From Russia With Love: Why Wikileaks Isn’t Reliable Enough For Me
I think we can all agree that publishing stolen private e-mails is wrong, even if those e-mails are authentic. As a Hillary supporter and someone that thought what Snowden did was illegal and treasonous since the leaks immensely damaged national security, I agree with Andrew McCarthy when he says some preliminary consideration should be given to Wikileaks, and to the degree, if any, that questions the manner in which the documents were procured that could possibly diminish their reliability.
WikiLeaks Operations Are Of A Questionable Nature
Since 2013, various intelligence experts have publicly stated that WikiLeaks is most likely a front for Russian intelligence. Remember, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange persuaded Edward Snowden to take refuge with Putin.
Whether Assange is an agent of Putin, or an independent actor somehow allied with Putin, the fact remains that WikiLeaks has an anti-American agenda. An actor with an agenda is unlikely to release complete information even if it is authentic. The agenda controls which documents are leaked and which are withheld, allowing reality to be spun rather than unveiled. In this instance, even if the e-mails are real, there may be e-mails and other information that WikiLeaks is not disclosing that could put what has been disclosed in a fuller context.
Even if we assume that the documents released are authentic and reliable, their disclosure by WikiLeaks was wrong. Relying on them as a source is to encourage similar behavior. While the Fourth Amendment gives you no protection if a private person (rather than a government agent) invades your privacy or steals your private papers, that doesn’t make it right, nor does it mean that we should turn a blind eye to the fact that hostile forces are interfering in our elections.
This is why Apple’s fight with the government was so important. It’s impossible to give government a back door through encryption without giving the same back door to the likes of WikiLeaks operatives and Putin’s intelligence services. Finally, we should prosecute hackers and spies when the opportunity presents itself, without regard to partisan advantage. I don’t want the other team’s playbook. I want to figure out their plays and stop them.
