The Huffington Post has a base of paid employees and a massive ensemble of bloggers who contribute information for free. Therefore, the news site acts as a media of information and commentary allowing room for free speech from people who wish to be heard around the globe (huffingtonpost.com 2012). I read an article published by this site titled EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT: Wikileaks, Assange, And Why There’s No Turning Back, which displays an adaptation of Micah L. Sifry book WikiLeaks and the Age of Transparency. Sifry co-founded and edits the PDF, or Personal Democracy Forum, which explores the effects of the Internet on politics (personaldemocracy.com 2012). Within the adaptation, Sifry touches on Wikileaks.org, and the effect the site has had on politics, and the future of the internets’ role within global politics and power structures (huffingtonpost.com 2012). Also Sifry explores the role of Julian Assange, who runs Wikileaks.org in collaboration with others, who attempt to bring the truth to the public through anonymous leaks of information previously withheld from the global community (wikileaks.org 2012). Wikileaks.org is essentially a “wiki”, because anyone can add information to the site, but not just anyone can edit or delete that leaked information (dictionary.com 2012). Therefore, informants can leak sensitive information, but people attempting to hide the information cannot delete it; which in turn protects free speech and flow of information. The publication of Sifry’s excerpt by the Huffington Post seems appropriate due to the nature of the news-website; because the adaption describes the age of transparency brought on by the internet and the free flow of information through sites like Wikileaks.org. The Huffington Post attempts to act as Wikileaks does, but also sends reporters out into the field in order to collect information as events unfold. Such information and people like Assange are needed, as Sifry argues, in order to protect democracy through transparency of institutions. Without transparency, the global community is left in the dark; and as the saying goes, “Knowledge is Power.” The global community is doomed to manipulative propaganda by the powerful without the knowledge provided by sites like Wikileaks and the Huffington Post. These sites give power back to the people through the use of Internets’ free flow of information. The information, and knowledge acquired by this information, allows people to know the truth behind various political, government, and corporate actions and events. The global internet community allows the public to defend themselves from tyranny and excessive greed by allowing the community the opportunity to respond when receiving these truths.
Bibliography
“About Personal Democracy Media | Personal Democracy Forum.” Home | Personal Democracy Forum. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. <http://personaldemocracy.com/static-content/about-personal-democracy-media>.
EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT: Wikileaks, Assange, And Why There’s No Turning Back.” Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/09/wikileaks-assange-transparency_n_820348.html>.
“How The Huffington Post Works (In Case You Were Wondering).” Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/10/huffington-post-bloggers_n_821446.html>.
“About” Web. 11 Jan. 2012 http://www.wikileaks.org/About.html
I like that you gave a brief background about Wikileaks, and I agree with several of your points. I also like that it read like a blog entry, and not just like a review or editorial.
Thanks… Any thing you saw that I could improve?