The character "Ziggy" is based on the WikiLeaks volunteer Sigurdur Thordarson that later turned out to be an FBI informant.
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."
The film's title sequence, which depicts the history of news communication, took over a year to create.
James McAvoy was cast as Daniel Domscheit-Berg but he dropped out due to scheduling conflicts his stage play, Macbeth. Daniel Brühl replaced him.