SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN ANTI-CORRUPTION TOOL

Source: openclipart.org

"Transparency and the right to access government information are now internationally regarded as essential to democratic participation, trust in government, prevention of corruption, informed decision-making, accuracy of government information, and provision of information to the public, companies, and journalists, among other essential functions in society" (Cullier & Piotrowski, 2009; Mulgan, 2007; Quinn, 2003; Reylea, 2009a; Shuler, Jaeger, & Bertot, 2010, as cited in Bertot, Jaeger & Grimes 2010).

In the same article, Piotrowski (2007) lists four channels through which government transparency is generally achieved:

1. proactive dissemination by the government
2. release of requested materials by the government
3. public meetings; and
4. leaks from whistleblowers

On the first and second points, efforts have been made in the last four or five years in particular by governments around the world to increase the amount of information available to the public and also provide opportunites for interaction between government and citizens.

Social media has accelerated this process.  The 2008 Obama campaign for presidency in the US is an  oft-cited example of this, but Australian politics also moved with the times and dived in to the social media pool.  First, with Kevin Rudd's campaign in 2007 and currently, where use of social media by our politicians, to engage with the public is common practice.  Whether you were for or against these individuals/parties, the important point to note is that the style of campaigning changed through the use of social media.  It made it easier, faster and often cheaper to get a message out, to organise meetings, to receive feedback, to connect groups.

 Source:  johnderry.com.au

However, this transformed way of operating raises the conundrum for governments everywhere of finding a balance between amount of information divulged and national security issues.

This question was raised with power and passion ( and yes, that is a reference to song lyrics from Australian band Midnight Oil - a purported inspiration for WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange) when the anti-corruption, pro-transparency whistle-blowing organisation WikiLeaks began operation in 2006.

Illustration of ghost crab.  Source: Copyright Australian Museum

Like a fast-moving, slippery fish, information on social media is difficult to catch.  Most notably, in the case of WikiLeaks - arguably the most audacious organisation or strategy to counter secrecy and corruption in the governmental and corporate world.

WikiLeaks describes itself as a not-for-profit media organisation, dedicated to the protection of free speech and media publishing.

WikiLeaks is a secure and anonymous venue (an electronic drop-box) for the deposit of documents by any person who wishes to draw attention to corrupt activities of - primarily - government or large organisations.  Depositors need never be named and the information they provide is made public via chosen news outlets that work in tandem with WikiLeaks.

http://images.brisbanetimes.com.au/2010/12/18/2101269/julian-assange-420x0.jpg

Controversial by nature, one of the first leaks, in 2007, was the handbook on operating procedure at the  US operated Guantanamo Bay jail: "Camp Delta Standard Operating Procedure".  It highlighted the fact that the US were in breach of the Geneva Convention in relation to their treatment of inmates.

In 2008 a notable leak involved account details of Swiss bank depositors who had moved funds to the Cayman Islands and out of the reach of taxation authorities.

But the leaks in 2010 that propelled WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange - pictured above, to global notoriety were firstly, footage from Iraq showing the shooting of civilians which became known as 'Collateral Murder' and secondly a large drop - over 90,000 secret US military files from the war in Afghanistan,  revealing what the Guardian news described as "..a devastating portrait of the failing war in Afghanistan...", with unreported civilian casualties in the hundreds and rising, not falling Taliban attacks amongst other issues.  And thirdly, the most notorious drop - over 250,000 diplomatic cables with the capacity to deeply embarrass the US administration - which came to be known as Cablegate.

After this, many government and media commentators were 'baying' for Assange's blood.  He was branded a 'terrorist' and and more recently an 'enemy of the state'.  But even though the fallout from the many leaks has embarrassed and infuriated the US administration and others, no actual laws have been broken, or are yet to be proved in any case.  Here is barrister Julian Burnside AO QC, explaining his understanding of the situation:

Throughout history, there have been other individuals and groups who have taken steps to bring secret or hidden information to the attention of the public.  In 1971, military strategist Daniel Ellsberg, leaked information about hidden agendas and activity regarding the Vietnam War, which bolstered public opposition to it.  By all accounts there is mutual admiration between Ellsberg and Assange, with the latter asking the former to join the WikiLeaks board and Ellsberg proclaiming support for WikiLeaks in the media.  Other high profile leaks [no less important, but stories for another day] have been concerned with big business, religious cults, science and agriculture, medicine.

Reporters Without Borders are a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to freedom of information.

"Freedom of expression and of information will always be the world’s most important freedom. If journalists were not free to report the facts, denounce abuses and alert the public, how would we resist the problem of children-soldiers, defend women’s rights, or preserve our environment? In some countries, torturers stop their atrocious deeds as soon as they are mentioned in the media. In others, corrupt politicians abandon their illegal habits when investigative journalists publish compromising details about their activities. Still elsewhere, massacres are prevented when the international media focuses its attention and cameras on events" (From Reporters Without Borders - who we are)

As well as maintaining a presence in 150 countries, they also publish an annual index ranking press freedom.  This year the three most repressive countries, in relation to media freedom, were Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea -

the country most respectful of media freedom was Finland, followed by the Netherlands and Norway respectively.  The secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders, Christophe Deloire states that [in compiling the index] they do not "...take direct account of the kind of political system but it is clear that democracies provide better protection for the freedom to produce and circulate accurate news and information than countries where human rights are flouted”.

Closer to home, an article on the Australian media's reaction to Wikileaks contained some, I thought, insightful views by former Liberal MP Ross Cameron on the impact of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, in these two quotes:

"Assange is forcing us to rethink our assumptions about how much protection the ordinary person needs from the truth ... the democratic project was founded on the principles of transparency and trust but has been overtaken by a culture of secrecy and spin" (Cameron 2011).

[and that] "...debating the pros and cons of WikiLeaks and Assange missed the wider point that they:
represent something much bigger ... the arrival of the Internet, with its ability not just to reach a wider audience instantly, but to recruit millions of people to the task of collecting, correcting and disseminating knowledge" [this] "has seen an irreversible shift and devolution in power" (Cameron 2011).

This steers us to a point made by Henry Jenkins [in the clip below]; that being that we are in the process of, or in many cases have arrived at, a point where we have ditched a "spectatorial" way of life and moved to a "participatory" way of life.  We citizens/ordinary/average people are now able to watch "Big Brother" and even hold "him/it" to account.  Using the power of the Internet paired with mobile devices, blogging and sharing platforms, we can be a part of decision making and affect outcomes in all areas of life.

Footnote:  There is much coverage of Julian Assange across the media spectrum.  30,100,000 Google entries and counting (!!)  trawl over the details of his personal life, his early years as a hacker, his interpersonal skills, his dancing style!!  



He may be the founder and face of WikiLeaks, but by no means does he work alone.  It should be noted that WikiLeaks is powered by over 1,200 volunteers (source: Flew & Liu 2011) worldwide and the editing and delivery of the anonymously dropped material is done in conjunction with select news outlets around the world.

WikiLeaks has shaken up governments who have relied on secrecy for a number of their activities.  It would be naive to think that secretive or corrupt activities perpetrated by government, large organisations or corporations, or individuals will ever cease - but they may think twice with the existence of such a watchdog.  I believe that WikiLeaks will be kept busy for the foreseeable future.

Now, joined by his father and a group of trusted colleagues, Julian Assange is about to have a crack at politics, with the launch of the WikiLeaks Party, which plans to stand candidates in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia for seats in the Senate.

A case of watch this space...