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posted by takyon on Thursday January 25 2018, @09:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the if-it-walks-like-a-duck dept.

FBI Whistleblower on Pierre Omidyar and His Campaign to Neuter Wikileaks

FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds asserts Pierre Omidyar decided to create The Intercept to not only take ownership of the Snowden leaks but also to continue his blockade against WikiLeaks and create a "honey trap" for whistleblowers.

WikiLeaks, the transparency organization known for publishing leaked documents that threaten the powerful, finds itself under pressure like never before, as does its editor-in-chief, Julian Assange. Now, the fight to silence Wikileaks is not only being waged by powerful government figures but also by the media, including outlets and organizations that have styled themselves as working to protect whistleblowers.

As this three-part series seeks to show, these outlets and organizations are being stealthily guided by the hands of special interests, not the public interest they claim to serve. Part I focuses on the Freedom of the Press Foundation, The Intercept, and the oligarch who has strongly influenced both organizations in his long-standing fight to silence WikiLeaks.

[...] WikiLeaks, in recent tweets, has suggested that Omidyar's influence was responsible not only for the [Freedom of the Press Foundation's (FPF) decision to terminate processing of WikiLeaks' donations] but also for the unusual attacks that some FPF members have launched against WikiLeaks, particularly Assange, in recent months. The most outspoken of these members has been FPF director Micah Lee, who is employed by the Omidyar-owned publication, The Intercept.

In February of last year, Lee called Assange a "rapist, liar & ally to fascists" in a tweet — despite the fact that Assange was never charged with rape, his alleged accusers have also claimed that Assange had not sexually assaulted them, and there is abundant evidence suggesting that the rape investigation was a means of ensnaring Assange to ensure his extradition to the United States. Based on Lee's other tweets, the "ally to fascists" charge ostensibly refers to Lee's belief that Wikileaks' publications of emails from the DNC and Clinton campaign chair John Podesta was done explicitly, with Assange's blessing, to aid the Trump campaign.

Related: Feds Arrest NSA Contractor in Leak of Top Secret Russia Document


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by frojack on Thursday January 25 2018, @10:35PM (8 children)

    by frojack (1554) on Thursday January 25 2018, @10:35PM (#627909) Journal

    That some parts of the press are ganging up on Wikileaks (not that wikileaks is any kind of a saint here), shows they have ad many secrets to had as government does. Probably the same secrets.

    If we've learned nothing else in the past 5 years, its become painfully obvious just how corrupt the journalism profession as a whole has become.

    --
    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday January 25 2018, @10:50PM (1 child)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday January 25 2018, @10:50PM (#627914) Journal

    Yeah, right, it's not the governments fault that they have dirty laundry to hide, it's the presses' fault.

    Allow me to correct our assertion

    If we've learned nothing else in the past 5 years, its become painfully obvious just how corrupt the journalism profession as a whole has become.

    With the evident solution: maybe it's a good time for you to actually learn something, Or at least don't forget the earlier lessons.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday January 25 2018, @11:19PM

      by frojack (1554) on Thursday January 25 2018, @11:19PM (#627938) Journal

      I can see where my multiple typos probably triggered your rant button:

      they have ad many secrets to had as government does.
      should have been:
      they have as many secrets to hide as government does.

      --
      No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
  • (Score: 4, Informative) by MostCynical on Thursday January 25 2018, @11:03PM (4 children)

    by MostCynical (2589) on Thursday January 25 2018, @11:03PM (#627923) Journal

    As the same people funding the politicians are the ones who fund the "media" (entertainment, news, whatever, it is all the same) it would be surprising if they weren't the same secrets.

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by frojack on Thursday January 25 2018, @11:16PM

      by frojack (1554) on Thursday January 25 2018, @11:16PM (#627934) Journal

      Exactly.
      My point was that the press is so corrupt that they have plenty to hide.

      If it turns out they want to hide the same things the government wants to hide it wouldn't surprise me at all.

      --
      No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 26 2018, @12:00AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 26 2018, @12:00AM (#627975)

      '"As the same people funding the politicians are the ones who fund the "media"'

      Are you talking about media consumers? We fund the oligarchs by buying content that turns us into meme dribbling morons, and they provide us more memes to dribble. And then we bitch that we collectively concede our civil rights to them, which is the most profitable meme of all. It recovers millions in revenues through the great whirlwind of shit known as the RNC/DNC alliance.

      If you think your side is right, your probably on the wrong side. It isn't about winning, it is about how you play the game.

      • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Friday January 26 2018, @12:16AM (1 child)

        by MostCynical (2589) on Friday January 26 2018, @12:16AM (#627989) Journal

        "The primary source of newspaper income is advertising – "
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_of_the_United_States [wikipedia.org]

        Philanthropy* and advertising.

        *rich people, aka 1%

        --
        "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by anubi on Friday January 26 2018, @07:14AM

          by anubi (2828) on Friday January 26 2018, @07:14AM (#628136) Journal

          Who is to say that the "editorial content" is not also a form of advertising.... somebody is controlling the bias.

          Seems damn near every non-technical article I read is slanted.

          "Makers of Public Opinion" will stop at nothing to get their side pushed... and includes buying the paper if people are reading it.

          Remember how DeBeers got into Hollywood and successfully implanted the notion that a diamond ( they have a monopoly on 'em ) as a REQUIRED symbol of betrothal... or furriers promoting the mink coat as a symbol of wealth. The fancy department stores, and the importance of having the right store's name on the box.

          These are what I see as "psychological steganography". You are being programmed subconsciously desire something while absorbing entertaining content. You have been convinced to act a certain way, and all the time you thought it was your idea! Mimic the Fonz!

          I look back on my life, and can count many occasions I know good and well, once I see it in retrospect, what happened. Like why in hell would I think an animated lion movie celluloid would have much value? Now, I see in the old movies now airing on TV, showing stars lighting cigarettes when the tension mounts, in a whole new light. Subliminal, but it works. Its worked on me. I am a bit more resistant to it now because I recognize how its done.

          Do I really want one of those cars shown being driven by movie stars on the big screen? Nah, not really. Can't do anything with it. I'd rather have my old van.

          --
          "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 26 2018, @04:51PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 26 2018, @04:51PM (#628329)

    Poor wikileak, the bastion of truth and impeccable character and honesty beyond reproach. They take in troves of documents and only release the parts they want to release that fits the narrative they want to push, and they've basically admitted to that. They time their selective releases for maximum effect, meaning to sell the agenda they are pushing. Because it has this "fight the Man" slant to it. too many ignorant fuckwads buy into their sanctimonious BS and hold them as some beacon of Truth and Light. The hypocrisy of those around here who look down on the Trump base with disdain wondering how they could buy into all the stuff that spews out, and turn around and worship at the feet of Saint Assange and swallow hook, line, and sinker his agenda.