WikiLeaks and Social Media vs Government Corruption

“Wikileaks is a global, not-for-proft organisation which publishes secret information, classified media and news leaks from anonymous sources” (The Bear Essential 2013).

WikiLeaks might be defined as a secret spilling website, but at the end of the day the information that they’re sharing is the truth. When I was little, my mum used to tell me the old Chinese proverb “if you don’t want anyone to know, don’t do it”. Perhaps the corrupt government and corporations could take heed of my mum’s advice and either fess up to their actions or stop doing what they don’t want the world to find out altogether.

Surely back in the day such confidential government information was shared between colleagues over knock off drinks, or with wives over the dinner table long before the creation of WikiLeaks. Anyone could have spilled the confidential information, but it’s likely that the traditional media would have opted against publishing content challenging the government or large organisations. The difference now is that the Internet has provided a platform for the rapid dissemination of the secret information, and the act of dropping the monkey off your back is now deemed as illegal whistleblowing, terrorism or ‘hacktivism’. 

The government and corporations can no longer hide behind the bullet proof vest of traditional media, and it’s time for them to face up to the skeletons in their closets. Although the information shared by WikiLeaks is illegally obtained, I find it hard to view Julian Assange and his colleagues as anything other than a team of passionate ‘hacktivists’. Ultimately I’m of the belief that they’re using their technological skills to bring to light and combat the issues of both government and corporate corruption.

I think it’s fair to assume that what we read in the media owned by large corporations is not always the whole truth, and can often portray a biased viewpoint of news and events (The Bear Essential 2013). With this in mind, the knowledge that exact, unbiased, transparent information is available through a source such as WikiLeaks is quite refreshing. Additionally, social media is the fastest spreading news source on the planet (The Bear Essential 2013), and provides a platform for honest accounts of exactly what happened, without the usual corporate spin. The news information available at our fingertips through both WikiLeaks and social media platforms is opening the world up to a far more honest, un-corrupted account of breaking events.

WikiLeaks is a prime example of Jenkins’ participatory culture, as the team behind the dissemination and publishing of sensitive material are using technology to act as ‘prosumers’ – people who both produce, contribute and consume online content (The Bear Essential 2013). I would be interested to discover what Jenkins truly thought of WikiLeaks however, as I cant imagine he would be in full favour of the illegal activity.

Reference:

The Bear Essential 2013, ‘WikiLeaks and Social Media – A Tool for Anti-Corruption’, The Bear Essential, 23 April 2013, viewed 18 January 2014, <http://thebearessential.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/wikileaks-and-social-media-a-tool-for-anti-corruption/>.