Wikileaks-style news portal seeks to expose secrets in higher education

A new online initiative titled Unileaks - clearly inspired by the radical Wikileaks organization - has invited contributions that contain restricted or censored material of political, ethical, diplomatic or historical significance which is in some way connected to higher education, an agency or government body working in partnership with an institution, e.g., a University.

Seeking to expose the not-so-publicized goings-on in the higher education domain, the self-proclaimed news organization has clarified that they would not accept any rumor, opinion or any account that is publicly available elsewhere. Already published material may only be considered if there is an angle of public interest which had not been suitably explored at the time of earlier release.

Unileaks also has an anonymous electronic drop box for submissions for those wishing to provide original material to journalists and assures sources that no log is kept of who uses the drop box or where they are coming from.

The website www.unileaks.org currently hosts three open letters - to British and Australian universities' vice chancellors and most recently to American College Presidents; in its letter to college presidents in the U.S. it says, We welcome the challenge of exposing to public scrutiny the corruption and mismanagement which our sources are in the process of uncovering.

In an appeal to both academics and students, UniLeaks has invoked America's historical commitment to a free and open education system in addition to the nation's commitment to openness and transparency in government. An anonymous representative from UniLeaks.org is quoted as saying Academics from around the world are drawn to the United States because of its commitment to academic rigor and scholarly excellence. UniLeaks aims to expose those responsible for sabotaging this dream. In its release for media, Unileaks says that it expects to publish matter relating to a deceased UCLA professor shortly.

One of the site's organizers, based in Australia, is reported to have told The New York Times that restricted - and potentially controversial - documents would soon be posted. He explained the delay saying that they have to go through a rigorous authentication procedure which takes time.

Unileaks also has a Youtube channel to which three satirical videos pertaining to RMIT University in Australia have been uploaded so far.