Importance of Whistleblowing

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In this era where the ability to spy and store public information through the rise of the internet defines the United States’ government power, three men are opposing this and transferring the power into the hands of the people. Through the leaking of classified information and government secrets into the public domain, Julian Assange, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden have managed to compromise the power of the United States (USA) government and empower the global populace. American author and activist, Alice Walker, once declared that, “the most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any”. Governments such as the US have long concealed documents, secrets and ultimately knowledge from the public, leaving citizens feeling powerless. Through the leaking of such information, whistle-blowers are standing up and empowering the people in realising the power potential of the masses. Assange, Manning and Snowden are citizens who are harnessing the power of information, hence becoming gaining an influential and knowledge based power that has inspired a multitude of people, despite the contrary beliefs of others. Julian Assange, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden are three of the 21st century’s most notable informants and influential people. Julian Assange (Appendix 1), photographed by English-born freelance photographer, Peters, is the 41-year-old man with the striking white hair of someone twice his age making a prominent stand against governments worldwide as the man at the forefront of mass leaking site WikiLeaks. Established in 2006, WikiLeaks was based on the belief “that the free exchange of information would put an end to illegitimate governance” (Harrell, 2010). Harrell, an American editor and writer for TIME online, offers the contemporary view of the role of WikiLeaks in society, one that has been largely accepted by the public but

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