WikiLeaks and Whistle-blowing: The Framing of Bradley Manning

Inquiries into freedom of expression and the rights of the press frequently highlight examples where ordinary individuals have taken it upon themselves to leak information to a journalist with the aim of exposing corruption, maleficence, or injustice. Hollywood films have contributed to a certain mythology surrounding whistle-blowing. All the President’s Men’s (1976) depiction of the covert informant “Deep Throat” in the Watergate scandal is an especially well-known example; others include The China Syndrome (1979), Norma Rae (1979), Silkwood (1983), The Insider (1999), The Constant Gardener (2005), The Informant (2009), and The Whistleblower (2010). In real life, whistle-blowers usually wish to remain anonymous, relying on the journalists to uphold the principle of “protecting their sources” to safeguard them from reprisals. The journalist-whistle-blower relationship can be challenging to negotiate at the best of times, and the whistle-blowing site WikiLeaks has transformed it in profound ways.