Question. How does a man born in Australia become wanted by the United States? Claim asylum from Ecuador in an embassy based in London in order to avoid extradition to Sweden?The answer? That man is Julian Assange founder of Wikileaks
Julian Assange "used his genius IQ to hack into the databases of many high profile organisations". So is he a whistleblower, activist, terrorist or hacktivist?
This is how I see it; he goes about his work by revealing wrongdoing (whistle-blowing), acting out against governments especially the US government in hope of making a change (activist), and he does all of this through the use of computers and computer networks, as a means to protest (hacktivist/ terrorist).
Personally, I believe Julian Assange to be brave, intelligent, and admirable. He possesses many qualities I associate with heroism. As well, however, he is flawed and has made some poor decisions regarding his own public image, which I think have had a seriously adverse effect on attaining his larger goal of justice through transparency. He has, unfortunately, managed to put himself in a position that diverts attention from the work. And the work is admirable
Sources:
http://www.biography.com/people/julian-assange-20688499
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenberglas/2012/08/20/in-praise-of-whistleblowers-yes-even-julian-assange/
I agree, i dont think he is all that bad. just gave himself a bad image and i guess others dont like their secrets being spread...
ReplyDeleteI personally thinks Julian Assange is brave to stand against the government. However he was whistle blowing which made him a bad character. I understand that he has revealed some of the terrible acts by the US government that was intentionally hidden, but it was still something confidential.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting blog. I especially liked your intro and completely agree that Assange fits into pretty much all of the categories of whistleblower / terrorist / activist / hacktivist. Regardless of individual personal opinion of the man, there is no doubt that he has paved the way for digital activism to be one of the most effective forms of activism in the 21st century.
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