Flow of Information: WhistleBlowers

A whistleblower is somebody who works for the government and releases information that is deemed illegal, illicit, fraud, or unsafe. Whistleblowers have grown in popularity especially with the increase in technology usage. Many people are trying to figure out if what they are releasing is the right or wrong thing to release. The government has a way of keeping secrets that once released there will be no clue how the public will react. For a whistleblower, they believe there shouldn't be secrets.  

In class, we discussed Julian Assange who is most known for his creation of Wikileaks. He has released many governmental secrets specifically from past and present wars. The video we watched was the Baghdad airstrike collateral murder video. It was eye-opening to see how our airforce was talking and handling an airstrike. However, it is extremely disappointing to know this occurred in 2007 and I am just now researching and hearing about it in 2021. This is why Assange created Wikileaks, to inform the public of what was truly happening across the sea in these wars. Assange has received many threats from presidents and other organizations, which ultimately lead to his "disappearance". 

The Espionage Act of 1917 has played a key role in Assange's arrest. The Espionage Act was created to protect the United States by prohibiting its citizens from supporting the nation's enemies during wartime. It also made it illegal for citizens to obstruct military operations during wartime, including recruitment. He is currently indicted on 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act. This is because of his role in the hundreds of thousands of State Department military files that got leaked by former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. He is currently in London awaiting extradition. This case has been ongoing and there are many different opinions on what should happen to Assange. 

This all leaders back to the idea are whistleblowers a good or bad thing? On one side you have the idea that the government should already be completely open with society. People want the truth and if the government won't be open then they want there to be whistleblowers. Contradictorily, you have people that see the government’s secrets as dangerous and that is why they haven't released them. These people believe that the government should be able to keep secrets for the safety of society. At the end of the day, I don't think there will ever be a right or wrong answer. Whistleblowers are here to stay and this may be a good thing. If we don't know what is happening behind closed doors then how are we as a society suppose to change and elect people who will make better decisions?