeaks was in the news for anything other than Julian Assange’s drawn-out extradition battle (he’s still waiting on Ecuador, chilling at their embassy), but another constant has been its cash woes. The group blames the money issues on an “unlawful financial blockade” by Visa and Mastercard, and decided last year to “temporarily suspend its publishing operations” to focus on fund-raising. More than six months later, the whistle-blowing site has reopened its donation system through a French company, but things are getting dire.
The Wall Street Journal reports today that WikiLeaks managed to spend in the neighborhood of $300,000 in the first half of 2012, but took in just about $40,000 in donations, leaving their cash reserves somewhere around $100,000. That will all be gone “within a few months,” the site said, unless faithful souls deliver “a minimum of €1 million immediately” so that WikiLeaks can “effectively continue its mission.” Good luck with that — maybe throw in a tote bag?
