WikiLeaks Criminals or Heroes Many people have heard of the website called WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks is an organization owned and operated by Juliann Assange. This website allows whistle blowers, or people who leak to WikiLeaks, to send confidential information anonymously to the website that then gets reviewed and broadcasted to the public. The website is anonymous so that not even Assange himself knows who is sending the information (Assange 7). Some people believe whistle blowers should be seen and prosecuted as criminals. Many researchers believe that whistleblowers should be viewed as liberators to an unjust system and should not be prosecuted as terrorists would be. Many believe that WikiLeaks is violating the espionage act of 1917. This act states that it is a crime to transmit or possess information about national defense that could injure the United States or give advantage to foreign nations (Feinstein 2). This act makes it a felony offence to possess and not return information including classified and unclassified documents. People who are caught can receive up to ten years in a penitentiary for each violation, or offence. Giving out confidential information about troop’s positions and giving information about covert operations that were carried out by the military can be dangerous to our national security, putting many people in danger. Though not everything that is leaked to WikiLeaks makes it on the front page of the New York Times, the information that does can give foreign nations an advantage when it comes to strategic military movements. Also when it comes to some of the videos and files that are leaked secretes to our technological advances in weaponry can be exploited giving foreign nations information that the... ... middle of paper ... ... in Context. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. Feinstein, Dianne. "WikiLeaks Should Be Prosecuted Under the Espionage Act." Wikileaks. Ed. Tamara Thompson. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Prosecute Assange Under the Espionage Act." Wall Street Journal 7 Dec. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. Milligan, Susan. "WikiLeaks Is Not Journalism of Any Sort." Wikileaks. Ed. Tamara Thompson. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "WikiLeaks Is High-Stakes Paparazzi, Not Journalism." US News & World Report (29 Nov. 2010). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. "Prosecuting Government Whistleblowers." Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 2 May 2011. Web. 4 May 2014. . Wilmore, Kathy. "Hero Or Traitor?." Junior Scholastic 116.13 (2014): 6. Primary Search. Web. 4 May 2014.
Guilford, CT: Dushkin/ McGraw-Hill, 1997. Chiatkin, Anton. A. Treason in America. Washington DC: Executive Intelligence. Review, a review of the book, Divine, Breen, Frederickson, and Williams. America Past and Present.
McCraw, David, and Stephen Gikow. “The End to a Unspoken Bargain? National Security and Leaks in a Post-Pentagon Papers World.” Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 48.2 (2013): 473-509. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
Tapper, J. (2012). The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor. New York: Little, Brown. Retrieved November 05, 2010, from books.google.co.ke/books?isbn=0316215856
Kevin M. Gallagher. 2013. Freedom of the Press Foundation. Glenn Greenwald, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things'. Video file posted on YouTube on June 9, 2013.
Glenn Greenwald, a talented and widely read columnist on civil liberties for the Guardian newspaper, failed in his attempt to alarm his readers to the flagrant and widespread violations of American privacy. Although his article was full of facts, documentation, and quotes from top rank officials, the article did not convey any sense of wrong doing or outrage. Rather it was dull, lacked passion and a sense of persuasion. In fact, the only attention grabbing part in the whole article is the title.
... Bobrick, Benson. Fight for Freedom: The American Revolutionary War. New York: Atheneum, 2004. Print.
Edward Snowden’s National Security Agency(NSA) leaked affair brought attention to American Citizens causing many arguments. Some argue they trust their government and wouldn’t change a thing about being monitored while others argue that their privacy being invaded is unconstitutional, and as a society living in surveillance, Americans need to reform the ECPA Act, and tell Congress to pass The USA Freedom Act.
Recently in global news, the name Edward Snowden has became quite popular as he snatched millions of people’s attention along with breaking news headlines. Snowden released numerous documents via internet that were private to the NSA; these leaks revealed the dirty work the NSA and government have ...
Whistle blowing is a controversial topic in the professional industry. Whistle blowing is the act of speaking out against a fellow colleague or even a friend that has done something non-ethical or illegal in the workplace. A whistleblower raises concerns about the wrongdoing inside of the workplace. Employees hesitate to become a whistleblower because of the idea of becoming a snitch on fellow employees and having a bad rep around the office. This concern was lowered in 1989 with a law called the Whistleblower Protection Act that protects federal government employees in the United States from retaliatory action for voluntarily disclosing information about dishonest or illegal activities occurring at a government organization (whistleblowers.gov).
Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (N.S.A) subcontractor turned whistle-blower is nothing short of a hero. His controversial decision to release information detailing the highly illegal ‘data mining’ practices of the N.S.A have caused shockwaves throughout the world and have raised important questions concerning how much the government actually monitors its people without their consent or knowledge. Comparable to Mark Felt in the Watergate scandals, Daniel Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers, Edward Snowden joins the rank of infamous whistleblowers who gave up their jobs, livelihood, and forever will live under scrutiny of the public all in the service to the American people. Edward Snowden released information detailing the extent of the N.S.A breaches of American privacy and in doing so, became ostracized by the media and barred from freely reentering America, his home country.
Reynolds, Larry. “Patriot and Criminals, Criminal and Patriots.” South Central Review. Vol 9, No. 1.
Journalist or Terrorist Julian Assange, an Australian editor, activist, journalist and publisher, launched the WikiLeaks website in the year 2006. From that moment, the site spiraled rapidly into the limelight all over the world. It then came to be known as the most powerful whistle-blowing and also the most scandalous “media” in the online world. WikiLeaks profans and violates the right of privacy, right of accountability and confidentiality among Information and data sharing also it has a negative impact on governments, private sectors or businesses and also individuals, there is also a big question of accountability. Right of privacy, right of accountability and confidentiality are some of the rights that you acquire being a citizen of the country and when these rights are violated it is an offence.
Edward Snowden. This is a name that will be in the history books for ages. He will be branded a traitor or a whistleblower, depending on where you look. Many Americans feel that Edward Snowden is a traitor who sold the United States’ secrets, aiming to harm the nation. Others believe that he was simply a citizen of the United States who exercised his right to expose the government for their unconstitutional actions.
It is reasonable to argue that, governmental institutions or people with authority are subject to withhold a great deal of information from society. Many may argue that secrets are kept to ensure the safety of the nation. Thus, upholding the governmental duty of protecting the nation against possible threats. On the other hand, many believe that secrets may exist which violate our constitutional rights. Over the last year, Edward Snowden, has made headline news for leaking sensitive governmental information to the press. Edward Snowden is a 29-year-old high school drop-out, who was a tech specialist for the National Security Association. Snowden had discovered and later exposed the NSA for monitoring the nations e-mails, phone calls, and internet searches. As the allegations spread like wild fire, Edward Snowden sought asylum in Russia for one year. Snowden had a valid and justifiable reason to expose the NSA to the world because they were in violation of our fourth Amendment rights to unreasonable searches and seizures. The government called him a traitor, while others viewed him as a hero for exposing the government. Edward Snowden is a whistle blower because he felt that it is up to society to decide if governmental practices are just or unjust. Snowden does “express the highest respect for the law”, and he wanted to protect the right of privacy for American citizens.
"Journalism Ethics Online Journalism Ethics Gatekeeping." Journalism Ethics for the Global Citizen. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. .