moderator: We now begin the chat with Julian. There are already a lot of questions to be answered so be patient!
Eric: This might be a very common question, do you feel like you're under a threat of being assassinated and have an attempt ever occurred?
Julian Assange: The Pentagon, during an extraordinary 25 minute press conference about us, stated that it would attempt to compel us to 1. delete everything related to it, 2. delete pending publications related to it, 3. force us to not deal with whistleblowers related to it. The Pentagon, when asked a question by a reporter about what mechanisms in law it would use to compel, stated that the law was not a matter for the Department of Defense. We have had some serious assassination issues in Africa, where two related human rights lawyers were assassinated on their way to a meeting at the Kenyan National Human Rights Commission.
Maria Brundin: Since you started, and particularly since the documents about the war in Afghanistan was published, media and politicians has been focusing on Wikileaks as an organisation and you as a person rather than what's in the information that you've published. My first question is; Do you think single handed taking on the role as representing the organisation, and in a way becoming something of a celebrity, has hindered this? Wouldn't it be better to have a few representatives and so take focus from you to the information you're actually publishing? My second question is; I have heard government representatives (including our own Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt) say that the information you have published isn't anything new and doesn't change anything. I assume you do not agree with this, in what way can Wikileaks make sure the information you publish reach the general public? In short, how are you going to make sure Wikileaks don't end up like some lexicon no one ever reads?
Julian Assange: Investigative journalism takes more work than simply mouthing off opinions. In otherwords, it costs more per word. So it is important to make such journalism cheaper and provide incentives for investment (typically restriction of supply, exclusives or embargos). We have been expermenting with a number of mechanisms to do that, however, just because journalists don't write about something does not mean that people are not reading it. Almost 50% of our hits are from search engines--people searching for some incident, organization or person and finding the answer in our materials. Newspapers are only an intermediary between the facts of the world and people who want to know some subset of these facts, but there are other intermediaries.
TLS: Aren't you afraid to be branded a terrorist by the US government in the end? As it doesn't seem like they're shy to brand just anyone that goes against their way a terrorist these days.
Julian Assange: we have received a report that we have been placed on a financial blacklist in Australia and a financial watchlist in Australia. Even the Icelandic Central Bank was placed on a financial terrorist list by the United Kingdom. Everyone must be careful to make sure these laws, which are genuinely designed to stop terrorist financing are not abused for other purposes. That's why laws must be defined narrowly and their effects reviewed each year.
Rydgren: What kind of political or ideological conviction drives you?
Julian Assange: The truth is all we have. If we are to get anywhere as a civilization, we must understand the world and how it operates, anything else is drifting in a dark sea.
Mika Söderrqvis: What education do you have? have you studied journalism before? where? How come you chose to work with what you do?
Julian Assange: I never studied journalism, computer science or law. I find that to be true of most good journalists and computer programmers.
Peter Gash: If your actions are for real, how come you have not been permanently stopped? Do you believe that the principle wikileaks antagonists are worried they might make a martyr out of you?
Julian Assange: These organizations are not as powerful as they think they are, nor as they get everyone else to think they are. All that is needed for them to control dissent is the ability to cause fear. In the West, their power is largely an illusion. They promote their own power, like all organizations, however, also their opponents promote their power by drawing attention to its abuses.
HenrikF: What in these "Afghanistan-documents" that resently were released by wikileaks would you say is the most interesting or revealing?
Julian Assange: The vast number of small and medium sized tragedies and lies that make up a war. This has not been seen before, it is hard to describe, but it is what makes this collection so important. It is the truest window we have had into a war, not through examples, but through its totality.
Andreas Dimestam: People in undeveloped nations usually have very limited access to the internet. Do you think this is a problem for Wikileaks, and if so, what do you do to make the leaked material available for people in the third world, dicatorships and so on.
Julian Assange: Yes. However, with the exception of North Korea even these dictatorships are becoming internet connected. Prices are coming down and mobile phones are becoming internet connected. That is a great hope and indeed, a hope for Afghanistan. We won't see a year 2000 Taliban whatever happens in Afghanistan. Mobile phones prevent it and the demand for them is strong enough to prevent their ban.
Anders: Wikeleaks needed in Sweden it is so much that should be seen by the politicians do. Will you reveal something about the Swedish politicians?
Julian Assange: Yes.
Halgurd: Do you have any religious view? Do you believe in God?
Julian Assange: Investigative journalists see the evil of the world, as such it is hard to believe in a compassionate God. We make a compassionate world through our actions. It is up to us.
Wikipedian: I have been editing the articles about WikiLeaks on the english wikipedia, if you have read them, what do you think about them? Was it really you who commented on the talk page on "your own" article?
Julian Assange: Thank you. There are frequent attempts by military apologists and others to manipulate our Wikipedia pages. It was me who commented, yes.
Erik: Hello Mr Assange. How important do you consider twitter to be for your organization, in respect for reaching out and interacting with your audience? I see you are very fast responding to critics of your methods, let's say Pentagon, through the use of simple tweets. Is it effective? Keep up the good work and thanks for all you do, Erik
Julian Assange: We have over a hundred thousand followers. Twitter is important, although we wish it was not, since as an organization based in the United States, the national security industry can force Twitter to ban any organization.
Henrik: How do you feel about the risk that named individuals in the published documents gets hurt or even killed based upon the information released by wikileaks?
Julian Assange: As far as anyone can tell, this has never happened. When we deal with such serious issues and such large amount of information, we have to accept the risk that it might, but this is balanced by the understanding that such information is also likely to save a great many lives.
Hibbe: Do you see yourself as a threat to US National security?
Julian Assange: We must be careful when ever we see "national security". Taken literally, that means the security of the entire nation. It does not seem that anything we could release would ever be a threat to US national security in that sense. If, by "national security" you mean the expressed interests of the "national security" sector, or industry, or to some individuals, that is a different matter, but then, we should use a different phrase.
Rettaw: Hello Julian, after sucessfully establishing wikileaks as a well known and trusted source with your publication of american army secrets this year, are you planning to get back to your fundamental role as an anonymizing proxy for whistle blowers? To clarify, do you intend to serve primarily as a back-end to the established journalistic community, or do you intend to continue in this current maveric fashion?
Julian Assange: We are raising funds, hiring staff and re-engineering our systems to deal with our growth. Once that process is complete, we will return to more regular publishing. Help us get there faster. Donate! And tell all your friends what you have done.
Oliver: Hi Julian, first i wanna say im a big fan of what you're doing in these times of of more government influence it's good average people can surveillance and expose big brother! My question is, are you afraid? So many states, mainly the U.S. probably want to see you gone, and we all know what they're capable of. The United States has a history of trying to get what they want, by legal means or not. Can you enter the U.S. right now? do you have any security detail protecting you? Best Wishes Oliver
Julian Assange: We are not afraid, but we are careful to take appropriate precautions. We should not underestimate the significance of the Pentagon, the Secretary of the Department of Defense the head of the US military, the head of the US military in Afghanistan, the President and the white house press secretary Gibbs all spending considerable time on us and this issue.
Goofy.: About the "Afghan War Diary". This leak resulted in a huge media response. And to my surprise, in media WikiLeaks was the part in question - whether WikiLeaks was doing the right thing, or not. Media, including the Swedish public service, did not ask the big questions - Why is this war still going on - who is gaining. Why is the facts about this war hidden from the (US) public? How can we (and the US) maintain a democracy when the governments actions are hidden from the public? These questions are still to be seen in Swedish media, and probably elsewhere, any comments?
Julian Assange: This is a good question. Modern media economics, fear of authority and conformity tend to prevent these questions being asked by followup media if they were not asked by the initiating media. We will pose a list of questions to be answered with future releases.
Tobias: How can the Pentagon believe it is possible to ever withdraw information that once has been published on the internet? Or is it just a play to the gallery from their side?
Julian Assange: While it may be possible to stop some of us, it is not possible to stop our future publications. We have taken numerous steps to ensure that. We understand the importance to history of our upcoming publications--not just from the United States but other major powers. The blustering probably an attempt to wet the ground for future assults on us, and to generate fear in US military dissidents who continue to give us information.
Daniel S: Millions of people around the world want to be part of something like Wikileaks. What can we do?
Julian Assange: Come to https://chat.wikileaks.org/ and educate each other and us.
Celia Dekker: I am a South-African, living in Malaysia. I am 18 years old, and I want you to know you are my Hero. Not only for standing up for what you believe in but for facing the world as some of the people don't like you much right now. My question for you today is how do you feel, what do you think of before closing your eyes at night? Do you feel like facing a new day in the morning? Are you lonely? What goes on in your head? I wish I could meet you and help you in some way; I am going to study Political Science with Journalism next year and wish to follow your footsteps! Thank you for being who you are and for doing what you are doing. You are making a difference in the world, something I wish I can do someday! Good Luck and don’t let anyone bring you down. Celia.
Julian Assange: I was briefly detained by Special Branch in Malaysia last year after interview Anwar, but I love Malaysia and the Malysian people. I am optimistic about your country and journalism there. You speak of heros, but you should know that Raja Petra, the exiled editor of Malaysia Today is one of mine.
Oskar: Is there any information, with reliable source, that you have decide to not leak? If yes... Why?
Julian Assange: No, none.
moderator: The chat is now closed. Thanks Julian for taking the time to answer questions and thanks to everyone who posted!
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