Gloria Origgi, in Edge 335 states that we are leaving the information age behind and are entering a reputation age. She posits that one of the reasons for the influence Wikileaks wields in current political and social discourse is due to powerful, and reputed media organisations like the New York Times and The Guardian acting as conduits for it’s revelations. We trust the contents of the Wikileaks secrets because of our implicit trust of these formidable media organisations. We believe the revelations because we believe in the integrity of the Guardian or the Times.
When a reputed newspaper breaks a story, we assume that the sources have been vetted, and that the editors have double checked the allegations / revelations before publishing them. Wikileaks, however, presents an interesting dilemma. The contents of the leaks were uploaded by someone (presumably PFC Bradley Manning) within the US military establishment. The behaviour of the US government (and other governments) subsequently offer some reassurance that these diplomatic cables did come from within their organisations. Not surprisingly, “Cablegate” has become perhaps the media event of the year (or even the decade). Hordes of commentators have descended on the Guardian website venting their spleen about the evils of the US government, and the hypocrisy of US foreign policy.
I can’t help but be a little cynical about this hoopla. Yes, clearly some of the contents of leaks may jeopardise national (or indeed international) security. However, I wonder how easy it would be for a government, or any other organisation to manipulate public opinion via a channel like Wikileaks. Could Wikileaks itself be used as tool for government (or indeed corporate propaganda)? Would it be easier for the US government to sell overt support of a South Korean invasion of North Korea given the cables published on the topic? Would it be easier for the state department to withdraw a diplomat / intelligence agent from a tricky situation abroad now that he has been “outed” and him disappearing would look very bad for the host nation?
Yes, this is tinfoil hat territory. I just want to convey that we should think twice before taking the contents of the Cablegate memos at face value. Even if the leak was unintended (as it appears), it could be quite easy for a motivated organisation (government etc.) to move quickly and use it as another avenue for propaganda.