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Spoiler
The controversial issue of whether classified government documents should be leaked has gained significant media attention following the disclosure of such documents by Wikileaks. The Australian’s editorial (26 October 2010) shows tacit disapproval towards Wikileaks’ disclosure, and contends that the impact and significance of such disclosure is overblown and exaggerated. Bryce Lowry’s opinion piece in The Age (8 December 2010), argues that the leaks are justified, and condemns the hysterical response by governments towards the leaks. In contrast, John Spooner’s cartoon in The Age, criticises Wikileaks’ actions, and emphasises the direct implications the leaks have on people disclosed by the leaks.
The editorial published by The Australian is written in a sobering and reasonable tone and begins by condemning the British columnist’s description of the leaks “worse than Saddam” as “delusional rhetoric”. Continuing on, the editorial claims that the leaks will inevitably “distort history”, and then presents itself as a voice of reason by claiming to do a “reality check” on the arguments presented by the columnist based on the leaks, implying that the leaks themselves are the source of the issue. Further facts and statistics are presented on the magnitude of the atrocities committed by Saddam, with the stark comparison of the “100,000 Iraqi casualties” claimed by Wikileaks with the “(murder) of as many as a million of his people [by Saddam]” emphasised, further reducing the relative significance of the Wikileaks’ allegations. This serves to characterise allegations based on Wikileaks’ documents as baseless and without merit, and thus attempts to position the reader to agree with the more rational side through an appeal to the reader’s sense of logic and reason. Emotive language such as 'murdered', 'maimed' and 'tortured' further emphasise the magnitude and harms caused by the atrocities, further strengthening the editorial's position that the relative significance of the Wikileaks' revelations is very minor. The leaked incidents allegedly committed by General Petraeus and the US are dismissed as being taken out of context, and rebuts with examples of reasonable steps that were taken to address the issue, such as claims that the opposition "overlook(ed) the many times [the military] appeared before US congressional committees". These further cement the idea of the editorial being fair and reasonable as opposed to the accusers, and position the reader to discredit the view of the accusers. The acknowledgement and discussion that the leaks do show some wrongdoing by the US/Coalition forces show that the article is seemingly unbiased. The editorial criticises the responses as a result of the Wikileaks' disclosures as being inconsistent and 'hyperbol(ic)', claiming that they were 'little heard when Saddam was around', which adds to the editorial's contention that the allegations have been exaggerated.
Bryce Lowry's opinion piece in The Age contends that the actions of Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, are justified and that the various governments' reactions are irrational and inappropriate. The article begins with Assange being likened to Ned Kelly, and characterised as 'an icon of resistance and a folk hero'. This serves to imply that even if Assange's actions are illegal, his actions are for the greater good, and is serving as an “inspiration to many”, positioning the reader to rally support behind Assange. Lowry continues to create doubt on whether Assange's actions are even illegal, by claiming that the arguments made by Julia Gillard and Robert McClelland are rife with “dubious ethics” and “flimsy legalities”. Similar to The Australian's editorial, Lowry seeks to persuade the reader by appearing to be the voice of reason through attempts to discredit the opposing side and claims that 'clarity of reason evades [governments]’. Finally, Lowry mocks the notion brought forward by governments of 'national security [being] endangered' by stating that 'national feelings were hurt more', which further strengthens the characterisation of the politicians’ responses as hysteria.
John Spooner’s cartoon, as opposed to the implicit condemnation by the editorial in The Australian, explicitly condemns the actions of Wikileaks, contending that the actions of Wikileaks will directly lead to unnecessary deaths of innocent victims. In Spooner’s cartoon, published in The Age, Wikileaks’ founder Julian Assange is depicted “whistleblowing” next to an image of an informant tied up and murdered. The portrayal of Assange wearing a belt of whistles evokes a feeling of irony through its similarity to a suicide vest, suggesting that Wikileaks’ whistleblowing are weapons which would cause harm and suffering. The juxtaposition of Assange blowing a whistle, which appears benign, with the grisly image of the man being tied up and executed shows the horrific implications of the leaks positions the reader to have feelings of anger and outrage at Assange and Wikileaks due to their actions causing deaths of innocent victims. The caption of “A(n)…informant murdered by the Taliban after being named by Wikileaks” combined with the image of the terrorist holding a newspaper explicitly adds to the idea of the direct causation between Wikileaks and deaths of individuals, which may further compel readers to condemn the actions of Wikileaks.
In conclusion, the articles each present a different view in regard to whether the leaks should be published, and the magnitude of impact of the leaks. The editorial published in The Australian attempts to use logic and reason to persuade the reader that the responses to the Wikileaks disclosures are ridiculous and disproportionate, and thus implicitly criticise Wikileaks for generating such a response, while Lowry’s opinion piece contends that the leaks are valid, but criticises governments and politicians for their hysteria. However, in contrast, Spooner’s cartoon explicitly condemns and blames Wikileaks for being the cause of the deaths of people implicated in documents leaked.
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