Wikileaks is publishing new content from the leaked US classified cables each day on the Internet. The documents published through Wikileaks so far have no doubt answered people's need for information. As the rhythm of life and the dissemination of information accelerates with explosive speed, documents that were not meant for publication must now be published quicker than bureaucrats are accustomed to it being the case so as not to warp or distort people's view of the world. As long as truthful information on society is considered dangerous because it contradicts false information spread by governments, information leaks will always be more than welcome.
This method of publication restores some freedom to readers and creates a global public sphere. Democracy can only function on the basis of transparency - yet at the same time it requires the option of secrecy. We are now moving within this tense relationship. It is fascinating to see how these opposing needs are now being balanced as readers watch. Journalists and all online readers are naturally watching closely what the competition reveals. Wikileaks is showing once more that what we read in the press is what was thought and known at a particular point in time. To what extent this corresponds to reality must be subject to continual re-examination.
Here is a point for you to ponder:
The notion of the informed reader is dangerous populism, one could say. True. But without it there can be no democracy.
3 comments:
Personally I find it exceedingly beneficial that the public has further access to the truth. I think in order for democracy to work, the public must be educated on the issues. In a democratic country a misguided public leads to a corrupt government and ultimately diminishes the integrity of the institution.
Hello, my name is Cate M, and I am a high school student in Colorado, United States. I am currently enrolled in a world literature class, and for the semester we each chose a country to study. I chose to study Afghanistan. I know this is not exactly the purpose of your blog, but we are supposed to get in touch with someone from the country we chose. I was hoping you could possibly answer a couple of questions regarding Afghanistan and its culture. I would greatly appreciate your feedback as soon as possible. Thank you very much for your time and I enjoy your blog.
Cate M
catemc@gmail.com
Arapahoe High School
Centennial, CO, United States of America
I don't think Wikileaks is playing fair. Confidential information should be better kept as is. I believe Wikileaks is just making something catchy for the press and online people. I bet, they're just doing it for publicity although I admit some of their leaks are intriguing and quite relevant to current economic issue.
Cate,
you sound very articulate and knowledgable. I agree with you that misguided public leads to a corrupt government. i give you as an example Russia where I have seen firsthand how the government systematically and continous undermine facts in order to keep the public in the dark and the public fails to ask the critical questions. It is vicious circle if you stop to care about what is right then you will be fed wrong information and once you receive the wrong info then you don’t care about the truth. The institution of the state in Russia is a tool at the hand of few.
I would be happy to answer your question.
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