# What is WikiLeaks' mission? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 7, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296 "2010-12-07T18:04:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/41 "2010-12-08T17:14:21Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Another story about the courageousness of Mr. Assange: [promise to contribute to the leaker’s legal defense team, raise $1 million, sandbag on sending a penny to the leaker.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/07/AR2010120704817.html) > > What a hero. > > If only Wikileaks would post some documents about what its founders promised to PFC Manning, and where all the money is going… By donating to Manning’s defense fund, WL is all but admitting that he _was_ the leaker. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/42 "2010-12-08T17:18:36Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Please don’t confuse “I didn’t pay attention to them” with “nobody paid attention to them.” In July, they released 92,000 documents related to the Afghan War and got huge media coverage. Who said I didn’t pay attention to them? How would you know what I did or did not pay attention to? I _did_ pay attention to them. My point was that there were no attempts to shut down websites, no attempts to block funds, no calls for assassination, etc. I’m genuinely curious as to why there wasn’t a response like this to the military leaks. I can understand the response to the diplomatic leaks but why not before? ---
**Author:** ![Commissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@Commissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commissar)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/43 "2010-12-08T17:20:20Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > By donating to Manning’s defense fund, WL is all but admitting that he _was_ the leaker. I don’t see how that conclusion necessarily follows from the available facts. By contributing to his defense fund, Wikileaks is simply stepping in to help defend a victim of the most recent Western crusade against freedom of the press. This does not conclusively prove that Manning has a connection to Wikileaks. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/44 "2010-12-08T17:25:29Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Who said I didn’t pay attention to them? You said there was no hubbub, which is flat out wrong. I assumed that meant you weren’t aware of the leaks, which were front page news and caused plenty of hubbub. > [@](#): > > My point was that there were no attempts to shut down websites, no attempts to block funds, no calls for assassination, etc. There were. You’re seeing a cumulative effect now, but those things happened before. The alleged leaker was arrested months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/45 "2010-12-08T17:26:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > By donating to Manning’s defense fund, WL is all but admitting that he _was_ the leaker. > [@Commissar](#): > > I don’t see how that conclusion necessarily follows from the available facts. Even if that conclusion does follow, they already said they were going to donate to his defense. From a public standpoint, that’s about as incriminating as a real donation. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/46 "2010-12-08T17:32:33Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > I don’t see how that conclusion necessarily follows from the available facts. By contributing to his defense fund, Wikileaks is simply stepping in to help defend a victim of the most recent Western crusade against freedom of the press. This does not conclusively prove that Manning has a connection to Wikileaks. Riiiiiight. Like there’s another leaker of several hundred thousand documents who happens to be still on the loose, who happened to give the purloined documents to Wikileaks during the same period that PFC Manning absconded with his cache. It’s hard not to laugh at the proposition that there is a major ongoing conspiracy between the evil, capitalist United States and the neutral, socialist paradise of Sweden to frame Assange for rape, on one hand; but on the other, it’s just a total coincidence that the documents that Manning stole were later published on Wikileaks. ETA: And calling Manning’s actions as being in any way related to freedom of the press is just 100% balderdash. Total and complete nonsense. As if that yokel was some kind of Clark Kent figure, working at the Daily Planet by day, and then removing his glasses and press pass to be an Army intel analyst by night? Puh-leeze. **Marley** - thanks for the move. I wasn’t quite sure which Assange thread my comment best fit in. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/47 "2010-12-08T17:52:35Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > I don’t see how that conclusion necessarily follows from the available facts. By contributing to his defense fund, Wikileaks is simply stepping in to help defend a victim of the most recent Western crusade against freedom of the press. This does not conclusively prove that Manning has a connection to Wikileaks. If he’s not the leaker, then in what sense is he “the press”? > [@Marley23](#): > > Even if that conclusion does follow, they already said they were going to donate to his defense. From a public standpoint, that’s about as incriminating as a real donation. Yes, I should have made clear that I’m not distinguishing between donating and saying they’ll donate. ---
**Author:** ![Commissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@Commissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commissar)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/48 "2010-12-08T18:55:45Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > If he’s not the leaker, then in what sense is he “the press”? He’s not “the press” - he is, potentially, a convenient scapegoat that got caught in the cross-hairs during the latest Western push to clamp down on the freedom of the press. Kind of like the Jews weren’t really responsible for Germany’s post-WWI woes, but got shafted anyway when the government was looking for heads to roll… ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/49 "2010-12-08T19:38:26Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > He’s not “the press” - he is, potentially, a convenient scapegoat that got caught in the cross-hairs during the latest Western push to clamp down on the freedom of the press. Yeah, he was totally framed. All he did was steal classified secrets, and for that he’s being charged with stealing classified secrets? Wake up, sheeple! If we aren’t vigilant, Amerikkka will soon be accusing drug dealers of selling drugs! ---
**Author:** ![Commissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@Commissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commissar)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/50 "2010-12-08T22:16:34Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Yeah, he was totally framed. All he did was steal classified secrets, and for that he’s being charged with stealing classified secrets? > > Wake up, sheeple! If we aren’t vigilant, Amerikkka will soon be accusing drug dealers of selling drugs! Oh dear, I didn’t realize that his guilt has been conclusively established by a court of law. I must have missed the news about his conviction. Can you perhaps cite to it? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/51 "2010-12-08T22:33:23Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > Oh dear, I didn’t realize that his guilt has been conclusively established by a court of law. I must have missed the news about his conviction. Can you perhaps cite to it? I’m not sure how things work in the socialist paradises you have expressed fondness for, but around here, courts must prove guilt in order to make someone eligible for punishment by the government. Courts do not have to issue a ruling that allows common people to conclude that a dirtbag has done something wrong. Having been endowed with the gift of free will and sound judgment, and having read about PFC Manning’s exploits, I have determined that he has done wrong. I don’t need the government to tell me that it’s okay for me to conclude that. As a result of my determination, that young man isn’t subject to imprisonment, but I reserve the right to call him belittling names. Again, I admit that communist countries may run differently, perhaps by having a state-owned propaganda organ tell people what to think when kangaroo courts convict people for thought crimes based on no evidence at all. Fortunately, my thoughts aren’t tied to that kind of oppression. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/52 "2010-12-08T23:26:03Z")
> [@](#): > > What is WikiLeaks’ mission? Total. World. Domination. BWA-HA-HA-HA-HAAA! ---
**Author:** ![Commissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@Commissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commissar)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/53 "2010-12-09T00:14:37Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I’m not sure how things work in the socialist paradises you have expressed fondness for, but around here, courts must prove guilt in order to make someone eligible for punishment by the government. > > Courts do not have to issue a ruling that allows common people to conclude that a dirtbag has done something wrong. Having been endowed with the gift of free will and sound judgment, and having read about PFC Manning’s exploits, I have determined that he has done wrong. I don’t need the government to tell me that it’s okay for me to conclude that. As a result of my determination, that young man isn’t subject to imprisonment, but I reserve the right to call him belittling names. > > Again, I admit that communist countries may run differently, perhaps by having a state-owned propaganda organ tell people what to think when kangaroo courts convict people for thought crimes based on no evidence at all. Fortunately, my thoughts aren’t tied to that kind of oppression. Oh, I see. So one of the many benefits of capitalism is that everyone can freely disregard the judicial system and reach their own conclusions regarding the guilt or innocence of persons that they have never met without access to evidence of any sort. Sounds swell to me; there’s absolutely no way that this line of thinking can be taken too far, right? Then again…: [Lynching - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/54 "2010-12-09T00:30:37Z")
I wonder if there’s a legal penalty for lynching a strawman. I support the cause here, but if Manning leaked the documents, he almost surely committed a crime. He’s entitled to due process regardless, and offering an opinion about his guilt does not jeopardize his rights. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/55 "2010-12-09T02:51:32Z")
It’s interesting how quickly **Commissar** went from talking about freedom of the press to trying to stifle the speech of others. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296/56 "2010-12-09T15:21:39Z")
Yes, it is indeed a slippery slope from me calling PFC Manning “belittling names” (as I said in my previous post) to lynching him. In fact, many times I can’t tell where teasing and insults end and murder begins. I await my government overlords to tell me what to think about PFC Manning. I will thoroughly disregard Manning’s statements that he burned the files to Lady Gaga CDs, because until a judge tells me who Lady Gaga is, I’m in no position to judge, lest I go on a murderous rampage as **Commissar** has described my inclination to do so. Thinking is dangerous, indeed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wikileaks-mission/563296.md?page=2)