Revelations by WikiLeaks are having a positive impact, believes its founder Julian Assange, who claims that the publication of secret US embassy cables by the Indian media had helped inspire an anti-graft movement in the country.
Questioned at a public debate about the whistleblowing organisation’s own transparency, Assange told an audience of 700 people, many of them supporters: “We are directly supported on a week-to-week basis by you. You vote with your wallets every week if you believe that our work is worthwhile or not. If you believe we have erred, you do not support us. If you believe we need to be protected in our work, you keep us strong”.
“That dynamic feedback, I say, is more responsive than a government that is elected after sourcing money from big business every four years,” the Guardian quoted the Australian as saying in his first formal public appearance since being arrested in December following accusations of rape and sexual assault.
