WikiLeaks and Julian Assange: Ethics of Transparency
This paper examines WikiLeaks as a non-profit organization dedicated to exposing classified information and government accountability through anonymous whistleblowing. It traces the background of founder Julian Assange, documents major releases including the "Collateral Murder" video and diplomatic cables, and analyzes the ethical dilemmas raised by WikiLeaks' operations. The paper applies ethical frameworks—utilitarianism, deontology, character-based, and contract-based ethics—to evaluate WikiLeaks' actions. The author argues that while WikiLeaks' core mission of transparency serves an important purpose, its execution requires sustainable methods, clearer guidelines to prevent harm to informants, and separation of organizational ideals from personal conflicts.
- About WikiLeaks: Organization mission, anonymous source protection, verification process
- Julian Assange: Founder background, hacking history, legal troubles, Ecuador asylum
- Major Disclosures and Events: Timeline of key releases from 2008–2011, Bradley Manning, diplomatic cables
- Ethical Dilemmas and Stakeholders: Transparency versus harm prevention, civil rights divisions, accountability questions
- Ethical Frameworks Applied: Utilitarian, deontological, character-based, and contract-based ethics analysis
- Conclusions and Recommendations: Sustainable structures, government oversight, institutional guidelines, public responsibility
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What makes this paper effective
- Provides a comprehensive chronology of WikiLeaks' major releases (2008–2011), grounding abstract ethical discussions in concrete historical events.
- Applies multiple ethical frameworks systematically to evaluate the organization's actions, moving beyond simple approval or condemnation.
- Acknowledges internal contradictions—recognizing WikiLeaks' stated commitment to protecting informants while documenting instances where this failed—demonstrating intellectual honesty.
- Balances idealism with pragmatism, arguing that transparency is necessary but requires sustainable, long-term institutional structures rather than reactive exposures.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied ethics analysis by matching real-world organizational behavior against established ethical theories. Rather than treating ethics as abstract philosophy, the author uses utilitarian, deontological, character-based, and contract-based frameworks as diagnostic lenses to understand why WikiLeaks succeeded in exposing corruption but struggled with the collateral consequences of unredacted disclosures. This approach shows how ethical theories help evaluate policy trade-offs in practice.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a problem-analysis-recommendation pattern: it introduces WikiLeaks and Assange, documents their major actions chronologically, identifies ethical tensions (especially between transparency and informant safety), applies theoretical frameworks to understand these tensions, and concludes with multi-stakeholder recommendations for government, organizations, and the public. The author's voice shifts from analytical to prescriptive in the conclusion, offering practical guidance grounded in the preceding ethical analysis.
About WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks is a non-profit organization that utilizes its website wikileaks.org to provide leaked news information. Leaked information is data and stories that were either purposefully not mentioned or covered up from the public eye. This information is submitted anonymously to protect the source, as WikiLeaks seeks to encourage and ensure all news is being exposed. Their mission is to protect the freedom of speech and media publishing by providing an avenue through which anonymous sources can securely provide their leaked information. WikiLeaks states that "publishing improves transparency, and this transparency creates a better society for all people."
WikiLeaks takes pride in its system for receiving information from anonymous sources. The organization works hard to ensure it does not identify who its sources are in order to protect their anonymity. Using a drop box system fortified by cryptographic information technologies and distributing their servers—which keep no logs—across multiple international jurisdictions, WikiLeaks safeguards its sources' identity. Once information is received, WikiLeaks journalists verify it, and if authentic, post an article on their website. The organization prefers to post unedited and uncensored information, believing that transparency creates a better society. As WikiLeaks explains, "By making the documents freely available, we hope to expand analysis and comment by all the media. Most of all, we want readers to know the truth so they can make up their own minds." WikiLeaks has been credited with releasing more classified intelligence documents than the combined world press.
Julian Assange
Julian Assange was born in Townsville, Australia in summer 1971. He moved frequently with his mother, attending nearly 40 different schools growing up and being homeschooled at times. Before WikiLeaks, Assange used his high intelligence to hack into numerous high-profile organizations. In 1991, he broke into the master terminal for Nortel and was charged with over 30 counts of hacking in Australia. Assange continued his career in computer programming and software development, and he studied mathematics at the University of Melbourne. However, he dropped out without obtaining his degree, stating he left for moral reasons: "Assange objected to other students working on computer projects for the military." In 2006, he began work on the WikiLeaks project.
With WikiLeaks' success, Assange made increasingly public appearances. However, the organization's prominence led to legal battles, and Assange soon faced personal legal problems related to two sexual assault cases. This situation eventually forced Assange to take refuge in Ecuador's embassy, where he believed he could otherwise face "political persecution or be sent to the United States to face the death penalty."
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