WikiLeaks Revelations

About Wikileaks

WikiLeaks is an international non-profit organisation known for publishing classified information and news leaks. Founded in 2006 by Australian journalist Julian Assange, it has played a significant role in exposing governmental and corporate misconduct. Critics however, have accused the outlet of publishing with a lack of responsibility, theft of classified material and endangering the lives of service personnel.

Assange, a talented hacker in his youth, established WikiLeaks with the aim of providing a secure platform for whistleblowers to anonymously leak sensitive documents.
WikiLeaks has provided unprecedented insight into the inner workings of governments and sparked global debates on issues such as war crimes, surveillance, and diplomatic relations.

While there appears to be worldwide support for Assange and the organisation as a whole, very few people have the time to pour through the extensive files of data released on the site. Here we will look at just four of the significant stories published on WikiLeaks.


1. US Army Manual for Guantanamo Bay

Released: November 2007
The Leak: A 238-page Army manual from 2003 on "standard operating procedures" for the Camp Delta prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Revelations: One of WikiLeaks first major releases which gained international attention was a manual for the US Army staff at Guantanamo Bay. It revealed a policy of keeping certain detainees away from Red Cross inspectors and holding new prisoners in isolation to make them more compliant during interrogations.


2. "Collateral Murder"

Released: April 2010
The Leak: Video footage from a 2007 U.S. Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad, Iraq, that killed at least ten men, including two Reuters Journalists.
The Revelations: To date, this is perhaps the most notorious of all WikiLeaks releases. Up until that point, the war in Iraq had been portrayed by the US government as a necessary mission to bring democracy and stability to the region. However, the video revealed a darker side of the conflict, one that involved the indiscriminate killing of civilians.
Shot from the perspective of the Apache helicopter's gun camera, it showed the chilling reality of modern warfare. The crew of the helicopter can be heard making callous remarks as they open fire with 30mm rounds on a group of individuals on the ground, including the two Reuters journalists.


3. The Afghan War Diary & The Iraqi War Logs

Released: July and October 2010
The Leaks: In 2010, WikiLeaks published a trove of classified documents about U.S. military action. It released more than 90,000 classified documents related to Afghanistan and later published more than 400,000 documents from the war in Iraq.
The Revelations: The sheer volume of data contained in the file dumps provided detailed information about how both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars were being conducted.

The documents contained reports from soldiers on the ground, intelligence assessments, and even diplomatic cables. One of the key revelations was the extent of civilian casualties in both wars. The documents revealed that thousands of civilians had been killed or injured in incidents that were previously unreported or downplayed by the US government.
Furthermore, the Iraq War Logs exposed numerous cases of abuse and torture committed by US forces. The documents revealed the existence of secret detention facilities where detainees were subjected to inhumane treatment, including physical and psychological abuse. These revelations not only raised concerns about human rights violations but also challenged the narrative that the US military was acting in accordance with international law.

4. Hillary Clinton Email Archive

Released: March 2016
The Leaks: A searchable archive of over 30 thousand emails & email attachments sent to and from Hillary Clinton's private email server while she was Secretary of State.
The Revelations: The 50,000+ pages provided insight into the inner workings of the US political machine. It included tactical advisements on how to handle party rival Bernie Sanders during debates, highlighted her multiple dealings with Wall Street banks and revelations that the US administration had been cultivating an alliance with Al-Qaeda in Syria, with the goal of toppling the Assad government.
Certainly damaging to Clinton's presidency bid, campaign spokesman Glen Caplin accused the Kremlin as the source of the leak and of "weaponising WikiLeaks to meddle in our election".


Conclusion

WikiLeaks influence on both the journalism industry and the political world is undeniable. WikiLeaks treads a line that brings it into direct conflict with powerful agencies. Nevertheless, it continues to walk where many other journalists are afraid to do so.

The question is whether politicians and the military should be obliged to disclose all the actions that are carried out in our name, and paid for by the taxpayers. While most of us understand that sometimes the means and methods of intelligence organisations have to be kept away from the public eye, how do we police this? How do we monitor and control our legislators?

Julian Assange was released from high security prison on the 25th June 2024 as part of a plea agreement with the US.