Written by Prakriti Panwar, a grade 11 student

Meant for ages 14 and above – some terms may not be appropriate for children younger than 14

Julian Assange, an Australian computer programmer is the founder of WikiLeaks- a media organisation that is basically a library of the “world’s most persecuted documents.” The organisation publishes the analysis of data, which is usually censored or hidden from the public. They mostly cover information about war, spying and corruption.

Julian Assange practices what he claims to be “scientific journalism”. This type of journalism presents primary or first-hand sources in an unedited or non analysed version, as well as an analysed version with background information and context of the source presented. Here is an example that contains both, the primary data source and the analysis.

Early life

Assange was born in 1971 in Queensland, Australia, and spent most of his childhood travelling. Both of his parents used to put up theatre productions across the globe and for the most part of his life, was homeschooled.

Assange also practised hacking as a teen, which was noticed by the Australian police. He confessed to the accusation and paid a fine too.

Cases and Controversies

In 2010, he was detained in the UK, after he was accused of sexual assault and rape. This led him to seek asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for almost seven years. Finally, in May 2019, Julian Assange was finally taken into custody by the British Police. After a few weeks, the Swedish prosecutors again investigated the sexual assault allegations ( which they later dropped). In that very month, the US Government too alleged him of publishing classified material.  Assange is still in the Belmarsh Prison in London, and is fighting his case against the US.

There was another controversy surrounding the 2016 presidential elections. The two main candidates at that time were Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. There were several instances during the presidential race when Assange leaked personal emails. He claimed that the date leaked simply helped the US public in being more informed.

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