WikiLeaks is an international organization/website that publishes leaks of otherwise unavailable documents by anonymous sources.
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This controversial site, adored by many who embrace more awareness of the government and detested by others worried about the documents jeopardizing the safety of their country, has been recently even more exposed in the news.
WikiLeak's chief editor, Julian Assagne, has been accused of rape in Sweden, and in addition a prominent spokesman of the site was suspended and recently quit.
In the midst of it all, WikiLeak's actual website has temporarily shut down, with the actual website explaining it is currently "undergoing maintenance."
In my opinion, I think that the overall message of WikiLeaks is vital. Their slogan is, "We Open Governments." And I believe this is a good thing. We need people to be exposed to things outside of the mainstream media and to become aware of the fraudulent happenings and misinformation we are constantly being fed. I do, however, worry that the exposure of this information could sometimes do more harm than good.
This past July, WikiLeaks published the majority of an archive of 90,000 classified US military reports that covered the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. WikiLeaks was then accused of endangering the lives of soldiers and informants in the field. Assange said that in spite of complaints, he will definitely publish the other 15,000 secret files that were previously held back at the initial release.
To be honest, this type of document releasing scares me. As corrupt as the government may be, we have no way to tell the reasoning behind hiding this type of data. It could be corruption, but it could also be for our safety.
I wan't to hear your take on it!
Do you think WIkiLeaks is going too overboard, or is it our right to know this information? Do you think the site should just be managed/regulated better? As the title of this blog probes, is this WikiLeaks helpful or hurtful? Or both?
Do you support WikiLeaks?
2 comments:
I certainly think WikiLeaks is going overboard. They're getting too caught up in letting the public know. As part of the public, there are some things I just don't want to know about our government. It's kind of like when you're eating a sausage or McDonald's chicken nuggets, and you don't really know how they're made, but you'd rather not know anyway. That's how I feel with some apsects of our government. I would rather not know some things.
I do, however, like their intent to "open governments" but I just don't want them to harm, hurt, or jeopordize anyone or thing. I hope that WikiLeaks knows its limits and when to stop.
Provided that the accusations are correct and that the lives of soldiers were indeed endangered, Julian Assagne should take steps to better regulate WikiLeaks. On principle, however, I fully support the website. Like the theory behind the Freedom of Information Act, the people have the right to know what the government, who derives its powers from the people, is doing. Some people may not care about the covert actions of the government but others may want to know. Either way, the site should have the right to post what they want, provided they don't endanger anyone, of course.
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