“Hero to untold millions, public enemy #1 to the
most powerful government in the world.” (ABC 2011) this is describing a man
named Julian Assange. I like this Assange character, I may have only met him
today (figuratively, of course) but he had me interested from the get-go,
despite his creepy demeanor.
He is the leader of the organisation/ website
Wikileaks, whose aim is to expose government scandals and share information to
the public (Wikileaks 2010). He is described as a whistleblower, activist, terrorist
and hacktivist but what about inspirational, courageous, hero or just plain
crazy. Lets look at this more in depth:
- · A whistleblower: an informant who exposes wrongdoing within an organization in the hope of stopping it.
- · An Activist: advocating or engaged in activism
- · A Terrorist: a person who uses terrorism in the pursuit of political aims
- · A Hacktivist: the use of computers and computer networks as a means of protest to promote political ends.
This is how I see it; he goes about his work by
exposing wrongdoing (whistle-blowing), acting out against government
enterprises in hope of making a change (activist), and he does all of this
through the use of computer and computer networks, as a means to protest
(hacktivist/ terrorist). Yet is it strange that I still find myself in awe of
him. I think, as the ‘little guy’, I cannot help but feel that this courageous
man is doing his bit for community and ensuring as a public, we are AWARE!
Digital activism is at the heart of Wikileaks,
Assange and his team utilize technology outlets to share information to widespread
audiences and a fast rate. Pertinently speaking, Assange would be a threat to
the government with or without social media platforms. There would be numerous
networks or radio stations ready to PAY money for the information Assange
holds. While one may speculate that Wikileaks is reducing government corruption
through the activist website, who’s to say the government are not just becoming
more careful where they ‘leave’ their information?
Although this was not the case after a recent
government scandal; Wikileaks came into the spot light after the ‘whistle-blower’
organisation posted 391, 832 classified Iraq war documents on its website
(Greenberg 2010). With these, came the video of the ‘collateral murder’, where
you watch US soldiers gun down unarmed Iroquoian men and a truck holding two
children (ABC 2011). This video caused great worry for government bodies and
the public was demanding answers. This is Assange’s goal exactly; expose and
bring power to the people.
If information such as this continues to be
exposed due to this website and people continue to support Wikileaks, the
government should be worried. Wikileaks relies on the power of the people; if
it falls another company WILL begin. Forbes magazine states in relation to
Wikileaks future, “corruption institutes
may come and go and may stop an individual, but they cannot stop us all”
(Greenberg, 2010).
HERE, HERE!
ABC.net.au (2011) The Forgotten Man.
[video online] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20110214/leaks/default.htm
[Accessed: 21 January 2013].
Greenberg, A. (2010) The Future of
Wikileaks. Forbes, [online] 22 November. Available at:
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/1122/focus-andy-greenberg-wikileaks-classified-social-remix.html
[Accessed: 21 January 2013].
News.com.au (2012) Julian Assange. [image online]
Available at:
http://www.news.com.au/technology/julian-assange-fate-could-be-revealed-on-twitter/story-e6frfro0-1226263858599
[Accessed: 21 January 2013].
Wikileaks.org (2010) About.
[online] Available at: http://wikileaks.org/About.html [Accessed: 23 Jan 2013].
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