How the Panama Papers journalists broke the biggest leak in history | Gerard Ryle

翻译人员: Annie Wu 校对人员: JIAN CUI

What do you do if you had to figure out the information

如果你需要弄清1150万份文件里的信息，

behind 11.5 million documents,

并加以核实、分析，

verify it and make sense of it?

你会怎么做？

That was a challenge

去年年底，

that a group of journalists had to face late last year.

一群记者便遇到了这样的挑战。

An anonymous person calling himself John Doe

一个自称John Doe的匿名人士

had somehow managed to copy nearly 40 years of records

不知用什么方法成功拷贝了

巴拿马律所——莫萨克·冯赛卡，近40年的资料。

of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

This is one of many firms around the world

和很多律所一样，

that specialize in setting up accounts in offshore tax havens

这家律所专门帮助客户 在避税天堂秘密设立账户，

like the British Virgin Islands,

比如，英属维尔京群岛。

for rich and powerful people who like to keep secrets.

这些客户大多是些有权有势的人。

John Doe had managed to copy every spreadsheet from this firm,

John Doe成功拷贝了这家律所的每份电子表格、

every client file,

每一份客户文档、

every email,

以及每一封电子邮件，

from 1977 to the present day.

这些都是律所从1977年到今天的秘密资料。

It represented the biggest cache

这些文件

of inside information into the tax haven system

最大规模地披露了

that anyone had ever seen.

避税天堂不为人知的内部信息，

But it also presented a gigantic challenge to investigative journalism.

调查性新闻报道也因此面临了巨大挑战。

Think about it: 11.5 million documents,

想一想：这1150万份文件里

containing the secrets of people from more than 200 different countries.

包含了来自200多个国家的人的秘密。

Where do you start with such a vast resource?

你该如何着手研究这样庞大的资料？

Where do you even begin to tell a story

对于此次报道，你又该从何处说起？

that can trail off into every corner of the globe,

此次报道将会传播到世界上每一个角落，

and that can affect almost any person in any language,

影响几乎所有语种的人们，

sometimes in ways they don't even know yet.

有时，它甚至会以人们想不到的方式改变一些事

John Doe had given the information to two journalists

John Doe将信息泄露给

at the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.

南德意志报的两名记者，

He said he was motivated by -- and I quote --

当他谈到他的动机时，他说，

"The scale of the injustice that the documents would reveal."

“这些资料可以揭示出巨大的不公平。”

But one user alone can never make sense

但是仅凭一己之力，

of such a vast amount of information.

不可能分析如此庞杂的资料，

So the Süddeutsche Zeitung reached out

于是南德意志报的记者联系到了

to my organization in Washington, DC,

我们位于华盛顿的机构——

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

国际调查记者同盟。

We decided to do something that was the very opposite

我们决定要做一件事

of everything we'd been taught to do as journalists:

这将有悖于我们在记者培训时所学到的：

share.

分享。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

By nature, investigative reporters are lone wolves.

调查记者们都是天生的孤狼，

We fiercely guard our secrets,

我们不顾一切保护自己的秘密，

at times even from our editors,

有时甚至要隐瞒我们的编辑。

because we know that the moment we tell them what we have,

因为我们知道，一旦编辑知晓我们所得，

they'll want that story right away.

他们会立刻想要完成报道。

And to be frank,

坦白说，

when you get a good story,

如果你有了一个好故事，

you like to keep the glory to yourself.

你只想让这份光荣属于自己。

But there's no doubt that we live in a shrinking world,

毫无疑问，我们生活的世界正在不断缩小，

and that the media has largely been slow to wake up to this.

媒体却迟迟未能意识到这一点。

The issues we report on are more and more transnational.

我们报道了越来越多的跨国事件，

Giant corporations operate on a global level.

大型公司的经营变得全球化，

Environmental and health crises are global.

环境问题和健康危机是全球性的，

So, too, are financial flows and financial crises.

同样，资金流动和金融危机也是如此。

So it seems staggering that journalism has been so late

奇怪的是，新闻行业居然这么晚

to cover stories in a truly global way.

才开始以真正国际化的方式报道新闻。

And it also seems staggering that journalism has been so slow

同样令人震惊的是，新闻行业竟如此后知后觉，

to wake up to the possibilities that technology brings,

直到如今才意识到

自己应该接受科技所带来的机会，

rather than being frightened of it.

而不该对其心存惧怕。

The reason journalists are scared of technology is this:

记者们害怕科技是因为：

the profession's largest institutions are going through tough times

大型新闻机构在经历困境，

because of the changing way that people are consuming news.

这是人们在接收新闻的方式上 发生变化所造成的局面。

The advertising business models that have sustained reporting are broken.

维持新闻机构运营的广告模式受到冲击，

And this has plunged journalism into crisis,

新闻行业因此陷入危机，

forcing those institutions to reexamine how they function.

大型新闻机构也不得不重新思考运营方式。

But where there is crisis,

不过，有危机时

there is also opportunity.

必定有机会。

The first challenge presented

后来人们熟知的“巴拿马文件”事件

by what would eventually become known as the Panama Papers

带来的第一个挑战：

was to make the documents searchable and readable.

是让这些文件便于检索且易读。

There were nearly five million emails,

需要被扫描并编入索引的 有接近500万封电子邮件，

two million PDFs that needed to be scanned and indexed,

200万个PDF文档，

and millions more files and other kinds of documents.

以及数百万份文件和其他类型的资料

They all needed to be housed in a safe and secure location

这些资料必须存储在

in the cloud.

云端上安全、可靠的位置。

We next invited reporters to have a look at the documents.

接下来，我们邀请了一些记者来研究这些文件。

In all, reporters from more than 100 media organizations

总共有来自76个国家，100多家新闻机构的记者

in 76 countries --

加入了我们。

from the BBC in Britain

有的来自英国的BBC，

to Le Monde newspaper in France

有的来自法国的世界报，

to the Asahi Shimbun in Japan.

也有的来自日本的朝日新闻。

"Native eyes on native names," we called it, the idea being,

我们把这邀请称为“本国人看本国事”。

who best to tell you who was important to Nigeria

意思是说，谁能比尼日利亚记者更了解

than a Nigerian journalist?

什么人在尼日利亚是大人物呢？

Who best in Canada than a Canadian?

谁又会比加拿大记者更了解加拿大事呢？

There were only two rules for everyone who was invited:

受邀记者只需遵守两条规则：

we all agreed to share everything that we found with everybody else,

一、我们都同意共享所有信息；

and we all agreed to publish together on the same day.

二、我们都同意在同一天发布新闻。

We chose our media partners based on trust

我们选择合作对象是基于信任，

that had been built up through previous smaller collaborations

这信任是建立在以前的小型合作中，

and also from leads that jumped out from the documents.

也来自于我们在研究文件时的点点滴滴。

Over the next few months,

在之后的几个月，

my small nonprofit organization of less than 20 people

我们这个不到20人的小团体

was joined by more than 350 other reporters from 25 language groups.

又增加了25个语种，共350名记者。

The biggest information leak in history

史上最大的文件泄密事件

had now spawned the biggest journalism collaboration in history:

促成了新闻行业空前的合作：

376 sets of native eyes doing what journalists normally never do,

376位记者做着 记者在通常情况下永远不会做的事情，

working shoulder to shoulder,

并肩工作，

sharing information,

共享信息，

but telling no one.

但不对外公布。

For it became clear at this point

因为那时候我们已经知道，

that in order to make the biggest kind of noise,

若想发出最大的声音，

we first needed the biggest kind of silence.

我们首先得保持完全静默。

To manage the project over the many months it would take,

为了更好地管理这个将历时数月的项目，

we built a secure virtual newsroom.

我们建立了一个安全的虚拟新闻编辑室。

We used encrypted communication systems,

我们使用加密的沟通系统，

and we built a specially designed search engine.

也开发了一个专门的搜索引擎。

Inside the virtual newsroom,

在虚拟新闻编辑室里，

the reporters could gather around the themes

记者们按照文件里的主题

that were emerging from the documents.

进行分组合作。

Those interested in blood diamonds or exotic art, for instance,

例如，对血钻和异国艺术感兴趣的记者们

could share information about how the offshore world was being used

可以共同研究离岸市场是如何被利用

以掩盖这些商品交易的。

to hide the trade in both of those commodities.

Those interested in sport could share information

对体育感兴趣的记者可以交流

about how famous sports stars were putting their image rights

超级体育明星是怎样把他们的肖像权

into offshore companies,

交给离岸公司，

thereby likely avoiding taxes

这样，他们在其他国家进行商业活动时

in the countries where they plied their trade.

就可以避税。

But perhaps most exciting of all

最令人激动的

were the number of world leaders and elect politicians

或许是文件所披露的

数位国家元首和政客，

that were emerging from the documents --

figures like Petro Poroshenko in Ukraine,

包括乌克兰的彼得·波罗申科，

close associates of Vladimir Putin in Russia

俄罗斯总统普京的亲信，

and the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who is linked

英国首相戴维·卡梅伦

也因其去世的父亲伊恩·卡梅伦而牵涉其中。

through his late father, Ian Cameron.

Buried in the documents were secret offshore entities,

巴拿马文件中包含着许多离岸隐秘资产的信息，

such as Wintris Inc.,

例如Wintris公司。

a company in the British Virgin Islands

该公司在英属维京群岛注册，

that had actually belonged to the sitting Icelandic prime minister.

实际拥有者是时任冰岛总理。

I like to refer to Johannes Kristjansson,

我把冰岛记者

the Icelandic reporter we invited to join the project,

约翰内斯·克里斯蒂安松称为

as the loneliest man in the world.

世界上最孤独的人。

For nine months, he refused paid work

有九个月的时间，他拒绝了有报酬的工作，

and lived off the earnings of his wife.

靠着太太的收入过活。

He pasted tarps over the windows of his home

在冰岛漫长的冬季，

to prevent prying eyes during the long Icelandic winter.

他甚至在窗户上贴了油布防止被监视。

And he soon ran out of excuses to explain his many absences,

很快，他的借口就用完了， 他无法解释自己长时间的缺席。

as he worked red-eyed,

他熬红了眼睛，

night after night,

夜复一夜，

month after month.

月复一月地工作。

In all that time, he sat on information

那时，他一直在整理信息，

that would eventually bring down the leader of his country.

这些信息最终把他们国家的元首拉下马。

Now, when you're an investigative reporter and you make an amazing discovery,

如果你是一名调查记者，并有了惊人的发现，

such as your prime minster can be linked to a secret offshore company,

比如你们的总理和一家隐秘的离岸公司有联系，

that that company has a financial interest in Icelandic banks --

同时那家公司从冰岛的银行里获得了巨额财富，

the very issue he's been elected on --

而这正是当初他当选的原因，

well, your instinct is to scream out very loud.

你的第一反应肯定是大声说出来。

Instead, as one of the few people that he could speak to,

相反，作为少数几个能和他交流这件事的人，

Johannes and I shared a kind of gallows humor.

我和约翰内斯有着共同的黑色幽默，

"Wintris is coming," he used to say.

他总是说 "Wintris将至"

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

We were big fans of "Game of Thrones."

我们都对权力的游戏很着迷。

When reporters like Johannes wanted to scream,

当其他像约翰内斯一样的记者想大声呐喊时，

they did so inside the virtual newsroom,

他们就在虚拟新闻编辑室里面喊，

and then they turned those screams into stories

之后再投入到报道中去。

by going outside the documents to court records,

他们不仅局限于文件本身，还查阅法庭记录，

official company registers,

公司注册文件，

and by eventually putting questions to those that we intended to name.

最后还向我们最终的目标人物发问。

Panama Papers actually allowed the reporters to look at the world

巴拿马文件让记者们有机会

through a different lens from everybody else.

通过别人的视角看待世界。

As we were researching the story,

正当我们在研究巴拿马文件时，

unconnected to us,

世界上也发生了许多大新闻。

a major political bribery scandal happened in Brazil.

巴西爆出了政治献金丑闻，

A new leader was elected in Argentina.

阿根廷选举出了新的领导，

The FBI began to indict officials at FIFA,

FBI对FIFA官员提起控告，

the organization that controls the world of professional soccer.

FIFA是国际足球联合会，控制着全球的专业球员。

The Panama Papers actually had unique insights

其实，我们从巴拿马文件中可以窥见

into each one of these unfolding events.

这些事件的一些端倪。

So you can imagine the pressure and the ego dramas

大家可以想象，我们当时必须 承受压力和内心的情绪波动，

that could have ruined what we were trying to do.

否则，我们就会毁掉自己努力在做的事情。

Any of one of these journalists,

任何一个记者都有机会

they could have broken the pact.

打破君子协定，

But they didn't.

但是，没有人这么做。

And on April 3 this year,

今年4月3日，

at exactly 8pm German time,

德国时间晚上8点整，

we published simultaneously in 76 countries.

我们同时在76个国家发布了报道。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

The Panama Papers quickly became one of the biggest stories of the year.

巴拿马文件迅速成为年度最大新闻。

This is the scene in Iceland the day after we published.

这是我们发布新闻后第二天，发生在冰岛的场景，

It was the first of many protests.

这是众多抗议活动的开始。

The Icelandic prime minister had to resign.

冰岛总理不得不辞职，

It was a first of many resignations.

接下来，各地都有领导辞职下台。

We spotlighted many famous people such as Lionel Messi,

我们聚焦很多名人，例如

the most famous soccer player in the world.

世界级球星利昂内尔·梅西。

And there were some unintended consequences.

还发生了一些出乎我们意料的事情，

These alleged members of a Mexican drug cartel were arrested

这些据说是墨西哥贩毒集团的成员被捕了，

after we published details about their hideout.

因为我们发布了他们隐匿处的详细信息。

They'd been using the address

他们使用这个地址

to register their offshore company.

注册了离岸公司。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

There's a kind of irony in what we've been able to do.

我们做的事情也有讽刺的一面，

The technology -- the Internet -- that has broken the business model

科技，准确地说，打破新闻业商业模式的互联网

is allowing us to reinvent journalism itself.

让我们彻底改造了新闻行业本身。

And this dynamic is producing

这种变化正在带来

unprecedented levels of transparency and impact.

空前的新闻透明度与影响力。

We showed how a group of journalists can effect change across the world

我们的合作显示了一群记者是如何

by applying new methods and old-fashioned journalism techniques

将新科技与传统手段相结合，

to vast amounts of leaked information.

研究庞大的泄密信息，并最终影响了世界。

We put all-important context around what was given to us by John Doe.

我们把John Doe给的文件放在大背景下考虑，

And by sharing resources,

通过资源共享，

we were able to dig deep --

我们可以挖掘得更深，

much deeper and longer than most media organizations allow these days,

远远超出现在多数新闻媒体能做的，

because of financial concerns.

因为这些新闻媒体还需考虑到金融影响。

Now, it was a big risk,

这是一次大冒险，

and it wouldn't work for every story,

不是每次报道都能这么做。

but we showed with the Panama Papers

但是巴拿马文件事件展示出来的是，

that you can write about any country from just about anywhere,

不管在哪儿，你都能报道任何国家的新闻。

and then choose your preferred battleground to defend your work.

你可以选择自己感兴趣的领域，维护自己的成果。

Try obtaining a court injunction

试着得到一个法庭禁令，

that would prevent the telling of a story in 76 different countries.

禁止你在76个国家报道这个故事。

Try stopping the inevitable.

试着阻止不可避免的事情。

Shortly after we published, I got a three-word text from Johannes:

发布报道后不久，我收到了 约翰内斯发来的三字短信，

"Wintris has arrived."

“Wintris已至。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It had arrived and so, too, perhaps has a new era for journalism.

Wintris来了，或许新闻行业的新时代也到了。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

Bruno Giussani: Gerard, thank you.

布鲁诺·朱萨尼：杰拉德，谢谢你。

I guess you're going to send that applause to the 350 journalists

我猜你会把这片掌声带给那350名

who worked with you, right?

与你并肩合作的记者，对吗？

Now, a couple of questions I would like to ask.

现在，我有几个问题想要问你。

The first one is,

第一个，

you'd been working in secrecy for over a year

你和350多位全球各地的同行

with 350-something colleagues from all over the world --

一起秘密共事了一年多，

was there ever a moment when you thought

有没有某一刻，你会觉得

that the leak may be leaked,

泄密事件本身会被泄密，

that the collaboration may just be broken

有人会直接发布了新闻

by somebody publishing a story?

破坏你们的合作？

Or somebody not in the group releasing some information

或者是其它人从某些渠道得知了一些信息，

that they got to know?

直接发布出去？

Gerard Ryle: We had a series of crises along the way,

杰拉德·赖尔：其实，一路走来 我们碰到了数次危机，

including when something major was happening in the world,

比如，某个国家发生了大事，

the journalists from that country wanted to publish right away.

那个国家的记者就会想马上发消息，

We had to calm them down.

我们就得安抚他们。

Probably the biggest crisis we had was a week before publication.

最大的危机应该是约定发布前的一周，

We'd sent a series of questions to the associates of Vladimir Putin,

我们发了一些问题给普京的亲信，

but instead of responding,

对方不但没有回应，

the Kremlin actually held a press conference and denounced us,

克里姆林宫还特意召开新闻发布会来谴责我们，

and denounced the whole thing as being, I guess, a plot from the West.

他们声称，整件事都是西方的阴谋。

At that point, Putin thought it was just about him.

那时候，普京以为这件事只针对他一个人。

And, of course, a lot of editors around the world

当然，世界各地的编辑们

were very nervous about this.

也都对此非常紧张，

They thought the story was going to get out.

他们觉得报道会被抢先发表。

You can imagine the amount of time they'd spent,

你们可以想象他们在巴拿马文件上花费了

the amount of resources, money spent on this.

大量的时间、资源和金钱。

So I had to basically spend the last week calming everyone down,

所以最后一周，我基本都在安抚大家，

a bit like a general, where you're holding your troops back:

有点像将军安抚士兵：

"Calm, remain calm."

“冷静，保持冷静，”

And then eventually, of course, they all did.

最后，大家都保持了冷静。

BG: And then a couple weeks ago or so,

布鲁诺·朱萨尼：大概几周前，你公开了许多文件，

you released a lot of the documents as an open database

像一个开放的数据库，

for everybody to search via keyword, essentially.

大家都能用关键词进行查找。

GR: We very much believe

杰拉德·赖尔：我们非常相信

that the basic information about the offshore world

关于离岸世界的基本信息都应该

should be made public.

被公诸于众。

Now, we didn't publish the underlying documents

目前，我们没有公布

of the journalists we're working with.

记者们挖掘出来的其它真相。

But the basic information such as the name of a person,

我们公布的只是一些基本信息，例如人名，

what their offshore company was and the name of that company,

以及这个人名下的离岸公司的性质

is now all available online.

和公司的名字，

In fact, the biggest resource of its kind basically is out there now

这些大型资源都已经放在网上了。

BG: Gerard, thank you for the work you do.

布鲁诺·朱萨尼：杰拉德，谢谢你们的付出。

GR: Thank you.

杰拉德·赖尔：谢谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）