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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by SPECIFICO (talk | contribs) at 12:11, 26 June 2024 (→‎Criminal Status). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

RFC: Calling Assange a journalist

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.




Should we refer to Julian Assange as a journalist?
Wikinetman (talk) 03:04, 6 April 2024 (UTC)[]

Discussion (journalist)

I suggest you come forth with some new sources or a new argument as outlined at Talk:Julian Assange/Archive 17#Request for Comment - Journalist. Moxy🍁 03:14, 6 April 2024 (UTC)[]
No Sawitontwitter (talk) 14:15, 9 April 2024 (UTC)[]
This is WP:OR, we dont do our own interpretations of what a journalist is. We just follow what the sources say. This statement in fact indicates how weak the argument against using the journalist term is. Jtbobwaysf (talk) 05:31, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[]
No its not even remotely OR, you yourself admit the controversy and confirm my point, stating "quite a number of sources disagree with the attribution." Who are they disagreeing with? ;-) You also dont address the journalism awards the subject has won. There cant be controversy when there is consensus, the two concepts are diametrically opposed. The very point that, & according to you, many sources "disagree with the attribution", demonstrates according to you at least, that a controversy exists. WP:QUACK applies here and there is nothing here that prevents us from covering the controversy. Your suggestion to just make it go away, saying 'nothing to see here' is flawed at its very root and contrary to wikipedia policy. I also dont see that this RFC relates to the WP:LEAD. Did I miss something? Jtbobwaysf (talk) 08:06, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[]
We do mention all of this, just not as one word in the lede. Slatersteven (talk) 08:42, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[]
When I do a search for the term "journalist" in my browser on the article, I saw only one mention referring to the subject as a journalist (I found many hits, but most were not related to the subject), and the hit I found was "Assange's defenders have responded to U.S. accusations, describing him as a journalist who did nothing more than publish leaked information that embarrassed the U.S. government.[428][429]" The only result that I found in the article seems to allege that only Assange's defenders refer to him as a journalist, and this statement appears to be non-neutral and conflicts with all the awards. Again, this RFC doesn't mention WP:LEAD so it seems you are alleging the RFC is based on the lead, I would like to see some evidence of this other than just your assumption. You and the editor above are putting forth this claim, but that is not part of the RFC. Do you have any evidence that the the subject of this RFC is the lead, or are you just arguing (without evidence) that point? Jtbobwaysf (talk) 09:49, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[]
So as I said we do mention he is described as a journalist, what we can't do it put it in our words. Slatersteven (talk) 09:55, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[]
I was going to respond the same as Steven however the Android app sucks so I had to wait until I got home. @Jtbobwaysf there is material about it being a matter of debate in the Julian Assange#Commentary about Assange section. Now if you wanted to add to that, that would be an entirely different discussion. You are correct that this RfC is about whether we should refer to him as an journalist in article voice anywhere in the article, my apologies there. However it still comes down to the same situation where there is no agreement amongst the reliable sources and no one during this RfC has presented any analysis to demonstrate how the discussion amongst reliable sources has changed since last time. Given that there is no agreement amongst reliable sources it would be WP:UNDUE to call him a journalist in article voice. TarnishedPathtalk 10:11, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[]
As NadVolum says above, we can document the dispute/controversy and there should be no prohibition against using wikivoice in this description. A blanket ban on it is incorrect and against policy. We dont need agreement in RS to use that term in wikivoice if it is properly attributed, there is no such policy that states this, WP:BALANCE covers this. Too many opinions on this article talk page if Assange is or is not a journalist, this is not the point. The point is if our ban on use of the term in wikivoice adheres to policy, and I say it does not. Maybe we need to amend this statement "After Assange's arrest in 2019, journalists and commenters and wikipedians debated about if Assange was a journalist." I am joking here, we will not cover this, but it does forward my point that we are debating if he is a journalist here, and that is not the point. The point is if DUE and BALANCE allow us to use it in wikivoice and what circumstances. Jtbobwaysf (talk) 10:24, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[]
I don't see any argument against documenting the dispute/controversy. The question asks, should we call him a journalist, with the implication being that we do so in article voice. Now the answer to that question is simple and I'll repeat myself again. There is no agreement amongst reliable sources so no we shouldn't call him a journalist.
Now if you want to further document the dispute/controversy, I'd recommend suggesting edits in another thread because this isn't it. TarnishedPathtalk 10:33, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[]
Here in this RFC we are discussing if use of the journalist term in wikivoice is allowed/prohibited. My position is that "prohibited" is against policy. The arguments above that this RFC relates to LEAD are a convenient way to strawman that RS consensus is required to use the term in wikivoice. This position is false and against policy. Jtbobwaysf (talk) 10:42, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[]
No, it is an assumption of where we would say he is a Journalist (where else would we say he is a journalist?), based on past edits. And wp:npov is clear, we do not say something is a fact that is contested, RS contests the idea he is a journalist. So its an opinion, not a fact. Slatersteven (talk) 10:47, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[]
You and Tarnished are making the argument that for wikivoice we must have RS in alignment. WP:BALANCE states "Neutrality assigns weight to viewpoints in proportion to their prominence in reliable sources. However, when reputable sources contradict one another and are relatively equal in prominence, describe both points of view and work for balance. This involves describing the opposing views clearly, drawing on secondary or tertiary sources that describe the disagreement from a disinterested viewpoint" and WP:WIKIVOICE (under NPOV which you quoted) states "Wikipedia aims to describe disputes, but not engage in them" as well as plenty of other text to that characterizes this discussion, but none of it offers up your view that we need consensus in the RS to use it. Jtbobwaysf (talk) 11:05, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[]
Exaclty "describe the disagreement from a disinterested viewpoint", not take a side in the said dispute. So we would say "has been called...but other disagree not "is". Slatersteven (talk)
Per Slatersteven, if you want to flesh out why there is disagreement, then certainly there are already others saying to discuss it. However that is not what is being asked here. TarnishedPathtalk 11:16, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[]
The scope of this RFC is well defined and narrow, and it doesnt include going off into a discussion of the disagreement about our opinions if you or I think subject is or is not a journalist. This talk page is full of these yarns that I for one find tedious. I just weigh on on this RFC as it delves more into a policy issue and one that I dont care for these consensus bans on formulated on individual article talk pages. Broadly speaking it would be difficult to describe the subject if the use of the term is prohibited by a discussion on this talk page, and that ban is not encyclopedic and is contrary to policy. Both you of you editors are apparently unable to refute the policy issues I have noted and rather continue to try to get into a discussion of the subject (essentially 'is he or is he not a journalist!?!') rather than address the wikipedia policy matters that govern how we deal with content on this article and others. Too often these defacto content bans are put in place to steer content on these controversial subjects. Jtbobwaysf (talk) 09:03, 2 May 2024 (UTC)[]
No one had said the article can't mention he had been described as a journalist only that WE can't say something like "Assange is a journalist", which is what the RFC is asking. Slatersteven (talk) 09:06, 2 May 2024 (UTC)[]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

First sentence

Julian Paul Assange ... is an Australian editor, publisher and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006 in order to commit "acts of journalism".[1]

The source doesn't say that WikiLeaks was founded "in order to commit 'acts of journalism'". The way this sentence is phrased makes it sound like Assange said he wanted to commit "acts of journalism". I think we should go back to what we previously had. We go on to show what WikiLeaks was used for. Jack Upland (talk) 01:40, 8 June 2024 (UTC)[]

I support the change and am strongly opposed to "acts of ..ism" in the lead. Jtbobwaysf (talk) 03:34, 8 June 2024 (UTC)[]
"acts of journalism" is a strange phrasing especially for the lead and we should just call it what it is... for example he "founded WikiLeaks to force transparency of large organizations" or "founded WikiLeaks to reveal contradictions and corruption among governments and other institutions". Avoid euphamisms or misleading quotes and just call things what they are. Jorahm (talk) 19:20, 9 June 2024 (UTC)[]
totally agree. the acts of ism sounds too/suspiciously close to terrorism... Jtbobwaysf (talk) 06:15, 11 June 2024 (UTC)[]
agree Softlem (talk) 04:29, 14 June 2024 (UTC)[]
No, it does not matter how you try and reword it, consensus (via RFC) is against calling him a journalist, please stop this. Slatersteven (talk) 09:57, 11 June 2024 (UTC)[]
I support acts of deletionism on edits like that :-) NadVolum (talk) 19:50, 14 June 2024 (UTC)[]

References

  1. ^ Stern, Seth. "Is Julian Assange a 'journalist'? Here's why it doesn't matter". Freedom of the Press Foundation. Retrieved May 28, 2024.

Content gap

I am not familiar with the details of this article subject, but when reading today the article goes from:

  • Julian_Assange#Appeals_and_other_developments "On 20 May, the two High Court judges, Dame Victoria Sharp and Sir Jeremy Johnson, found that the assurances regarding the First Amendment and the nationality question were not sufficient and gave Assange leave to appeal against extradition."

to:

  • Julian_Assange#Plea_bargain "Assange agreed to plead guilty to one count of violating the Espionage Act in exchange for release on 24 June 2024."

Was there any activity by the subject or his legal team that can connect these two points? Seems a crucial encyclopedic period of time to cover to explain why the flip flop on the part of the UK and US govts. They were both preparing to extradite, then the court ruling. Was there any filings or due activity in between?

Thanks! Jtbobwaysf (talk) 05:49, 25 June 2024 (UTC)[]

Undoubtedly there was, but it’s not yet been reported in RS as far as I know. Cambial foliar❧ 06:35, 25 June 2024 (UTC)[]
This ABC News source seems to infer it hinged on free speech protections. Comments? Do we have a source tied to Assange that states that non-citizens are not afforded first amendment rights? Jtbobwaysf (talk) 06:37, 25 June 2024 (UTC)[]
This Fox News has some decent coverage of the first amendment issue and also notes that Biden was considering a request from Australia to end the extradition request. Seems both of these would be good to bridge this gap. Jtbobwaysf (talk) 06:42, 25 June 2024 (UTC)[]
RS with some possibly useful detail here. Excellent but not RS summary of the legal context here. Cambial foliar❧ 07:45, 25 June 2024 (UTC)[]
I guess NOTFORUM but can I comment on that the BBC has this as a front page minute by minute business - whereas they practically completely ignored anything about his extradition case and his most important entry before was his marriage in prison. It just blanks things it doesn't like. NadVolum (talk) 08:05, 25 June 2024 (UTC)[]
It is encyclopedic that we include the legal analysis of why he was released. We include all kinds of other analysis. The craigmurray blog is great, and as Cambial noted, not an RS. Hopefully we can get some RS analysis of this to follow. Thanks! Jtbobwaysf (talk) 08:20, 25 June 2024 (UTC)[]

New article called "Release of Julian Assange?"

This is one of the biggest stories of the year so far, and presumably will remain relevant. We have Indictment and arrest of Julian Assange, Commentary about Julian Assange, Surveillance of Julian Assange. I'm not sure of the title, but I feel like "Release of Julian Assange" would be sufficient. MarkiPoli (talk) 02:47, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]

At the moment there is very little text in this article about the release. If this changes, we can certainly have a new article. If not, I don't think this venture will succeed.--Jack Upland (talk) 03:16, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]
Ok. More text could definitely be added, and I anticipate it will be. MarkiPoli (talk) 04:52, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]
TOO-SOON, lets discuss if and when we have sufficient content. This article has long suffered from excessive wikileaks content and lack of BLP content. Now that we have some BLP content, lets rejoice. Jtbobwaysf (talk) 05:51, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]
Can't see the point. But what could be useful is tidying up some of the stuff prior to his release now that the phase with him in jail awaiting extradition is over. NadVolum (talk) 10:59, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]
Is it, or just one of the biggest relating to him? No we do not need another fork, why is saying a few sentence not enough? Slatersteven (talk) 11:01, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]

Content questionable

Under Personal Life: “Assange is the cousin of Australian-British academic and former Iranian hostage Kylie Moore-Gilbert.” If you click over to her page, it looks like this is quite questionable. Should probably be reworded to reflect that? 2600:1700:8B41:A4C0:D085:B718:4B14:5D4D (talk) 04:03, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]

It appears this is a "claim". What kind of cousins are they anyway? First? Second? Third? I don't see what this adds to this article.--Jack Upland (talk) 04:52, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]

edit

South African-born > South African–born

Thanks. 191.57.6.244 (talk) 06:33, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]

 Not done: cf. English-born, not England-born; Canadian-born, not Canada-born; American-born, not America-born; French-born, not France-born; etc.... Cambial foliar❧ 12:05, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]

Criminal Status

Since he pleaded guilty it's important to list that he is a criminal in the first paragraph. 178.203.13.112 (talk) 06:48, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]

No, it's not. That's not what he's primarily notable for. Riposte97 (talk) 06:57, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]
In a technical, legalistic sense he's guilty of a crime, but not necessarily in the commonly understood meaning of words like "guilty" and "criminal". Under the US system, innocent people sometimes plead guilty so as to avoid incarceration either as a possible punishment if their trial results in a conviction or in the form of a long period of pretrial confinement. That's especially true when the defendant can't afford to pay for an expensive private lawyer or when the defendant does not believe that they'd get a fair trial. Assange is clearly in the latter category. NightHeron (talk) 07:52, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]
In over 10% of the serious cases they plead guilty to things they are innocent of as far as I can see. Doesn't mean they're not being fitted for something else sometimes of course. Hate to think what the percentage is for minor things. In this case it has been pretty evident the US has been preying on Assanges fears and wanted to keep the case in the UK for as long as possible as it would be a very damaging media circus in the US. Anyway pleaded guilty about covers it I think. NadVolum (talk) 10:52, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]
No, we dont do that. He is hardly known as a criminal. Jtbobwaysf (talk) 08:06, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]
That would be inappropriate, and it's not "important". Cambial foliar❧ 08:11, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]
NO, i do not think so, it seems undue. Slatersteven (talk) 11:02, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]

This kind of label up top "felonç "conspiracy theorist" etc. are generally not encyclopedoc. But to be clear, there is no question that he is a criminal. He's been fleeing the law for how long, and now cops a plea for time-served. WEIGHT of RS don't say he is not a criminal. SPECIFICO talk 12:11, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]

Journalist

In this statement, the subject's attorney repeatedly refers to Assange as a Journalist. Jtbobwaysf (talk) 07:49, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]

Did the prosecution though? NadVolum (talk) 10:56, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]
His attorney is not third party. Slatersteven (talk) 11:03, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]

Legalese

Currently (emphasis added): "Assange's agreement with the plea deal evades the possibility of an endorsement from the Supreme Court of the United States based on the case". Would "leaves open" would be better than "evades"? And what does "endorsement" mean? That the Supreme Court would somehow rubber stamp the deal? RobbieIanMorrison (talk) 12:03, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[]