A few years ago, I wrote an article on freedom of the press. This article was based on a show I watched on CNN, that cause a women to commit suicide. Being human, I was quite harsh with my article against CNN. Now a couple years later I find that I am fascinated by the stories about WikiLeaks, and its effects on the public at large. I find myself unable to be as harsh with WikiLeaks as I was with the CNN story.
As a journalist, I was sometimes given confidential information on the implied promise of anonymity. It was my job to verify the information and decide whether or not to publish it. The whistleblower web site received a copious amount of information and, no doubt verified that it was genuine. It has slowly been releasing portions of it to mass media as well as on its own web site. Some readers have told me that WikiLeaks has gone too far by publishing the diplomatic cables; that it would put people at risk. There has not yet been any evidence to support that.
Not enough time has gone by to really get a sense of the long term effects that WikiLeaks will have on politics, the wars or on people. In the diplomats’ defense, why are people so shocked at the fact that things said behind closed doors can be far more candid then those said publicly? Most people I have spoken to on the subject have not yet heard of anything that they already didn’t know or suspect.
The people worldwide who have been condemning WikiLeaks do not seem to have the same animosity toward the news outlets that have also released some of the more damning cables. Regardless of who publishes the cables, do they not share the same degree of responsibility? Freedom of the press applies to all, not just the ones governments don’t find offensive.
