Free Speech or Blatant Cuber-terrorism - Essay Example

The decision by Julian Assange to publicize American diplomatic messages by Julian Assange amounts to freedom of speech (Beckett and Ball, 2012). In as much as the government of US tries to extradite Assange, the founder of Wiki leaks, he received numerous supports from various governments in the world. In fact, the government of Australia denoted that Assange did not commit any crime, by revealing the classified military and diplomatic documents of United States (Beckett and Ball, 2012). Furthermore, in recognizing the efforts of wiki leaks in promoting free speech, media organizations such as the Economics, awarded the organization with a medal referred to as New Media Award.

An organization like the New York Daily News praised this effort by Wiki Leaks, denoting it had changed the manner in which news was gathered, and disseminated. Freedom of speech is an important pillar that guides the political, social, and economic environments of United States (Beckett and Ball, 2012). All democracies promote freedom of speech, irrespective of whether the information provided is good to the government or not. It is important to explain that democratic governments normally encourage criticisms.

By releasing this information, the founder of Wiki Leaks was criticizing the diplomatic and military strategies of United States (Beckett and Ball, 2012). This is because some of the information released talked about the negative perceptions that the American government had towards some world leaders, and their governments. Wiki Leaks is not cyber terrorism, and its founder is not responsible for abetting or aiding terrorism. Instead, Wiki Leaks is a media organization that aims at promoting freedom of speech, and that of the media.

References:Beckett, C., & Ball, J. (2012). Wikileaks: news in the networked era. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.