“Society develops a type of self-censorship, with the knowledge that surveillance exists - a self-censorship that is even expressed when people communicate with each other privately.” PeopleSelfTypeCommunicateCensorshipSurveillanceSelf Censorship Author:Julian Assange
“Seeing ongoing political reforms that have a real impact on people all over the world is extremely satisfying. But we want every person who's having a dispute with their kindergarten to feel confident about sending us material.” PeopleWorldWantFeelsPersonsRealPoliticalSeeingMaterialsImpactReformSatisfyingDisputesOngoingKindergartenPolitical Reform Author:Julian Assange
“WikiLeaks is really a litmus test for those people who walk the talk in the media. How much will they really follow their protestations to be brave publishers, and how much do they really want to lick the boots of power? Well, you can tell by their engagement with us and what they do.” PeopleWantWellsWalksMediaTestsBraveEngagementBootsPublishersBe BraveWikileaks Author:Julian Assange
“The greater the power, the more need there is for transparency, because if the power is abused, the result can be so enormous. On the other hand, those people who do not have power, we mustn't reduce their power even more by making them yet more transparent.” PeopleIfsNeedsHandsResultsGreaterEnormousTransparentTransparency Author:Julian Assange
“In my role as Wikileaks editor, I've been involved in fighting off many legal attacks. To do that, and keep our sources safe, we have had to spread assets, encrypt everything, and move telecommunications and people around the world to activate protective laws in different national jurisdictions.” PeopleWorldDifferentMovingLawFightingRolesRiskSourceInvolvedSafeSpreadAround The WorldAssetsEditorsProtectiveActivateWikileaksJurisdictionTelecommunications Author:Julian Assange
“The supply of leaks is very large. It's helpful for us to have more people in this industry. It's protective to us.” PeopleIndustryHelpfulProtectiveLeaks Author:Julian Assange
“That's a problem. I mean, like any sort of growing startup organization, we are sort of overwhelmed by our growth, and that means we're getting enormous quantity of whistleblower disclosures of a very high caliber but don't have enough people to actually process and vet this information.” PeopleMeanEnoughProblemProcessGrowthGrowingInformationOrganizationEnormousQuantityOverwhelmedGetting HighDisclosureVetsCaliberWhistleblowersEnormous Quantities Author:Julian Assange
“We don't have sources who are dissidents on other sources. Should they come forward, that would be a tricky situation for us, but we're presumably acting in such a way that people feel morally compelled to continue our mission, not to screw it up.” PeopleWayFeelsShouldWould BeActingSituationSourceMissionsScrewsCompelledTrickyDissidents Author:Julian Assange
“The Iraq War was the biggest issue for people of my generation in the West. It was also the clearest case, in my living memory, of media manipulation and the creation of a war through ignorance.” PeopleWarMemoriesCasesIssuesGenerationsMediaCreationIgnoranceWestIraqManipulationMy GenerationIraq WarMedia ManipulationInvading Iraq Author:Julian Assange
“I had had a lot of experience in bringing the Internet to Australia, and I saw that knowledge in the hands of people achieves reform.” PeopleHandsSawsAchieveInternetReformAustralia Author:Julian Assange
“Through the confessional system the Catholic church spied upon the lives of its congregants. While Latin mass excluded most people who could not speak Latin from an understanding of the very system of thought that bound them.” PeopleSpeakUnderstandingChurchMassCatholicBoundsLatinCatholic ChurchExcluded Author:Julian Assange
“We have to be careful about applying criminal labels to people until we're very sure.” PeopleCarefulCriminalsLabelsBe Careful Author:Julian Assange
“Every law, every constitution, every regulative decision is based upon what people are discussing in their community. It's based upon our sum knowledge of history and the present.” PeopleLawCommunityDecisionConstitutionDiscussing Author:Julian Assange
“Censorship is always cause for celebration. It is always an opportunity because it reveals fear of reform. It means that the power position is so weak that you have got to care what people think.” PeopleThinkingMeanCareOpportunityCausesPositionWeakReformCelebrationCensorship Author:Julian Assange
“I enjoy helping people who are vulnerable.” PeopleHelpingEnjoyVulnerableHelping People Author:Julian Assange
“We all only live once. So we are obligated to make good use of the time that we have and to do something that is meaningful and satisfying. This is something that I find meaningful and satisfying... I enjoy helping people who are vulnerable. And I enjoy crushing bastards.” PeopleHelpingUseEnjoyMeaningfulVulnerableCrushSatisfyingHelping PeopleFind Me Author:Julian Assange
“A lot of people who work for WikiLeaks have the same instinct as me: If you are pushed you push back.” PeopleIfsInstinctWikileaks Author:Julian Assange
“Hillary Clinton represents a whole network of people and a network of relationships with particular states.” PeopleStatesWholeParticularClinton Author:Julian Assange
“The question is how does Hilary Clinton fit in this broader network? She's a centralising cog. You've got a lot of different gears in operation from the big banks like Goldman Sachs and major elements of Wall Street, and Intelligence and people in the State Department and the Saudis.” PeopleDoeDifferentStatesBigsStreetsWallFitElementsMajorsClintonOperationsDepartmentGearsSaudisCogsGoldman SachsHilary Clinton Author:Julian Assange
“Not only did you have people fleeing Libya, people fleeing Syria, the destabilisation of other African countries as a result of arms flows, but the Libyan state itself err was no longer able to control the movement of people through it.” PeopleCountryStatesAbleResultsMovementArmsFlowSyriaLibyaFleeing Author:Julian Assange
“Libya faces along to the Mediterranean and had been effectively the cork in the bottle of Africa. So all problems, economic problems and civil war in Africa - previously people fleeing those problems didn't end up in Europe because Libya policed the Mediterranean. That was said explicitly at the time, back in early 2011 by [Muammar] Gaddafi: 'What do these Europeans think they're doing, trying to bomb and destroy the Libyan State? There's going to be floods of migrants out of Africa and jihadists into Europe, and this is exactly what happened.” PeopleThinkingTryingSaidWarEndsStatesProblemFacesHappenedEconomicEuropeCivil WarBombsBottlesFloodLibyaMigrantsFleeingEconomic ProblemsCorkGaddafiMuammar Gaddafi Author:Julian Assange
“Our [Russia]documents have gone on to be used in quite a number of court cases: refugee cases of people fleeing some kind of claimed political persecution in Russia, which they use our documents to back up.” PeopleKindUsePoliticalUsedNumbersCasesGoneCourtRussiaDocumentsPersecutionRefugeeFleeingCourt Cases Author:Julian Assange
“[Let's talk about] Donald Trump. What does he represent in the American mind and in the European mind? He represents American white trash, [which Hillary Clinton called] 'deplorable and irredeemable'. It means from an establishment or educated cosmopolitan, urbane perspective, these people are like the red necks, and you can never deal with them.” PeopleMindMeanDoeWhiteDealsPerspectiveTrumpRedClintonEducatedNecksEstablishmentTrashWhite Trash Author:Julian Assange
“Because [Donald Trump] so clearly - through his words and actions and the type of people that turn up at his rallies - represents people who are not the middle, not the upper middle educated class, there is a fear of seeming to be associated in any way with them, a social fear that lowers the class status of anyone who can be accused of somehow assisting Trump in any way, including any criticism of Hillary Clinton.” PeopleWayActionTurnsSocialClassMiddleTypeTrumpCriticismClintonIncludingEducatedAccusedSeemingWords And ActionsAssistingClass Status Author:Julian Assange
“WikiLeaks does not publish from the jurisdiction of Ecuador, from this embassy or in the territory of Ecuador; we publish from France, we publish from, from Germany, we publish from The Netherlands and from a number of other countries, so that the attempted squeeze on WikiLeaks is through my refugee status; and this is, this is really intolerable. [It means] that [they] are trying to get at a publishing organisation; [they] try and prevent it from publishing true information that is of intense interest to the American people and others about an election.” PeopleTryingMeanDoeCountryInterestNumbersInformationElectionIntenseFranceGermanyTerritoryPublishingOther CountriesRefugeePublishOrganisationWikileaksJurisdictionNetherlandsEmbassyEcuador Author:Julian Assange
“I would be immediately arrested by the British police and I would then be extradited either immediately to the United States or to Sweden. In Sweden I am not charged, I have already been previously cleared [by the Senior Stockholm Prosecutor Eva Finne]. We were not certain exactly what would happen there, but then we know that the Swedish government has refused to say that they will not extradite me to the United States we know they have extradited 100 per cent of people whom the U.S. has requested since at least 2000.” PeopleKnowsStatesGovernmentHappensWould BeCertainUnitedUnited StatesPoliceBritishCentsSeniorArrestedSwedenProsecutorSwedishStockholm Author:Julian Assange
“I just find it absolutely amazing that the narrative about this situation is not put out publically in the press, because it doesn't suit the Western establishment narrative - that yes, the West has political prisoners, it's a reality, it's not just me, there's a bunch of other people as well.” PeopleWellsRealityPoliticalSituationPressesWestWesternBunchSuitsNarrativePrisonerEstablishmentPolitical Prisoners Author:Julian Assange
“Of course, no state accepts [that it should call] the people it is imprisoning or detaining for political reasons, political prisoners. They don't call them political prisoners in China, they don't call them political prisoners in Azerbaijan and they don't call them political prisoners in the United States, U.K. or Sweden; it is absolutely intolerable to have that kind of self-perception.” PeopleShouldKindSelfStatesReasonPoliticalCoursesUnitedAcceptingUnited StatesPerceptionChinaPrisonerSwedenSelf PerceptionPolitical PrisonersAzerbaijanDetaining Author:Julian Assange
“Libya faces along to the Mediterranean and had been effectively the cork in the bottle of Africa. So all problems, economic problems and civil war in Africa - previously people fleeing those problems didn't end up in Europe because Libya policed the Mediterranean. That was said explicitly at the time, back in early 2011 by Gaddafi: 'What do these Europeans think they're doing, trying to bomb and destroy the Libyan State? There's going to be floods of migrants out of Africa and jihadists into Europe', and this is exactly what happened.” PeopleThinkingTryingSaidWarEndsStatesProblemFacesHappenedEconomicEuropeCivil WarBombsBottlesFloodLibyaMigrantsFleeingEconomic ProblemsCorkGaddafi Author:Julian Assange
“WikiLeaks has been a very strong proponent of the Freedom of Information Act. This is probably, actually, if you think about it, probably against our interests as - as a publisher. But we believe that people have the right to know true information about what their government is doing.” PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsBelieveHas BeensGovernmentStrongInterestInformationVery StrongPublishersWikileaks Author:Julian Assange
“The best type of government comes from a government that is scrutinized by the people when they have true information about our governments, major corporations, other power actors in society.” PeopleGovernmentActorsInformationTypeMajorsCorporations Author:Julian Assange
“People love WikiLeaks when it is exposing corruption in their opponents. People oppose WikiLeaks when it is exposing corruption or dangerous behavior in themselves.” PeopleDangerousBehaviorCorruption Author:Julian Assange
“Facebook in particular is the most appalling spying machine that has ever been invented. Here we have the world's most comprehensive database about people, their relationships, their names, their addresses, their locations and the communications with each other, their relatives, all sitting within the United States, all accessible to US intelligence. Facebook, Google, Yahoo.. all these major US organizations have built-in interfaces for US intelligence. It's not a matter of serving a subpoena. They have an interface that they have developed for US intelligence to use.” PeopleWorldMatterStatesUseNamesUnitedUnited StatesParticularCommunicationMajorsSittingBuiltMachinesOrganizationAddressesServingGoogleLocationComprehensiveInterfacesDatabasesSubpoenas Author:Julian Assange
“I want to set up a new standard: ‘scientific journalism.’ If you publish a paper on DNA, you are required, by all the good biological journals, to submit the data that has informed your research—the idea being that people will replicate it, check it, verify it. So this is something that needs to be done for journalism as well. There is an immediate power imbalance, in that readers are unable to verify what they are being told, and that leads to abuse.” PeopleIfsWantNeedsWellsIdeasDoneReaderPaperStandardsResearchAbuseChecksJournalismDataSubmitJournalDnaPublishImbalanceVerifyReplicate Author:Julian Assange
“I'm constantly annoyed that people are distracted by false conspiracies such as 9/11, when all around we provide evidence of real conspiracies, for war or mass financial fraud.” PeopleWarRealMassEvidenceFinancialFraudConspiracyDistractedAnnoyed Author:Julian Assange
“That is my temperament. I enjoy creating systems on a grand scale, and I enjoy helping people who are vulnerable. And I enjoy crushing bastards.” PeopleHelpingEnjoyCreatingScalesVulnerableCrushTemperamentHelping People Author:Julian Assange
