Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has taken part in an online interview session in which he faced questions from the public on subjects ranging from his relationship with Russia to whether he was, in fact, still alive.
Assange, who sought political asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London and who has been living there since 2012, participated in the Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) event on Tuesday.
He has faced criticism for what critics have alleged was interference in the US election. WikiLeaks published batches of information about the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, which some believe cost her the US presidential election.
In the AMA, questions about links to Russia, WikiLeaks’s ethics and relationship with Fox News were either ignored or given one-word answers.
One person, LameMeme, did not receive an answer to the question: “Please address the allegations that WikiLeaks has a friendly relationship with Russia and cannot be considered objective with their leaks and their agenda. The timeline that makes these allegations seem plausible:
- 10/26/10 - WikiLeaks ready to drop a bombshell on Russia
- 11/01/10 - Russia’s FSB to WikiLeaks: We Can Destroy You
- 1/20/11 - Julian Assange gets Russian visa
- 1/25/12 - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s TV show to be aired on Russian channel
- 4/6/16 - WikiLeaks: US Gov’t Behind Panama Leaks to Attack Putin
- 8/8/16 - http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/08/opinion/can-we-trust-julian-assange-and-wikileaks.html
“Since you are so adamant that Russia was not involved in the recent leaks that played a major role in the US presidential election, it would be helpful if you can make a compelling case for why Americans should trust you over their own intelligence agencies whose reason for existence is to defend the US against foreign threats and who are saying the opposite about Russian involvement.”
Gddboygb, another participant, did not receive a reply for the query: “People frequently group you together with Edward Snowden because you’ve both released classified American documents. But your motivations and [philosophies] couldn’t be more different. Snowden claims to fight for privacy. He’s called privacy the bedrock of freedom, that one cannot be free without privacy.
“You have called privacy obsolete and unsustainable. You’ve said that privacy has no inherent value. You appear to believe privacy and freedom are incompatible, that you cannot be free if others can keep secrets from you. You’ve published the credit card numbers, social security numbers, medical information, and sexual preferences of individuals of zero public interest. Two of your most recent publications are the personal Gmail inboxes of civilians, exactly the sort of thing Snowden has tried to protect. Can you convince me that you’re right and Snowden’s wrong?”
Velocity_Rob, summed up the frustration expressed by some users. “For someone who claims they’re all about transparency and openness, your answers here really don’t live up to those lofty ideals. Terse one-word answers, ignoring really pertinent questions, what exactly is the point of this AMA?”
Assange closed the session by addressing rumours that he was no longer alive or had been kidnapped. “I’m alive, and free from duress,” he said. The 45-year-old read from the online currency bitcoin blockchain, a constantly updated listing of transactions, to prove that the video had not been recorded at an earlier time.
