Freedom of the Press Requires Support of Whistleblowers

We do not have freedom of the press in this country if those who expose what our government is doing are prosecuted. We need the information that Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and others have made public at great personal cost.

We do not have freedom of the press if the corporate media are the only ones who the government doesn’t go after when journalists and citizens speak up. Over 90% of the media is owned by five conglomerates, and most of the other 10% are also owned by the wealthy. If independent media and citizens cannot communicate our information without harassment and prosecution, then this is extremely serious.

Secrecy by our government and military, including extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses, spying on citizens, and other undemocratic actions, is not acceptable. We are grateful for those who shed light on all injustices and crimes by our country. We must lift the veil of secrecy. We must not be silent when whistleblowers and independent media become scapegoats.

The treatment of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning have been subjected to outrageous treatment. This is the time when speaking out about what is happening in the Julian Assange case is critical. We must not be swayed by the silence and complicit coverage of the corporate media. 

No one has been harmed by the release of the information by these whistleblowers. The knowledge of what is going on is crucial to correct injustices and expose illegal actions. Chelsea Manning went to trial and no harm was shown resulting from Manning’s action. After four years of the release of the information by Manning, at the time of the trial there was still no one shown to be harmed. The government doesn’t want to have a discussion about what has been done. Rather they want to have a conversation about what might happen if no one trusts them or if journalists investigate them. 

Julian Assange exposed actions by the U.S. government and embarrassed them so the U.S. is set on extradition. There have been efforts to get him for a while but now they are getting close to success. The U.S. government knows if he gets away with exposing U.S. war crimes and other actions, then there could be more. They want to make clear to independent media, as well as the generally supportive corporate media, that they will not tolerate exposures like this.

Assange had over six years of arbitrary detention after he sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Now the court prosecution in Britain and the U.S. extradition effort presents dangerous precedents. If they get away with this effort, any journalist who publishes information can face prosecution and jail. Anyone who publishes leaks is at risk and will think twice about exposing injustice. Freedom of the press will be unavailable for the most serious abuses.

We cannot rely on the corporate mass media to tell us what is going on. They are mostly silent and do not bring out the important issues. Search out the information of how the Assange trial has been conducted and what can be done. We cannot be silent in the face of this extreme violation of press freedom going on right now.

On January 4, 2021, a British judge will rule on whether Assange should be extradited to the U.S.

Update: The extradition of Julian Assange was halted by the judge at Westminster Magistrates Court. The U.S. is appealing to the High Court to overturn this decision. They intend to try him under the Espionage Act in the U.S. where he could face a 175 year sentence. We must prevent this outrageous abuse of press freedom.

A few resources:

Guardian editorial: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/18/the-guardian-view-on-julian-assange-do-not-extradite-him

Background articles:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/20/julian-assange

https://theintercept.com/2020/10/06/julian-assange-trial-extradition/