Wikileaks

I do not agree with the website or idea of Wikileaks. I believe that Mr. Assange has not created a good website and it can possibly be dangerous to society. I also think that it sends the wrong message to the people of our world.

 

The main reason I do not agree with this website is because it could potentially endanger citizens of our country or others. This information is kept secret for a reason and is not meant to be shared with the public. Mr. Assange brought up the point in the video that some people pay other’s to keep information a secret. He took that to mean that the information was bad for the country not to know, and that is all the more reason to uncover it. However, he never talked about the other view point. Maybe the information could bad for the country only if it is leaked out, and that is why we have to pay people to keep it a secret. Authorities with a better knowledge of the situation have put their best judgment into the decision not to share the classified information with citizens. There could be pieces of information that could put a certain group of people, or the whole country for that matter, in serious danger. Even if it wouldn’t put our country’s people in danger, it could certainly put citizens of another country in jeopardy. Mr. Assange talked about how secure his website is supposed to be, but you can never really be sure something is 100% secret. You are supposed to be able to post on this website anonymously. What if somebody found out that you shared a secret about their country? They could then come attack that person when really, that person thought they were doing something good for their country. In my opinion, Mr. Assange is overstepping his rights and being nosey in others’ business.

 

One specific example that caught my attention was the text messages of officials from the 9/11 attacks. Over half a million texts were released that were sent the morning of the attacks. Most of them did not share any information regarding the event. For that reason, I do not understand the need to post these texts. If they have nothing to do with the event itself, what is the point on publishing them? This event is a very sore spot in many Americans hearts’ because numerous people lost loved ones fighting to save others on that day. This is just an invasion of personal privacy for these people. They are trying to get on with their lives, and then Mr. Assange goes and publishes personal messages sent that morning. I can sort of understand putting messages out there that give people a better understanding of what happened at the sight of the attacks that day and exactly how hard our first responders worked to save every single person involved in this devastating event. What I cannot understand is why Mr. Assange thinks it should be other peoples’ business to know if their children packed a lunch that day. There is absolutely no benefit to our country by knowing if little Bobby remembered to grab his coat that morning. This information is out there for everybody in the world to see and could very easily get back to the people it is about. If I was a victim of this type of hacking, I would personally feel violated.

 

I guess I can sort of understand Mr. Assange’s reasoning behind this website; however, I feel like there are many more negative effects than benefits. First off, this information was classified for a reason in the first place so let’s keep it that way. The risk of endangering people carries a heavier consequence than the benefit gained from knowing the information. I believe Mr. Assange is just being nosey and this is really none of his business. If he wanted to be part of all the action, he should get a government job. He is sending the message that it is okay for people to spy on others.