Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Carl Court/Getty Images WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Thursday blasted US media outlets, contending in an interview that the power possessed by journalists had greatly diminished in recent years.

"They’re increasingly not very important," Assange said in a radio interview with Sean Hannity.

The Fox News host agreed: "So true."

Assange characterized the press as a "paper tiger" in the 2016 election and said the rise of new media had eroded the influence of traditional outlets.

"The old press is less important," he said.

Assange took particular issue with the "liberal press," blaming such journalists for a "degree of bias" that chased away readers.

"Readers see that. They feel it," he said. "They don’t like being lectured or told what to do. And they rebel against it."

Assange is holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to evade questioning over a sexual-assault allegation in Sweden. WikiLeaks released thousands of hacked emails from top Democratic officials throughout the campaign.

US national security officials believe the hacking of such officials was carried out by Russia, and officials in recent days have pointed to Russian President Vladimir Putin being directly involved in the operation.