I don't understand why the files didn't get encrypted and then massively uploaded, like the wikileaks insurance files. That turns it into a problem of securely

I don't understand why the files didn't get encrypted and then massively uploaded, like the wikileaks insurance files. That turns it into a problem of securely archiving a 256bit string and escrowing it or doing some k of n thing such that it gets released if Poitras/Snowden/etc. go missing, ensuring they don't go missing. That's a much simpler problem than dealing with 8GB+ of data. (And it only really works if you either publicize this or let NSA and any other potential adversary know about it; and you then end up with the "anyone who wants to cause trouble for NSA knocks off enough people to trigger the insurance file" problem if it's public...)