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The US Is Preparing to Prosecute Julian Assange

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Re: The US Is Preparing to Prosecute Julian Assange

#31

Post by CamperBob2 »

midniteslayr wrote: post #15
implying wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a "credible" (read: state-approved) news organization had released those emails, would you have the same thoughts toward them?

A credible news organization would have tons of fact checkers and editors to make sure the relevant facts made it in to any article they wrote. They wouldn't, blindly, release tons of unedited emails, including some that were doctored to make the DNC and the Clinton Campaign look bad. Doesn't need to be state-sponsored (and most news organization aren't "state-sponsored" ... unlike RT, for example) to be credible.

Which emails were doctored? I hadn't heard about that. My understanding is that the "doctoring" done by Wikileaks consisted of selectively releasing information obtained from Democratic sources while concealing similar information related to the Republican side ( https://www.wired.com/2017/01/russia-hacked-older-republican... ).

If true, that's the point at which Assange and Wikileaks departed from the path of legitimate journalism.

Re: The US Is Preparing to Prosecute Julian Assange

#33

Post by gbumakefan »

midniteslayr wrote: post #15
implying wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a "credible" (read: state-approved) news organization had released those emails, would you have the same thoughts toward them?

A credible news organization would have tons of fact checkers and editors to make sure the relevant facts made it in to any article they wrote. They wouldn't, blindly, release tons of unedited emails, including some that were doctored to make the DNC and the Clinton Campaign look bad. Doesn't need to be state-sponsored (and most news organization aren't "state-sponsored" ... unlike RT, for example) to be credible.

Since when does the constitution require journalists publish information in a manner agreeable to you? Hell, there was a court case years ago that decided news can knowingly publish falsehoods.

Re: The US Is Preparing to Prosecute Julian Assange

#34

Post by midniteslayr »

boomboomsubban wrote: post #19
midniteslayr wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think Freedom of the Press is dead. WikiLeaks isn't a news organization, especially when they released campaign emails during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. They have been to be a known tool for the Russian government, even going as far as creating a show for Julian Assange on the state-backed RT TV Network.

Yes, they are a news organization. Covering the election is what a news organization should do, and it's hard to argue the Clinton emails weren't newsworthy. >They have been to be a known tool for the Russian government, even going as far as creating a show for Julian Assange on the state-backed RT TV Network This is untrue. There is nothing suggesting that Wikileaks has knowingly coordinated with Russia. And that TV…

If they are a news organization, they do a terrible job of reporting the news. They are a black box repository for leaked data. They were once a great resource for info hackers and leakers to push their data, like back in 2008/2009. But that was before news organizations started using their own secure drop servers for sources. Once WikiLeaks sources started to not go to them, they started to look for other benefactors and sources. They found it in the Russian Government.

Re: The US Is Preparing to Prosecute Julian Assange

#35

Post by busterarm »

midniteslayr wrote: post #5
gbumakefan wrote: post #3

Wow. Freedom of the press is dead.

I don't think Freedom of the Press is dead. WikiLeaks isn't a news organization, especially when they released campaign emails during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. They have been to be a known tool for the Russian government, even going as far as creating a show for Julian Assange on the state-backed RT TV Network.

There are hardly any news organizations anymore, given the events and media financial climate of the last few years.

There are no true scotsmen either.

Re: The US Is Preparing to Prosecute Julian Assange

#37

Post by krapp »

boomboomsubban wrote: post #19
midniteslayr wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think Freedom of the Press is dead. WikiLeaks isn't a news organization, especially when they released campaign emails during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. They have been to be a known tool for the Russian government, even going as far as creating a show for Julian Assange on the state-backed RT TV Network.

Yes, they are a news organization. Covering the election is what a news organization should do, and it's hard to argue the Clinton emails weren't newsworthy. >They have been to be a known tool for the Russian government, even going as far as creating a show for Julian Assange on the state-backed RT TV Network This is untrue. There is nothing suggesting that Wikileaks has knowingly coordinated with Russia. And that TV…

Wikileaks didn't cover the election. Wikileaks released private emails with the intent of damaging one specific candidate.

>and it's hard to argue the Clinton emails weren't newsworthy.

That the emails were released was newsworthy, but I would argue that nothing in the emails themselves was particularly newsworthy.

Re: The US Is Preparing to Prosecute Julian Assange

#38

Post by gbumakefan »

elliekelly wrote: post #28
gbumakefan wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was illegal about releasing campaign emails that were given to them?

Some of the emails were altered by Russia for the purpose of spreading misinformation. Russia used Wikileaks to lend credibility to the conspiracy theories they were sowing in the run-up to the election. NY Time has a great 3-part video series about Russia's history of spreading fake news. Each video is about 15 minutes but it's well worth the watch.

Even if that’s true — it’s not, no emails have been shown to be fake — it’s not illegal to publish false information.

Re: The US Is Preparing to Prosecute Julian Assange

#39

Post by kbenson »

minikites wrote: post #10

I would be genuinely surprised if the current administration decided to prosecute one of their most useful Russian agents.

Setting aside whether I think it's likely Assange is a Russian agent, it wouldn't surprise me to see an agent of a nation thrown under the bus for political reasons or to support a narrative. For an example, see Valerie Plame.

Fun fact, as I was looking this up to make sure I had the right people and names, wikipedia helpfully informed me that "The scandal led to a criminal investigation; no one was charged for the leak itself. Scooter Libby was convicted of lying to investigators. His prison sentence was ultimately commuted by President Bush, and he was pardoned by President Trump in 2018." More fuel for the conspiracy minded, I guess. ;)

Re: The US Is Preparing to Prosecute Julian Assange

#40

Post by midniteslayr »

gbumakefan wrote: post #25
midniteslayr wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When it was done with the intent of influencing the 2016 election, that tends to fall under conspiracy and espionage ... especially when it comes from a former adversarial government.

So then was it illegal when msnbc aired the infamous Trump video saying “grab them by the p...”? That was clearly meant to influence the election...

First, that was the Washington Post that released the tape, and second, that is more for the fitness of the candidate (at the time). Third, and more importantly, it was obtained legally, without having to break in to a server to get it.
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