Journalism Has Lost Credibility

Transparency, accountability, and honesty should define a government in a free society. In the United States, we were founded upon being an open and transparent Government. A government of ‘We the people.’ One where the states held the power and the people had a voice.

However, just because America is a ‘free society’ that does not mean we then automatically have a transparent, corrupt free government. Most would agree that the opposite is true. Until recent years, there was at least an attempt at fighting back against the growing corruption in our government. Investigative and honest journalism provided some clarity and revealed some corruption. Journalism was taken seriously and was not a place for opinion, but fact.

Somewhere along the way, that ideology has been lost. Unfortunately, the ‘mainstream media’ lost its integrity a long time ago. ‘Journalism’ within the media is no longer honest or investigative. Some would say that it has even become propaganda.

Alternative Sources of News

Due to the lack of integrity in both our Government and our media, people are seeking out alternate sources. While there are many good alternate sources out there, one that stands out is WikiLeaks. No matter your current opinion on WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange, no one can deny the role they played in the 2016 American Presidential Election. Media organizations like WikiLeaks are necessary to continue to ensure that ‘We the People’ stay informed and able to fight back against government corruption.

So, why are there such conflicting opinions about WikiLeaks? You may not have paid much attention to WikiLeaks prior to July 22, 2016. On this day, WikiLeaks published the DNC emails. Some of you may have been watching WikiLeaks since Julian Assange founded the organization in 2006. Either way, the American people are more aware of WikiLeaks than ever before. The problem is that awareness does not necessarily come without confusion. Some of that confusion comes from a lack of information. Some it comes from receiving the wrong information.

Find the Truth Among the Fake News

How can you be sure what is true about Wikileaks and what is part of the old media false narratives? Easy! Look at history.

Actions speak louder than words. That old adage is full of wisdom. Anyone can make a claim. They may even be able to put some opinion behind it that makes it sound reasonable. However, when history (actions) clearly negates the narrative (words) that they are speaking- the truth is revealed. You may be thinking- If finding the truth is that easy, why are there so many false narratives being distributed? One answer to that would be complacency to accept the facade that the mainstream media pushes.

Because the media was once highly trusted and relied upon for truth, there is a large majority of people who do not feel the need to look any further for facts outside of what is presented to them by the media. The media is aware of this. They know that there are still people who accept what they say as gospel. They use this complacency to be able to push whatever story they need/want us to believe. In doing this, the media is no longer practicing journalism, they are pushing propaganda.

How WikiLeaks Operates

WikiLeaks has published over 10 million documents, some leading to court filings and indictments. WikiLeaks has a pristine record for accuracy, verifying every document before publishing. Verifying a document’s accuracy prior to publishing, along with not altering documents for censorship, allows WikiLeaks documents to be used for evidence in legal cases. WikiLeaks has also won many awards over the years, including TIME Magazines’, ‘Person of the Year’ award in 2010. With a 10+ year history of accuracy, WikiLeaks has earned their credibility.

It is also important to note how WikiLeaks operates. Many are under the false impression that WikiLeaks is a hacking organization. This is not true. WikiLeaks is a multi-national media organization. Documents are not obtained through hacking by WikiLeaks, but rather by submissions from whistle-blowers and the like. As with any media organization/journalist, WikiLeaks protects its sources. With the types of documents that WikiLeaks handles (government secrets) there is a danger to being the source of that information. Sources can and should be protected. Without protected sources, there would be no investigative journalism.

Why the Media Hates WikiLeaks

So with their proven history and accuracy, why now are they being attacked? The fight over who leaked the documents published by WikiLeaks is ignoring the more significant topic of what those documents contain. The fact is that the cables published contained true information. The content of the documents published in 2016 brought to light and confirmed suspected corruption in the democratic party as well as in Clinton’s campaign itself.

We deserve the truth. We deserve transparency. It is time to stand up with WikiLeaks and demand the truth! It does not matter about party affiliation all corruption should be revealed. Will we ever be able to rid our government of corruption completely? No. Does that mean we should not actively seek to try? Of course not. It is our responsibility as aware and concerned citizens to be ‘We the people’.

We have entered a new era, one where more people are more awake than they have been in a long time. It is your choice what you do now. Do you stand up and demand honesty and transparency? Or do you sit back and continue to close your eyes to what has happened to our country? We need to stand together, regardless of party affiliation, and take our country back. Remember, united we stand and divided we fall. What side of history will you be on?