WikiLeaks More Accountable Than Governments: Assange

How accountable is WikiLeaks? More accountable than any democratically elected government, Julian Assange argues. “We are directly supported on a week-to-week basis by you,” he told the audience at a debate yesterday, his first formal public appearance since his December arrest. “You vote with your wallets every week if you believe that our work is worthwhile or not. If you believe we have erred, you do not support us. … That dynamic feedback, I say, is more responsive than a government that is elected after sourcing money from big business every four years.”

He added that he believes whistleblowing is necessary because “the only way we can know whether information is legitimately kept secret is when it is revealed,” citing both Vietnam and Iraq as examples. Both “bloodbaths” could have been avoided if whistleblowers had spoken up, he said, according to the Guardian. (More WikiLeaks stories.)