The Strategy of Releasing All Data

The response many organizations adopted then (and continue to pursue AF) is to provide overwhelming amounts of data to the public. This provided a two-fold defense. First, it allowed immediate deniability to any charge of withholding data. Second, the sheer volume of data available meant that almost any argument could be made or refuted with selective referencing and correlation to other publicly available information. This is a rapid, cheap response that puts the onus back on the accuser to make detailed and documented claims of specific wrongdoing, thus aiding efforts to discredit detractors. Given the hyperabundance of information, few had the time or desire to sort through it all to get a complete understanding of what was going on. The switch to the disclosure model created a new service opportunity for datagogues, interpreters, and self-described experts to sort through all of the information and provide ready-made arguments in support of whomever paid them. With selective correlation, virtually any position could be defended. Analysts with decent reputations often garnered more followers and interest than the actual data released.

Interesting idea: be completely transparent, releasing so much data that any hypothesis can be cherry-picked from it, then hire spin-doctors to do just that.