Article Image

IPFS News Link • Wikileaks

Wikileaks Lawyer Files Formal Complaint Against AP Over 'Falsehoods and Distortions'

• http://wearechange.org

A lawyer representing Wikileaks has filed a formal complaint against the Associated Press over "breached ethical standards," in publishing what many have called a "hit piece" against Julian Assange.

Julian Assange

Julian Assange

The complaint comes in response to an article titled "Private lives are exposed as Wikileaks spills its secrets," by Raphael Satter. The article has been widely used by proponents of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to smear Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange.

In the story, Satter makes the stunning claim that the publisher's mass-disclosures have included the personal information of sick children, rape victims and mental health patients.

The complaint letter, written by human rights and international criminal lawyer Melinda Taylor, asserts that the article "contained falsehoods and distortions, including the disingenuous claim that Wikileaks had been contacted and given the opportunity to address the substance of the article's claims."

Taylor asserts that Satter did not attempt to contact Assange, and instead contacted her late in the evening — only seven hours before the story went to press. She explains speaking briefly with Satter in an email exchange, where he informed her that the story would be published "soon," urging a quick response.

During the conversation, Satter explained that he had found emails that appeared to contain private details. When asked by Taylor if he could provide specific details so that she could forward them on to Assange, the journalist declined claiming it would be a violation of the individual's privacy. The article Satter published the next day however, contained the details he claimed to be trying to protect.


thelibertyadvisor.com/declare