The character "Ziggy" is based on the WikiLeaks volunteer Sigurdur Thordarson that later turned out to be an FBI informant.
The film's title sequence, which depicts the history of news communication, took over a year to create.
On September 18 2013, Wikileaks released a mature version of the complete script to the public, because "the film is, from WikiLeaks' perspective, irresponsible, counterproductive and harmful." They also published a "Talking Points" memo "because it represents a frank internal appraisal of [the film] and what is wrong with it."
James McAvoy was cast as Daniel Domscheit-Berg but he dropped out due to scheduling conflicts his stage play, Macbeth. Daniel Brühl replaced him.