Freedom of information in Ireland, or rumour and innuendo hidden by the anonymity of the Web? For the past eight months a website called Cogair has been publishing articles that Ireland's mainstream media in Ireland wouldn't touch with a 10-foot barge-pole.
In its articles and "secure discussion group" Cogair purports to expose corruption in high places. But the international nature of its mirrored host sites lippard/ cogair, and www.tdrenterprises.com/cogair) and the total anonymity of its authors and contributors raise plenty of questions about its responsibilities and accountability.
Free speech or scandal-mongering? We put it to Cogair, in an online interview. . .
Who are you?
Cogair: Cogair is a group of people that believes in free speech. Obviously a large proportion of the information originates in Ireland, but Cogair's operations are based outside the State. We will not go into who we are to prevent the danger of pressure being put on our sources, but we are willing to say that we are surprised and flattered at some of the wild guesses . . . One journalist said we were "obviously journalists and politicians".
What is the motivation behind Cogair?
To promote free speech and expose the cowardice of Irish media.
The media in Ireland have to be extremely careful to avoid being sued for libel - and still, sometimes, are. Some of the material in Cogair would likely be libellous if not provable in court to be the truth. Could you prove all your allegations, were you to be taken to court in Ireland?
We are not lawyers, so we can never be sure where the law stops and things like career anxiety, interfering proprietors, and stupidity starts when it comes to limitations on freedom of speech.
Where do you get your information?
Sources. We are very careful to cross-check. Some of the rubbish we get in is laughable. Other people try to feed us more credible, but false stories.
Are you saying you cross-check every story with sources other than the source who originates the story?
Of course [. . .]
How confident are you that every story you publish is accurate?
We don't go with it unless we are 100 per cent sure. We would point out that many of the stories that we have put up have been confirmed in part or whole [. . .] but none has transpired to be false.
What will you do if one of the stories does transpire to be untrue?
We don't expect this, we don't go with anything unless we are sure. But we are human and if that were to happen we would put up a complete clarification or delete at the option of the person involved.
How will a person be compensated for any harm to their reputation?
The greatest difficulty for us would be the loss of credibility for Cogair. That sort of thing (as with the damage to somebody's reputation caused by a false story) could not be measured in money terms.
Has anyone opposed the site?
Out of hundreds of emails, two have been negative. One was just an insult, the other person claimed to "represent" someone named in the site, but they didn't say who, and did not say why they "represented" them other than they weren't a lawyer.
Have you had any reaction from Irish political or security sources?
Not other than the above. Loads of "keep it up" emails, and donations of bits of information. Many from ordinary people, some from household names, but we guarantee confidentiality so . . .
Do you think you're breaking any Irish laws?
No more than we are breaking Mongolian laws. In theory the Playboy website would warrant the death penalty in Iran (in Iran the IT website would probably warrant the death penalty) but that is not relevant because Playboy is not in Iran and Cogair is not in Ireland.
Have you had any reaction from political sources or security sources in the country hosting the site?
No.
Do you think you're breaking any laws in the country hosting the site?
We are very sure that we are not.
Why did the site disappear off its original Web address at Geocities?
We don't know, perhaps you could ask Geocities - they never responded to us. We think someone may have claimed that they were being defamed, but we do not agree.
Is Cogair a money-making site?
No. One of our mirrors puts in links to places like Amnesty and Missing Children sites, which is OK, but we don't ask for payment, and we will not go commercial.