Julian Assange has been called many names, from a hero to a terrorist. Aside from name calling, he has also been accused of crimes including rape and has recently been extradited to Sweden on rape allegations. Through all the slander that has been construing in the media over the past few months we have forgotten what Assange is truly known for and that is his job as editor and chief of Wikileaks.
Julian Assange's Wikileaks website is the most powerful media outlet for information freedom in the world. Julian Assange and his team at Wikileaks have used the internet to allow people all over the world to access private or otherwise unreleased information that before would have been nearly impossible for them to access. Assange has created an information empire where anyone in the world with access to a computer can have the freedom to post or view information as they please. Without Wikileaks there would be very limited access to government information, preventing citizens from viewing the documents that are in their best interests according to their leaders. In an interview with Assange on 60 Minutes, it is said that the main goal of Wikileaks is to aggregate state and corporate secrets by setting up its online drop-box for whistleblowers. This drop-box allows people across the globe the upmost information freedom because it is ordinary citizens in control of the information they have and can have the choice to make that information public while remaining anonymous.
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution allows citizens the right to free speech. Wikileaks is the strongest outlet for expression of free speech when compared to newspapers and other media sources. Wikileaks is different than a traditional newspaper or news source because it is ultimately free of governmental regulation and censorship. Many newspapers are censored by the governments residing over the region in which the newspaper is located, making it harder to release governmental secrets. In countries like China where the government is in total control of all media outlets and censors all information released, makes important for the citizens of China to have access to an outlet like Wikileaks where they can view uncensored information about their government and corporations. By avoiding censorship from various governments, Wikileaks allows citizens in media censored countries like China to exercise free speech via access to unregulated information and the option to bring forth information they wish to release for all people to view.
Song: State Run Radio
-Radio Today and the censorship on broadcasting decisions.
One attribute that has not normally been associated with Julian Assange is bravery, when in fact he is actually an incredibly brave person for acting as editor in chief of a website that has received death threats for him and many people on his staff. Assange is the face of a website thought to be partly responsible for the fall of the Tunisian Government and other political unrest in various countries, which makes him the target of persecution from various governments. Assange's bravery is shown everyday when the Wikileaks website publishes documents that are considered classified and because of his image as the chief publisher is the person who will receive the blame when the information released causes political unrest. His bravery can be associated with other pioneers in their movements like Rosa Parks or Ellie Wiesel, whom all took the first steps to change what they perceived as wrong.
Assange is to Wikileaks what Bill Gates is to Microsoft in the sense that without Assange or Gates, both organizations would lose their leader and in both cases the person responsible for the majority of the organization's innovations and ideas. Therefore Assange's public identity as the "ringleader" of Wikileaks puts the organization in place where it may lose its publishing prestige if Assange were to be kidnapped, killed, or imprisoned. Wikileaks is in a position where losing the editor and chief of their website could mean that they lose the information and sources needed to run Wikileaks. It could be said that having Julian Assange as the only face to the organization is dangerous for the existence of Wikileaks if Assange plays such an important role in running the website. In order for Wikileaks to continue being on the forefront of information freedom they need to ensure that one of their most important benefactors is not at risk for persecution by various governments or associations.
Julian Assange has been quoted by various sources saying that, "Capable generous men do not create victims, they nurture victims." Assange himself is a capable generous man who nurtures the victims of politics and institutionalized power. People from every country in the world are blinded by their governments and political institutions. They are blinded from seeing what really goes on inside their governments and are constantly told that their government is always serving their best interest. These people are all victims of lies and Assange along with the Wikileaks organization are the "capable generous men" who are nurturing these victims by delivering them the uncensored truth that is hidden from public view. It is without a doubt that Assange's work for Wikileaks is for the benefit of people all over the world and is inherently a true form of selflessness.
Wikileaks is the gateway for encouraging governmental accountability and honesty. The information released on Wikileaks does not portray governments like the United States or in a positive way. When Wikileaks presents video footage of the U.S. army murdering innocent civilians or other unthinkable government actions, they are holding the government responsible for their actions and ensuring that they come out with an explanation of their actions. Governments will never have full disclosure but with the help of Julian Assange and the Wikileaks organization, governments have had to respond in some way to the allegations presented on the Wikileaks website. This allows citizens the freedom to not only see the fact based information released by Wikileaks but also to hear what their government has to say in response to the actions seen on the internet.
It is people like Julian Assange and the Wikileaks organization that start change. Before Wikileaks people had to rely on individual whistleblowers to come out with information on government secrets. It was few and far between when this would actually happen but with the creation of this information network it has given all people the freedom to report or analyze information for themselves, free of any institutionalized interference. Wikileaks is a revolution in information freedom and will continue to spark change in countries all over the world to ensure that their governments are held to the same standard as "capable generous men."
WC - construing?
ReplyDeleteI don't think we've forgotten about Wikileaks.
Your TS of 2nd paragraph is just info. Cut this whole paragraph. Anybody who finds your post online will know all this. Think about your audience: who wants to read about this stuff?
3rd paragraph topic sentence is just a fact. Your real point is that Wikileaks is essential in countries in which there is not freedom of press, and can even aid free press in countries where there is freedom already. So cut everything in this paragraph that doesn't conform to that.
I like your bravery paragraph. It's important to remember he certainly does have some positive characteristics than no one can deny. However, many villains have the characteristic of bravery as well, so you can't exactly use this trait to defend your concept of him. Still, a good reminder.
Not the right TS -- your TS should say that By enthroning himself as sole proprietor and king of Wikileaks, Assange dangers the integrity of the organization. But the paragraph has a good point.
Oh. A couple hundred words short.
Your paragraphs need variety in terms of length. Some super short, some this long. Break them up more. Right now these are print paragraphs.
"It is without a doubt that Assange's work for Wikileaks is for the benefit of people all over the world and is inherently a true form of selflessness." Too over the top. It sounds too jingoistic. Tone it down and add a concession -- that perhaps there have been some victims, but on the whole, the intent and the overall impact is to help victims.
Last two paragraph are rather general. Try to narrow them down on a specific point. For instance, the last paragraph should focus exclusively on your point about how it's "a revolution in information freedom." How will this change things going forward? What will the post-wikileaks future of journalism and communication look like? That would be a more specific paragraph.