Thompson, Tamara. Wikileaks.

Thompson, Tamara.  Wikileaks.  Cengage/Greenhaven    2013  120p  $24.95      978-0-7377-6220-4 series: At Issue   #12  ms/hs    E-BN    

The continuing controversy about the right to release government documents onto the internet without obtaining prior permission will continue to evolve as the internet becomes a first place of publication and a venue for individualistic, sometimes nonconformist expression.  What constitutes journalism and how much freedom of speech is allocated to journalists have been and will continue to be hot topics, as concerned citizens attempt to make government more transparent. The articles, taken from a variety of magazines and journals representing divergent points of view, discuss the ethics of the case known as WikiLeaks. Students will find persuasive arguments to support both sides of the argument on whether Julian Assange bears any culpability and whether the newspapers should have assisted in the dissemination of the various government documents that were illegally obtained by his group.  This is a good jumping-off place for students who need to write a pro/con paper on WikiLeaks and the government’s ability to control the dissemination of information.

The series At Issue provides pro/con articles taken from a variety of journals, most within the last three years.  A summary of the article appears at the beginning of each chapter.  An annotated list of organizations to contact, a bibliography and an index complete each book. 

Wikileaks                                                         --Lois McNicol