Welcome to the 179th week of Julian Assange Sydney Town Hall Gatherings.
Public trust in governments and the mainstream media is probably lower now than it has ever been! A low level of trust in governments and the mainstream media probably spans the entire globe. Why should anyone trust governments and the mainstream media, when Julian Assange, who published 100 per cent truth, is cruelly persecuted without meaningful assistance from anyone capable of bringing about an end of that persecution.
We needed the mainstream media to back Julian when he first began publishing public-interest information, but instead, the mainstream media became involved in pushing multiple smears against him.
The smearing of Julian by mainstream media assists the non-transparency of corrupt undemocratic governments and corporations, who profit from the oppression of people.
We need to realise that mainstream media are large corporations that have profited from war and other catastrophes. Unfortunately, it is not in the interests of mainstream media to publish information which empowers people.
The mainstream media has pushed many scams over the past 100 years, including promoting unnecessary wars, draconian laws and unsafe health measures. In contrast, Julian Assange set up Wikileaks to publish true information that empowers people and assists them to hold governments and corporations to account. The so-called journalists who work for the so-called mainstream media are not free to publish anything they like. Mainstream journalists must conform with the requirements of the corporations that employ them. They are far from being the free press they proclaim themselves to be.
While the mainstream media has contributed greatly to the persecution of Julian Assange, there are many journalists who think that he should be free. Overnight we have learned that the journalist unions in Europe have collectively come out in support of Julian Assange, declaring him a full and honorary member of the journalist unions of many of the different nations across Europe, including those in the UK, Italy, France, Germany and Spain. They have called on the US to drop the charges against Julian. While the solidarity among journalists shows us there is great support and respect for Julian among fellow journalists, we shouldn’t believe that we will now see a flood of pro-Julian Assange articles in the mainstream media. It is very likely that future mainstream media articles concerned with Julian, will continue to smear his character and omit important facts that are likely to be seen favourably by the public, with the purpose of undermining a truly free press.
We can take heart that the journalists of Europe are standing in solidarity with Julian and freedom of the press. We also need to be mindful of the fact that the mainstream media are in lockstep with non-transparent power. This means that we will need to encourage as many people as we can to realise the importance of standing up for Julian Assange.
Free Julian Assange!
Free Julian Assange!
Free Julian Assange!