| abstract | - NameBase is a web-based cross-indexed database of names that focuses on individuals involved in the international intelligence community, U.S. foreign policy, crime, and business. The focus is on the post-World War II era and on left of center, conspiracy theory, and espionage activities. Founder Daniel Brandt collected clippings and citations pertaining to influential people and intelligence from 500 investigative books published since 1962 and thousands of periodicals since 1973. In the 1980s, through his company Micro Associates, he sold subscriptions to this computerized database. The material was described as "information on all sorts of spooks, military officials, political operators and other cloak-and-dagger types." He told The New York Times at the time that "many of these sources are fairly obscure so it's a very effective way to retrieve information on U.S. intelligence that no one else indexes." One research librarian calls it "a unique part of the 'Deep Web'", equally useful to investigative journalists and students. By 1992, private citizens, news organizations, and universities all were using NameBase. In 1995, these efforts became the basis of the NameBase website. As of 2003, the database contained "over 100,000 names with over 260,000 citations drawn from books and serials with a few documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act." The website is structured so that users can follow hyperlinked information "and thus uncover potential relationships or connections between individuals and groups".
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