WikiLeaks, the Global Fourth Estate History Is Happening WikiLeaks, the Global Fourth Estate History Is Happening - Nozomi Hayase © 2018 Nozomi Hayase All rights reserved. ISBN: 1984027182 ISBN 13: 9781984027184 Cover design by Somerset Bean Credit: Inspiration for the book’s subtitle, “History Is Happening,” is derived from the motto of The Juice Media. Dedicated to the youth who grew up on the Internet. The future of civilization depends on acts of courage inspired by the heart. “Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.” —George Orwell1 Contents Preface: History Has Awakened · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · xiii Chapter 1 The Rise of New Journalism . 1 Chapter 2 Freedom of Speech in the Age of WikiLeaks . 8 Chapter 3 The Effect of WikiLeaks in the Stadium of Democracy . .15 Chapter 4 Redefining Power . 20 Chapter 5 Revolutionary Journalism in a Time of Universal Deceit . 26 Chapter 6 “Terrorist” by Association, Assange’s Lawyer on the Watch List . 36 Chapter 7 Activist or Journalist? Pulling a Yes Men on Bill Keller . .41 Chapter 8 We Are All Enemies of the State . .45 Chapter 9 Inside the Hourglass . .56 Chapter 10 Whistleblowers at the Frontier of Digital Liberation . .59 Chapter 11 The Unsung Hero of the NSA Revelations . .71 Chapter 12 Defeating the Conspiracy of Governance . .75 Chapter 13 The First Amendment Revolution . .89 Chapter 14 When Google Met WikiLeaks . .98 Chapter 15 Countering the Banality of Evil . .108 Chapter 16 Sixth Anniversary of “Collateral Murder” Video . 115 Chapter 17 Standing with the Conscience of Truth-Tellers . .120 Chapter 18 Ten Years of Pushing the Boundaries of Free Speech . .127 Chapter 19 Controversy over Podesta Emails Opens a Debate for Future Journalism . .137 Chapter 20 Filling the Phantom of Democracy with Our Networked Power . .146 Chapter 21 Vault 7, CIA Cyberwar and the Battleground of Democracy . .152 Chapter 22 Prosecution of Assange Is Persecution of Free Speech . .159 Chapter 23 From Gandhi to Catalans, the Revolutionary Movement of Peacemakers . .164 Afterword: History Is Happening · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·173 Notes · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·175 Acknowledgments · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·233 PREFACE History Has Awakened - April 2010 was a typical spring day in San Francisco. The world I knew was about to change. The WikiLeaks publication of the “Collateral Murder” video became an international sensation. The cruel scenery in an Iraqi suburb viewed from a US military helicopter gunsight was laid bare for the whole world to see. The uncensored face of modern war lifted the dark cloud of apathy in the post-9/11 world, opening a crack in public consciousness. The new vocabu- lary of transparency and government secrecy entered into everyday discourse. Along with it came the notion of “illegitimate governance.” At key moments in history, the right term captures a zeitgeist, guiding the world in a new di- rection. Illegitimate governance became one such term. WikiLeaks, with its method of transparency, revealed a gap between ide- als and reality and made it possible for people to have a more honest account of history. The meaning of a leak can be fully understood with the philosophi- cal foundation of humanity as a species that lives in time and space. We are historical beings. We process information in a context that is built from the past. Our interpretation of past events informs our actions, influencing the trajectory of the future. For so long, our right to exist historically—to participate in a discourse of civilization—has been denied for so many. Democracy was a promise and aspiration to acknowledge that each person ought to participate in under- standing historical events and that the consensus of ordinary people could guide the direction of society. Yet democracy has become an empty word, and people are relegated to being merely spectators. The system of representation has become a shield that conceals and guards elite interests. People have been kept in the dark. The perspective of the few, bypassing democratic consensus, has become accepted as an official narrative. WikiLeaks brought an end to this dark age. Through releasing informa- tion that belongs to the public, the organization began bringing historical records back to civilization. In a sense, by opening archives, WikiLeaks freed people from a stolen history that repeats abuses of the past. Leaked docu- ments allow us to look at past events anew and restore perspectives that were oppressed and pushed to the margins. Released documents helped everyday people to participate in shaping the course of their own destiny. I was one of these ordinary people who witnessed this tidal shift of balance of power. I am one of countless others who were inspired, empowered, and whose life was changed by WikiLeaks. This book is a collection of articles that I wrote from 2010 through 2017 about WikiLeaks. I tried to capture the effect of this organization, not just on journalism but also on the future of democracy and civilization at large. I put the articles in chronological order with publication date to docu- ment the historical unfolding. I kept the text to maintain authenticity, except with minor editing for readability and orientation in time, including shorten- ing some of the articles. Only through entering into the present, with our uncompromising power of imagination, can we change the course of history. WikiLeaks is a media for all people. It invites everyone to join the front lines of history that is hap- pening. It is my hope that this chronicle can contribute to narratives of this pivotal time in history when the birth of this global Fourth Estate changed the world forever. CHAPTER 1 The Rise of New Journalism AUGUST 21, 2010 - In the spring of 2010, the unknown whistleblowing website was thrust onto the world stage with the release of a cockpit video from a 2007 Apache gun- ship attack in Baghdad. WikiLeaks called this sensational video “Collateral Murder.”1 It opened with a quote from George Orwell’s 1984 and depicted the US military gunning down Iraqi civilians and Reuters reporters on a street in Baghdad. As the controversy over the video boiled over, attention was directed at WikiLeaks, with the US security establishment coming out with rhetorical guns blazing, trying to shoot the messenger and avert attention from the mes- sage itself. WikiLeaks brought polarizing reactions. Despite the establishment’s ef- forts to paint the organization in a negative light, many saw WikiLeaks as a positive development toward transparency and accountability of those in power. On one hand, the organization became an instant hero as a champion of open government. On the other, some perceived these leaks as a threat to the national security state and that WikiLeaks’ releases of war documents were putting lives in danger. The primary criticism has come mostly from US government leaders and from Americans, who are insulated by the mainstream corporate media. WikiLeaks’ editing of the video, and especially the naming of it, became a center of scrutiny. Some viewed it as a slant put out to manipulate the public. 1 Nozomi Hayase Collateral damage vs. collateral murder One might recall Julian Assange’s interview on Comedy Central’s Colbert Report back in 2010 where Colbert challenged Assange in a sarcastic tone on the framing of the “Collateral Murder” video.2 Colbert, playing the role of a stereotypical right-wing character, said, “You have given it a title called ‘Collateral Murder.’ That’s not leaking, that’s a pure editorial.” To which Assange responded, “The promise that we make to our sources is that . we will attempt to get the maximum political impact for the materials they give to us.” Colbert continued, “That way you have manipulated the audience into the emotional state you want before something goes on the air. That is an emotional manipulation. .” Then, tongue-in-cheek, he said, “That’s journalism I can get behind.” Colbert’s satire was taken as real by some, and for them WikiLeaks’ action seemed to be intentional manipulation. Was the editing and naming of the video an act of deception? The term “collateral murder” had a strong effect, triggering shock in some people. When one carefully examines people’s reactions not only to the video but also to the way it was edited, a lot can be revealed about their position and perspective in the matter. In the article “Manning & WikiLeaks Are True Patriots by Definition,” Dallas GoldBug examined a controversial question related to the ethics of whistleblowers—namely, whether they should be pros- ecuted for their actions or not. He said, “The answer to this would perceivably be different depending on what side of the pond you call home.”3 This home is one’s foundational framework through which one perceives the world and is something that one is often not aware of. This titling by WikiLeaks broke down the habitual patterns of viewing reality. Many of us were used to hearing the term “collateral damage.” This is a commonly accepted euphemism coined by the military that refers to inno- cent civilians being injured or killed. This word reveals a certain perspective. The USAF (United States Air Force) Intelligence Targeting Guide defines the term as the “unintentional or incidental damage affecting facilities, equip- ment or personnel, occurring as a result of military actions directed against targeted enemy forces or facilities. Such damage