[ecrea] WIKILEAKS: JOURNALISM, POLITICS AND ETHICS

Ever since the creation of Wikipedia, Wiki-based systems have helped 
articulate a huge range of collaborative public information platforms, 
and have sparked debates regarding the practical importance of social 
media and the cultural political influences of large online populations.


Arguably, one particular website has since made an even stronger impact. 
In 2010, WikiLeaks released countless U.S. embassy diplomatic cables 
(creating what some already refer to as the ‘Cablegate’ affair), as well 
as classified reports and top secret footage extracted from the wars in 
Afghanistan and Iraq.
These unprecedented developments ignited a lively international debate 
involving politicians, journalists and members of the public, raising 
questions and concerns about Wikileaks’ short and long term political, 
legal, ethical and logistical effects.

On the one hand, Wikileaks shocked the international diplomatic 
community and brought up issues of national security and censorship. 
Simultaneously, media experts started exploring what Wikileaks might 
mean for (the future of) journalism and how it might change the role of 
the Internet in news reporting. Wikileaks also brought to the table 
issues concerning the boundaries of digital journalism and raised 
questions about how news reporting is done in an age of digital 
communications, particularly in what the functions of ‘whistleblowers’ 
and online leaks are concerned.

Journalists have therefore begun to reconsider their roles, professional 
standards and communicational practices. Conversely, legal actors and 
politicians pointed out the need for legal constrictions that would 
either silence or marginalise Wikileaks, as well as other similar online 
platforms in the future. This in turn raises questions regarding the 
freedom of speech, and accusations that these institutional claims for 
privacy, data protection and national security may compromise the free 
circulation of (online/offline) information.

Cyborg Subjects (www.cyborgsubjects.org 
<http://www.cyborgsubjects.org/>) takes great pleasure and active 
interest in placing these issues at the core of its next project. We 
invite all interested authors to send full-length articles (3000 words 
maximum), short commentaries (500-800 words), interviews or book reviews 
(1000-1500 words) to (submissions /at/ cyborgsubjects.org) 
<mailto:(submissions /at/ cyborgsubjects.org)>. Artworks, Videos, Performances, 
etc. related to the topic are also very welcome.


Contributions may wish to report, comment on or review theoretical and 
empirical insights into topics such as the following (and beyond):

•What is the relationship between the most recent Wikileaks and the 
recent uprisings in the Arab world?
•Why has Wikileaks provoked such a huge amount of controversy and 
international reaction?
• What are the main legal and ethical issues raised by Wikileaks?
•Wikileaks: freedom of speech and the right to information. Where is the 
line drawn? Does this line even exist?
• Wikileaks: privacy, online data protection and national security.
• What are the implications of Wikileaks for the study and 
conceptualizing of new media journalism and political communication?
• Is Wikileaks a journalistic organization? Can Wikileaks be considered 
investigative journalism?
• How does Wikileaks challenge traditional journalistic standards?
• What type of media activism is served by Wikileaks?
• What is the role of ‘whistleblowers’ in Wikileaks (e.g. the case of 
Bradley Manning)?
•What are the policy implications of the extrajudicial tactics deployed 
to censor Wikileaks?
• What does the collaboration between WikiLeaks and traditional 
newspapers have to say about the future of mass media technologies?
• How is Wikileaks’ editor in chief, Julian Assange, significant as a 
public figure? How, and by whom is he being ‘sanctified’ or ‘demonized’? //

• What is significant (feminist, post-feminist and/or non-feminist 
discussions welcome) about Julian Assange's accusations of rape, in the 
midst of the WikiLeaks international scandal?
• How can researchers (ethically) deal with data published by WikiLeaks?

• How ‘unexpected’ were the insights revealed by Wikileaks? Do they 
defy, or merely confirm public expectations of what goes on behind 
political façades?/ /


We invite all those interested to send their full contribution 
(including a 150‑200 word abstract) to (submissions /at/ cyborgsubjects.org) 
<mailto:(submissions /at/ cyborgsubjects.org)>, by June 6, 2011. Contributors 
are free to use any reference style systems (e.g., APA, Harvard etc), as 
long as they are consistent in how they cite their sources throughout 
the article, and use endnotes, rather than footnotes, for citations.

Cyborg Subjects offers a radical and new review system. We believe that 
knowledge should be free and that the process of knowledge production 
should not be obfuscated by the less transparent, “knowledge is power” 
peer review system associated with traditional academic journals. 
Therefore, submitted articles will be published as they come in and 
reviews will be posted as comments. Authors are asked to engage in the 
ensuing discussion and to comment on the review, as well as on other 
individuals’ (potential) reactions to the article.

Feel free to visit www.cyborgsubjects.org 
<http://www.cyborgsubjects.org/> to find out more! You can also find us 
on Facebook (http://fb.com/cyborgsubjects) and Twitter 
(http://twitter.com/cyborgsubjects).



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