Documentary-Review: „WikiLeaks – Secrets and Lies“

Guardian-near More4 Documentary: No True Story, no Secrets but many Lies

Gerd R. Rueger 11.9.2012 (CC-by-3.0)

Unfortunately, the guardian-related TV production is mostly driven by Guardian journalists, who gave almost negative statements about the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Guardian, „Spiegel“ and New York Times made 2010 a Media Consortium to publish exclusively the leaks from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But soon the three Mainstream-Media became enemies of Assange, in particular the Guardian. //please help to make this translation better: use comment-function//

Hanger is a shrouded home interview with Assange, who was  still in the UK house arrest at that time. From this interview only eight minutes were filtered  out, and cut into small bite between the statements of his opponents. Gives rise to the impression of a Tribunal where Assange is allowed to respond to the accusations. But the makers of the documentation allone decided what he may say. At the end you learned nothing new, but all charges against WikiLeaks were once again warmed up and suggestively presented. WikiLeaks protested against this representation, Assange complained about the More4 documentary he claimed was unfair and violated his privacy has not been upheld by Ofcom, the british media regulator. Ofcom ruled that the documentary was fair and did give Assange „appropriate opportunity to respond“ before the programme was aired, first on 29 November 2011 in UK. But Ofcom was wrong. And Ofcom didn’t judge wether Assange had „appropriate opportunity to respond“ the defamations in the documentary itself.

Sneaky and dangerous are in particular defamations, Assange would have lied about the allegations of sexual abuse, on his hands would „blood stick“ and protection of his sources is unimportant for him. The documentary even blame the detention of alleged whistleblowers Bradley Manning is charged to tend to him. His constant commitment and his advocacy for Manning is concealed. Instead, the impression is suggested with accordingly inserted interview passages, to Assange whistleblower protection would be no matter, he would sacrifice them higher goals -nothing of this is the truth.

All this not even claims the documentary, but it let speak one opponent of Assange after another. So the opponents are stylized quasi to witness the prosecution, their statements are mixed with supporting TV pictures, press releases and statements of the U.S. Government. Short Assange passages that are largely useless to his defense are mixed in between. This gives only at first glance the impression of a fair speech.   Assange gets actually no chance to defend themselves against a bulk of accusations and defamations.

Daniel Domscheit-Berg, the German WikiLeaks derivatives and OpenLeaks founder, is the first of a whole phalanx of former Assange supporters, who today are his opponents. In the documentary all of them speak against the WikiLeaks founder. In scene set will be according to a uniform pattern: first, they must describe how nice they initially feel with „Julian“, but then, Assange showed them his supposedly „true“ colors: the a „liar“, „Gangster“ and „Insane“, a „true Monster“ (quotes).

Assange a „Cult leader“?

The Chief witnesses for the prosecution come from writers of the guardian: David Leigh and Nick Davies. They first exuberant praise Julian, but describe the cooperation with him as somehow strange, he was like a „cult leader“ who was „not from this planet“. David Leigh begins affable:

„Julian was a strange charisma, he behaved as if he were a cult leader. We made very soon around jokes about the people around him, the rose lemonade drinking (…) So I took him in our home, gave him our guest bed. Only slept not he but sat all night in front of his laptop and made mysterious things. Then, at 5 A.m. early, he tipped away suddenly. He wore this brown leather jacket, high buttoned always up to his neck. He never moved from that. At 5 A.m., at the end of his workload, he fell and fell asleep in his leather jacket buttoned to. Such things gave one the feeling, you would have to do it, which is not by this planet with someone.“

That sounds something like hacker stereotype, but still quite nice, but Leigh concludes later less friendly his description of Assange in the film:

„He shook my hand, looked me in the eyes like a mafia and said: ‚Be careful‘, so in this way. I found this ridiculous, as this person has threatened me. Since I have spoken no longer with Julian Assange…“

The Guardian journalist Nick Davies repeatedly accused Assange of lying and then draws the bow into the sexual abuse allegations from Sweden:

„Assange believes in the things he speaks out in the moment in which he speaks them.“ This is like when the two women from Sweden. „If he called the dirty tricks of the Pentagon, then he believes also.“

Davies believes not. It remains unclear, where Nick Davies takes his knowledge about, if you told the truth and who is not. Davies talks about Assange literally in rage, pulls up the eyebrows, rolls through the eyes and is outraged:

„I suspect almost everyone close to him coming, experienced with: man starts to like him and trust him and this monster suddenly appears out of nowhere! Where for heaven sake comes from the now! Suddenly one realizes this exceptionally hypocritical man I never met one such dishonest people like Julian Assange!“

A Navy Seal and human rights

Many moves at the level of personal allegations against Julian Assange, but also the leaks themselves are shown by their negative side. The section on the publication of the Afghan war diaries by Guardian, „Spiegel“ & New York Times moves the opposition of Government-in the Center. But it is not parsed or reflected, but simply given again in the original sound and confirmed:

„48 Hours the whole world spoke of civilian casualties and by task force 373, then found the NYT WikiLeaks documents that endangered clearly the safety of Afghan civilians.“ One player from US television: „At WikiLeaks hands sticks blood!“ At this point the documentation reviewed an eerie, but hardly noticeable Hall effect: „…sticks blood!“ (And it is moved permanently from the „documentation“ to the manipulation of the Viewer.)

Problematized is in the documentation does not, that is under the name of „Task force 373“ a US commando unit beyond the Geneva Convention assassination attempts on as Taliban suspects (and sometimes their families) carried out. But could the „breach of secrecy“ by WikiLeaks, the informants of „Task force 373“ have threatened the (which is not proven to this day). Consequently comes to no human rights expert to speak, but the US Navy Seal (elite soldier) Christopher lifting:

„Julian Assange and his bunch of rebellious fools think they shoot just this whole information about the world and contribute to world peace.“ Away from the truth that could be not next. „You undermined so that NATO’s ability to ensure stability in almost every concern region of the world… There is dirty work out there and it needs to be done.“

Even the arrest and torture of Bradley Mannings will tend to be blamed on Assange. This takes over the documentary the U.S. Government’s version and now stamp the alleged whistleblower to the guilty party. Manning faced Maryland now in his preliminary hearing the court-martial at Fort Meade, has been there but by no means to be the sought whistleblower let alone Assange be charged. The documentary presents only the long known screenshots of a chat in which manning allegedly gave to, geleakt to have the secret files as „Evidence“. The lawyer of Bradley manning argued mitigated for his clients, that none of the allegedly bloody victims of „secrets“ has been previously demonstrated.

Dissolute instead of medals

The zotige language to Assange in the four hours interview carried away apparently once had is it unfortunately vulnerable: The German ZEIT.de quoted his ranting to the media as „nuttigste and hinterhältigste industry“ in their appreciation of the documentation so that Assange was very unfavourably. The documentary avoids many topics that could speak for WikiLeaks and Assange: from the deterrence for war criminals to the detection of corruption, for example, when the German toll collect affair. The documentary also about the numerous awards of the Medal of the „Sydney Peace Foundation“ of the German „whistleblower Award“ for „Anonymous“ of WikiLeaks or Assange loses no word (allegedly Bradley Manning, should he ever confess, the price falls to him – then threatens him but many years in prison or even the death penalty).

The main controversy of WikiLeaks with the guardian circled to the password for the encrypted US dispatches in a guardian book published in 2011. The confidential dispatches were at once for all world readable, what several scandals kindled and General doubt as to the concept of the whistleblower platform to let. The controversy is touched on only hint and at the expense of Assange in the documentation, that only the author David Leigh comes to Word. He WAGs a piece of paper in front of the camera around and claims:

„…dieses piece has described paper Assange…“ „He told me that this folder would then expire, within a few hours removed from would… that had a lot of James Bond.“

Only those who know the whole story, can guess here that it should probably be to the conscious password. There is no direct link is made with the dispatches dispute between Assange and the guardian, but Assange is implicitly pushed the scapegoat. The top journalists of the guardian not are wondering after its own due diligence, although they have can expect quite that would mistake the hacker group chased around the globe. Assange is now under fire by media firms who are engaged in a dirty witch hunt against him and WikiLeaks and has to struggle all around the clock.

Conclusion: Who knows this documentation only, will get a unfair and negative view of Julian Assange. Fortunately, there are other, less one-sided documentaries on WikiLeaks, for example the Swedish documentary „Wikileaks rebels in the net“ or v.ORF.

Unilateral presentation: „WikiLeaks secrets and lies,“ written and directed by: Patrick Forbes, Editor: Reinhart Lohmann (ZDF), German broadcast on Arte, 14.02.2012, 3sat 11.09.2012

Rueger, Gerd R., The defamation of WikiLeaks is based on lies and twists, 19.09.2011,   http://www.scribd.com/doc/65552221/The-Defamation-of-WikiLeaks-is-Based-on-Lies-and-Twists

ZEIT.de, WikiLeaks und die Medien “Die nuttigste, hinterhältigste Industrie, die mir je begegnet ist”, http://www.zeit.de/digital/internet/2012-02/wikileaks-assange-doku-arte

Support Bradley Manning: Bericht aus der Vorverhandlung (arraignment)

http://www.bradleymanning.org/news/notes-from-bradley-mannings-arraignment

WikiLeaks.org zum Film: Guardian’s “WikiLeaks: Secrets and Lies” Documentary: Guardian hacks continue PR war against WikiLeaks  http://wikileaks.org/Guardian-s-WikiLeaks-Secrets-and.html