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Can you handle the truth? Wikileaks, Assange and freedom of speech

from unleash16 December 2011-January 2012

by fifteen year old human rights advocate, Taran Kaur.

WikiLeaks is an international organization that publishes classified media from anonymous sources. I personally believe that WikiLeaks is a good organisation.

Freedom of speech is a human right and Julian Assange (head of WikiLeaks) is merely exercising that right.

As taxpayers, we deserve to know how our money is being spent and what is happening with those investments. I sometimes doubt how well politicians and diplomats uphold the high virtue of ‘honesty’.

WikiLeaks poses the threat of exposing confidential information, and this will most likely push the government to be more open with the public. If a government is more open, then individuals will understand their country better, resulting in a more unified and strong nation. Politicians would also be more accountable since they might be afraid that WikiLeaks could expose their wrongdoing.

WikiLeaks exposes corruption within government, such as politicians taking bribes and blackmail. If no one can see it happening, then no one can stop it. If WikiLeaks exposes the corruption, then this corruption is noticed and can be prevented.

This organization is non-profit, meaning that Assange gets nothing out of it besides spreading the truth about the world. Assange is very brave because exposing the truths of powerful world officials and leaders makes him a likely target for murder and jail.

Of course, every story has two sides and the story of WikiLeaks is no different. There are some negative aspects to WikiLeaks. Sometimes the leaks are not analysed properly, which means that the names of people involved in certain secret operations are there for everyone to see, which could mean death for that person.

Julian Assange is an incredibly courageous man. He has built an organization that spreads the truth to civilians all over the world. And if you don’t like him, well, as Jack Nicholson says, “You can’t handle the truth!”

Make up your own mind by about WikiLeaks by checking out the official site at www.wikileaks.org and by googling some criticisms of Assange!



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