Skip Navigation
Show Context
128 comments

  • His moral righteousness is irrelevant to the fact that he is being persecuted for journalism.

    It’s not like the core thing he did to even be noticed is relevant.

    The fuck does this mean? The core thing he did to be noticed is also the thing that's getting him persecuted.

    • I feel like you’re not allowing two statements to be true.

      1. Assange is being doggedly pursued by the US for leaking state secrets. No I do not think he deserves to be punished for information he released like with Afghanistan. I think we are better for it and clearly this is the US making an example of him. Obviously we all knew he would be pursued, but again, I think that was the morally right thing to do, and I believe in protecting whistleblowers
      2. I also take umbrage with any attempts to make him out to be a good person or in any way virtuous, which is what the comment I responded to did. He isn’t. He had my support when he was standing for transparency, and he lost it when it became clear he saw leaks as a tool for his political preferences and friends.

      We can hold these two ideas at the same time.

      As for the sexual assault allegations against him, I have no clue what to think the waters are too muddy there. So I just don’t engage that generally.

      • I also take umbrage with any attempts to make him out to be a good person or in any way virtuous, which is what the comment I responded to did.

        Did we read the same comment? They literally called him a scumbag. 🙄

        • “A bit of a scumbag” dilutes the fact that he failed at the very mission people praise him for. I am happy to admit that I am was somewhat off in my initial reading of their comment. I do not want to get bogged down in that.

          The point is that Assange was a useful tool for a certain brand of politics and certain parties. We all need to recognize that. “He’s a bit of a scum bag” isn’t even close to the reality of how nefarious his actions were.

          • Do we need to recognize that while he's fighting for his freedom? Maybe that can wait?

            • The truth is important. Isn’t that the whole point of Wikileaks?

              • Journalistic freedom is also important, and also the point of Wikileaks.

                • Unfortunately, what we actually learned is that WikiLeaks existed for him to help those he politically agrees with. There is a reason every self-respecting journalist who worked with WikiLeaks has since walked away and no, it is not because of the US government going after him. It’s because WikiLeaks wasn’t engaging in transparency and quality journalism.

                  • Interesting assertion. Also irrelevant, because journalism doesn't have to be neutral. Plenty of journalists have an agenda, in fact I'd argue most of them do and the idea of impartial journalism is something some journalists made up to promote their own agendas.

                    • I didn’t say journalists had to be neutral. I never used the word neutral. Objectivity is a myth and impossible to obtain.

                      I’m saying these journalists didn’t want to work for a flagrantly partisan organization
                      that lied about its commitment to transparency.

                      If you want to be a mouthpiece for Putin and conservative talking points, then you need to not pretend you’re evenhanded and egalitarian with your leaks and publication.

                      • The only people who don't pretend to be evenhanded and egalitarian are, like, indie communist zines. This is just a problem with the industry as a whole - everyone pretends to be neutral, even though literally no one is. That's not something unique to Assange, so kinda irrelevant imo

    • moral righteousness is irrelevant to the fact that he is being persecuted for journalism.

      I think the question is, when does the line between journalist and espionage intersect?

      Does his state sponsored participation in election interference count as journalism? Did his misinformation campaign during the Catalan independence movement count as journalism? How about the attempt to bribe the Trump administration for the ambassador seat to Australia?

      There's a reason every serious journalist that Assange utilized to launch wikileaks has not only abandoned the project, but has accused Assange of financial fraud, miss handling information, and endangering their sources.

      I don't think Julian Assange is a journalist, I think he just likes being famous, and at one point journalism was a way to do that. I don't think he should be in jail for the rest of his life, but I also don't think he deserves Carte Blanche for everything he's done based on his prior "journalistic integrity".

128 comments