Vanity Fair has just published an absolutely fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the unlikely and tempestuous working relationship between Wikileak’s Julian Assange and The Guardian. The timeline covers all of the events right from the start and it’s a must-read to fill in any details you might have missed or not read elsewhere.

It also touches on the politics within the Wikileaks organisation and how it is splintering, with disgruntled ex-employees starting up openleaks.org to combat what they see as Assange’s obsession with the US military over anything else.

The piece highlights the differences and conflicts between the Guardian’s journalistic standards and Wikileak’s agenda. Particularly interesting is the revelation that Julian Assange threatened to sue The Guardian if they publish a portion of Iraq War Logs leaked to them by a disgruntled Wikileaks volunteer, claiming ‘he owned the information and had a financial interest in how and when it was released.

It’s long, but because it’s detailed as the subject deserves, so it’s a recommended read.