Politics wasn't a focus for me back in 2010, so I really have no recollection of what was in the media during the WikiLeaks releases, or the media frenzy that ensued following the editor's arrest.
Nothing. It's a complete blank to me. Blank doesn’t make much sense. Why blank? Surely there was something I would have seen somewhere. Nope. I don't watch TV. I don't listen to the radio. Generally. I prefer not to. I don't like the offerings. I prefer to look at what I want on the internet. So that probably explains why all of this passed me by at the time.
What's odd is that I knew that there was a leaks site, but I don't know how I knew, what it was really about, or where it was.
Although I was sort of curious because it was some vaguely taboo site (or that's how it seemed to straight-ass me), I wasn't really keen on looking at anything I imagined would maybe get me in 'trouble.'
Again, I don't know where I got the notion that I might have authorities come down on me if I look at a site that the authorities oppose. For a long time (even after I got game enough to check out the WikiLeaks site), I half expected the 'Stasi' to come and knock down my door. lol
Back in 2010, I must have heard something. But I guess I wasn't keen enough to know what goes unpublished in the press. Whatever this thing was, it sounded like it might be too deep, too technical, and way too boring for my tastes of the time.
Mostly interested topic-specific information. It could be anything: American Indians, psychology, history etc. And, ummm ... lots of Freddie Mercury during one stint. Made a video in honour of Freddie, lol. But once I was over it, I was over it, and never went back to edit. Wonder if I still have it somewhere, or if it's got lost during my new OS installation.
Aside from tangents of absorption in whatever subject took my fancy, I was largely drawn to sensational garbage in the media, glossy celebrity photos (preferably really embarrassing ones), and sites that mercilessly slagged off celebrities.
Just how deeply and honestly the Western mainstream media may have actually delved into subject matter of WikiLeaks releases, upon release, is unknown to me from first-hand experience.
But the bet is that, yes, once the allegations against Julian Assange hit the headlines, the media attention may well have surpassed the kind of attention that may have been given to United States whistleblowing shock releases.
Everyday public figure dramas are the renewable fountain of distraction. Distraction from our own dull affairs. Large sections of the media cater to this and often exploit this. So, predicaments such as Assange's are sensationalised like crazy across most media. By default, and because there's an excellent window of opportunity to stage a campaign of dissemination of smear and propaganda to the public. Well, most of the public. lol
Again, I have no recollection of the media sensation surrounding the allegations against Julian Assange. I must have seen something somewhere. I think I vaguely remember some sort of media big deal with lots of microphones and a close up head shot, but it just wouldn't have registered at the time. It was just some person there was a lot of interest in. Some drama. Something I knew nothing about. Some seconds of footage, I may have barely registered as I walked past the TV.
EU-NATO IMPERIALISM ❌ 