Wikileaks founder julian assange has spoken of his 'tough' life in an interview on social media today, only to be accused of faking it.

Assange gave the 'Ask Me Anything' interview over Reddit today and talked about attacks on his organisation and his own personal struggles inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, during which he claimed he had not seen the sun in 'four-and-a-half years'.

But the 45-year-old Australian could not escape a question levied against him again and again by trolls - are you really here?

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, pictured, gave an interview on Reddit today but was pestered by trolls who claimed it was faked

The journalist, 45, pictured, said he was in a 'tough' situation living at the Ecuadorian Embassy and 'had not seen sunlight in four-and-a-half' years

Assange, wanted by Swedish authorities for questioning over an alleged rape in 2010, was repeatedly asked to 'put a shoe on his head' to prove the interview was not pre-recorded.

The journalist repeatedly dismissed the requests as 'silly' and denied recording the interview and planting questions, claiming live video was the easiest way to prove he was 'alive'.

He said: 'If you think of the number of people and the amount of work to produce these false images its too many.

'That's proof. To understand that one needs to look at the costs involved in trying to put together all those people and the fabrication technology which does not yet exist to do all that. And then to what benefit?'

He then read out technical information about his Reddit post to prove he was speaking live, only to make a mistake when reciting one of the number codes, something he claimed was further proof he was real.

Assange has been in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012 after he was granted asylum by the country.

Assange has been at the Ecuadorian Embassy, pictured, since 2012 after he was granted asylum following an arrest over an alleged rape in Sweden in 2010

He even briefly had his internet access cut off by his hosts last year but has since returned to the web.

The journalist said he had been through 'tough times' and urged people to stay vigilant and fight for his release.

He said: ' This embassy is surrounded by a police operation and its a really difficult situation.

'I haven't seen sunlight in four and a half years. It is tough, but you should be concerned about the situation.

'We hoped people concerned with my safety would direct their attention to those people responsible for the situation, the UK Government, the US Government and the Ecuadorian government.

'Some did, and that is quite possibly why the internet was put back on.'

He spent about half-an-hour answering questions, with many relating to how Wikileaks operates while he is in the embassy.

Assange said: ' My people have gone through hell and back with me. They are really tough, smart people.

'It's like troops who lose their commander in the middle of a battle with bombs raining down on them. What usually happens is people scatter, go home, get scared or careless, but that didn't happen, not with our people.

Assange, pictured, said Wikileaks had been targeted by a 'black PR campaign' trying to undermine its work

'We didn't lose a single day in our publications as a result and that comes about because of planning and the experience and robustness of the staff at Wikileaks, and exterior support of course, to keep our spirits up.'

He added Reddit was a useful resource to exchange information but said it was not immune to 'censorship'.

Assange also claimed Wikileaks had been subject to a 'black PR' campaign' by people 'fabricating' stories to 'undermine' the organisation and 'stop its funding'.

He also claimed the US Government were informally backing agencies involved with the exposure of the Panama Papers to produce negative stories about Vladimir Putin and Russia.