WikiLeaks Presentation

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WikiLeaks and The Legitimacy of the Fifth Estate By: Emily Blegvad

Transcript of WikiLeaks Presentation

Page 1: WikiLeaks Presentation

WikiLeaks andThe Legitimacy of the Fifth Estate

By: Emily Blegvad

Page 2: WikiLeaks Presentation

What is WikiLeaks?• Claims to: “specialize in the analysis

and publication of large datasets of censored or otherwise restricted official materials involving war, spying and corruption.”

● What is being analyzed about it’s authenticity?

The actual legitimacy and correctness of the organization.

● Authenticity = Truthfulness in documents released.

Founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange

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How and why is WikiLeaks contested?

● Is WikiLeaks the outcome of Julian Assange’s personal vendetta? To many, it is.● “Even as he [Assange] portrays himself as a radical transparency activist,

Assange’s actions belie a fierce commitment to protecting his own privacy” - Daniel Domscheit-Berg

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Guantanamo Files: Revealed inner workings of controversial prison including information

about how inmates were mistreated/tortured.

Afghan War Diaries (Collateral Murder):The reports describe the majority of lethal military actions involving the United States

military.

DNC Email Hack:This collection included

19,000 emails and 8,000 attachments from the DNC, the

governing body of the Democratic Party.

Podesta Emails: Revealed that the Clinton campaign gained insider information on debate

questions and tactics.

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Why is WikiLeaks contested?

● WikiLeaks seeks to be an entity that eventually eliminates itself through exposing corrupt individuals and governments.

● WikiLeaks is contested because it is believed that WikiLeaks and its leader, Julian Assange, are corrupt as well, and have their own agendas while hiding behind the mask of being an organization dedicated to radical transparency worldwide.

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Why does the authenticity of WikiLeaks matter?• The legitimacy or truthfulness of information provided by WikiLeaks furthers

the public’s consensus on many of the largest issues our world faces. • WikiLeaks is so powerful and has a lot of the public’s trust, it can easily

manipulate the information and consensus that many people have. • WikiLeaks is deemed authentic or inauthentic because it is claiming its

authenticity of information, yet it is doing so in a specific way to hurt certain people, not all people.

“He who controls the Internet servers controls the intellectual record of mankind, and by

controlling that, controls our perceptions of who we are, and by controlling that, controls what laws and what regulations we make in

society.” - Julian Assange