Free Flow of Information

 Julian Assange of Australia is now fifty one years of age and is one step away from extradition to the United States to face spying charges. Assange is the founder of the underground news platform, WikiLeaks, which had previously exposed all of the American lies related to the Vietnam War. In 2010, the website became internationally recognized and Assange was first arrested on April 11, 2019 for failing to appear in court after being charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, which would result in a maximum of five years in prison. Now, Assange does not consent to extradition to the US and would rather stay in the United Kingdom to avoid additional charges initiated by the United States government. Julian Assange's story is very different from that of other "criminals." Assange is now facing one hundred seventy five years in prison due to charges under the Espionage Act. Supporters of Assange say that he was just doing what every professional journalist does; create their own platform to publish information. However, the United States government did not approve of him posting these confidential documents and leaking dangerous locations to the public. Assange's situation has become as popular as it has because of social media virality and the opposing sides' opinions on the situation. The desire for a theatrical effect seems to be the only motive for publicity. Opposers of Assange say that he unrightfully acquired confidential documents and willingly published them to the public, putting the American and British government both at high risk.


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