When looking at the world of information and how it
has changed in the digital age of the internet, we have to ask the question:
Activist or Aggregator? Is the person providing the information acting as an
activist, or are they accumulating information for others to act on. This
question especially comes into play when looking at Edward Snowden and Julian
Assange. Both have been involved in disseminating classified information
through the organization WikiLeaks. Looking at their backgrounds helps answer
the question.
Edward Snowden was working for as a U.S. government contractor
in 2013 when he copied and then revealed to journalists as many as 200,000
classified documents. Snowden claims that his motivation for revealing the
documents was so that Americans would be aware of the magnitude of domestic surveillance
being done by the government. Edward Snowden is facing many repercussions for
his actions and is currently living in political asylum in Russia. It seems
that considering this, Mr. Snowden could certainly be thought of as an activist
for the revelation of surveillance to the American public.
On the other hand, Julian Assange, a founder and the
editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, seems to fall mainly into the role of an aggregator
despite starting out as a journalist and activist. Assange has provided a
platform where documents can be made available to the public. While the revelation
of this information can have significant consequences for those involved, the
information is not being reported in a journalistic way. WikiLeaks announces
that they have published a document and the situation surrounding it and why
that is important. Then WikiLeaks, without talking to those involved in any
given situation, makes broad pronouncements about what is happening.
It can be seen that while roles of Activist and
Aggregator are clearly separate things, they are certainly not mutually
exclusive.
Sources:
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