Julian Assange is an Australian computer programmer/political activist/digital activist/publisher/journalist/freedom fighter/intellectual/peruser of the truth. He is best known as the editor in chief and founder of WikiLeaks.
Wiki leaks is a not for profit media organisation
that focus on uncovering private, and classified documents in the world of
politics. Wiki leaks rely on volunteers and journalists to help them uncover
stories and leak information. Wiki leaks can be seen as a positive organisation
in the social media sphere, as it uncovers the truth about important
issues.
Some of the stories WikiLeaks have exposed include the
“Church of Scientology’s ’Operating Thetan’ documents leaked online,
Internet Censorship in Thailand - The secret internet censorship lists of
Thailand’s military junta, The looting of Kenya under President Moi -
$3,000,000,000 presidential corruption exposed; swung the Dec 2007 Kenyan
election, Gusmao’s $15m rice deal alarms UN - Rice deal corruption in East
Timor, How
election violence was financed - the embargoed Kenyan Human Rights Commission
report into the Jan 2008 killings of over 1,300 Kenyans, Cross-border clashes from Iraq O.K. -
Classified documents reveal destabilizing U.S. military rules, Tehran Warns US Forces against Chasing
Suspects into Iran - Iran warns the United States over classified document on
WikiLeaks and Inside Somalia and the Union of Islamic Courts - Vital
strategy documents in the Somali war and a play for Chinese support, 15,000
civilian deaths in Iraq that the US government failed to account for, websites
that were blocked in Australia.”
WikiLeaks exposes facts and information hidden to the
public, after all can we really be a democracy if the government is censoring
the information we have access too?
Although WikiLeaks have been
criticised exposing classified information about governments that may be classified for a
reason, WikiLeaks make a good argument in defending
themselves as they state that they are working for Human rights in making
government information public. “WikiLeaks has sustained and
triumphed against legal and political attacks designed to silence our
publishing organisation, our journalists and our anonymous sources. The broader
principles on which our work is based are the defence of freedom of speech and
media publishing, the improvement of our common historical record and the
support of the rights of all people to create new history. We derive these
principles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In particular,
Article 19 inspires the work of our journalists and other volunteers. It states
that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and
impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” (WikiLeaks, 2010).
