WikiLeaks – The Fifth Estate is “harmful”

WikiLeaks has branded The Fifth Estate “irresponsible and harmful”.

The non-profit organisation, which is known for its news leaks and publishing of classified documents, has hit back at a new film by Disney and DreamWorks which depicts its growth and impact on the world.

The website has leaked a script for the movie – which recently premiered at Toronto International Film Festival – via its website and criticised it for being inaccurate.

In a memo published alongside the script, the organisation said: “The film is fictional.

Most of the events depicted never happened, or the people shown were not involved in them. It has real names, real places, and looks like it is covering real events, but it is still a dramatic and cinematic work, and it invents or shapes the facts to fit its narrative goals.”

WikiLeaks accuses the film of “falsely” implying it put 2,000 US government informants in harm’s way when it released classified documents from the US State Department.

The organisation also claims the script it leaked is a version obtained at a “late stage” in production, which means the film’s plot is likely to remain much the same when the film opens in cinemas next month.

The Fifth Estate is directed by Bill Condon and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as founder Julian Assange and Daniel Bruhl as spokesperson Daniel Domscheit-Berg.

– Teamtalk Media