Opinion: Michael Moore's New 'TrumpiLeaks' Website Is About As Credible As It Sounds
Infamous director and filmmaker Michael Moore has recently launched a new website with the intent of providing whistleblowers protection if they "leak" potentially damaging information about the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
The website is called 'TrumpiLeaks' - yes, surprisingly this is not a joke...
Unprecedented Political Witch Hunt
The left and mainstream media have been engaging in a relentless campaign to try to smear the president's reputation by finding any skeletons they can. So far, it seems they have failed miserably.
Many of the allegations, such as #TrumpRussia or #TrumpRussiaCoverUp, have come up short on evidence.
Another talking point - the question of whether the president ORDERED former FBI Director James Comey to stand down on investigations, including Michael Flynn's - appeared to have backfired as Comey himself COMMITTED PERJURY on June 8th by contradicting his previous testimony on May 3rd:
Source: YouTube channel PolitiStick
In his latest testimony, he referred to the confidential memo he LEAKED to his friend, with the intent of sharing it with the press, saying Trump had HOPED Comey "could see his way clear to letting it go," in regard to the aforementioned investigations. Comey stated he interpreted this as a directive or order from the president.
In addition to essentially committing PERJURY and TREASON, the disgraced former FBI director also said former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch had approached him during the end of the 2016 election campaign and asked him to cease the investigation on candidate Hillary Clinton's leaked emails and alleged mishandling of classified / secret information!
Guess what? He took her "advice" and stopped the investigation!
Now, we believe this is all relevant to the topic of this article - which is Moore's new site 'TrumpiLeaks' - as it shows the absolute desperation of those who oppose the current administration and conservative constituents alike. They apparently know no bounds when it comes to indecency, with the recent Kathy Griffin, Reza Aslan and Shakespeare in the Park abhorrent displays and commentary absolutely BACKFIRING in their faces!
The Website
When you first visit Moore's 'TrumpiLeaks' website, you'll notice it's actually a subdomain under the MichaelMoore.com domain.
It appears that TrumpiLeaks.com was already reserved, but if Moore wanted to be TAKEN SERIOUSLY in his pursuit to bring down Trump, you would think he'd dish out a small fraction of his immense fortune to buy a legitimate domain and setup a professional looking operation!
Take a look for yourself at the top of his new page:
Source: michaelmoore.com/TrumpiLeaks
Sorry, Moore, but first impressions are everything and it already looks like a JOKE! A GIF of half your head popping up now and then near the site's "MICHAELMOORE" title, along with menu links named "Holy Crap," "Try This On," and "Don't Click Here" just don't help with the site's credibility!
Next, after scrolling down a bit, you'll see a statement which provides a brief "About Us," describing the site's purpose and features:
"Welcome to TrumpiLeaks. This site provides the most high-powered encryption technology to enable courageous whistleblowers to privately communicate with me and my team. Patriotic Americans in government, law enforcement or the private sector with knowledge of the crimes, lies and general misconduct committed by Donald J. Trump and his associates are encouraged to blow the whistle in the name of protecting the United States of America from tyranny.
"Below are several tools you can use to securely send information and documents as well as photographs, video and/or audio recordings. While no form of digital communication is 100% secure, the tools we’re using provide the most secure technology possible to protect your anonymity (and if you don’t require anonymity, you can just email me here)."
TrumpiLeaks provides the most "high-powered encryption technology?"
All we see so far is the SSL (HTTPS) utilized by the domain itself - which is an industry standard and not the most "high-powered encryption tech" - and download links to a bunch of obscure apps (with maybe the exception of WhatsApp; a popular messaging platform among teenagers).
For the Signal app, Moore setup and provided a "personal" phone number where users can directly communicate with him concerning any bombshell information they might have:
"This is a free, end-to-end encrypted messaging app, which allows you to communicate directly with Michael Moore. You can send text messages, images and video. It also allows you to talk securely with a reporter by calling them via the Signal app. No metadata is retained by Signal. It can be downloaded from the app store. Signal can be configured to delete messages automatically at a designated time interval.
"Michael Moore’s Signal phone number: 929-451-7267."
Other options for communication include encrypted PGP email, snail mail and just regular unencrypted email (for those supposedly not concerned about privacy or anonymity).
The page in no way describes how any information obtained will be vetted or verified.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was wise enough to reveal his verification process, which adds authenticity to any leaks that may come about.
In a CRJ article regarding Assange's asymmetrical approach to journalism, they stated the information is relayed "via a distributed process that uses multiple nodes, each of which have a certain level of reliability." These nodes are multiple news sources that have the resources to verify the legitimacy of large amounts of information. The article also mentioned how Assange "set his group up to act as an arbiter of the accuracy of coverage delivered by these same news organizations."
If Moore wants his TrumpiLeaks operation to be taken seriously, he could perhaps approach Assange for advice since he's been in the "business" for quite some time now. We doubt the WikiLeaks founder would share any tips with Moore considering his reputation as a ridiculous "shock jock" filmmaker and rabble-rouser.
Conclusion
We don't believe any important information will come from TrumpiLeaks. Why, you ask? Well, as stated previously, the "site," which is essentially just a page on his own personal website, looks ridiculous at first glance.
Why would anyone risk their reputation, career and name by providing potentially harmful information about the POTUS to this "half-ass" operation when there are other options (like WikiLeaks)?
It appears this is just another "safe space" or way of lashing out for those still bitter about the 2016 election results. The scary thing is many seem to have a DEEP-SEATED HATRED for Donald Trump and will go to any lengths to express that; even through violent means:
Source: YouTube channel NeatoBurrito Productions
If TrumpiLeaks wants to up its game and be taken seriously, it needs to be hosted on an entirely separate domain, look professional and clarify its verification / user protection processes in detail.
Until then, visitors will just take a look, laugh and move along.
