Myth 2: WikiLeaks’ disclosures put the lives of individuals in at risk

The second pillar of the US prosecutor’s case is that by “indiscriminately” publishing “unredacted” sensitive material, WikiLeaks put the lives of US sources and informants at risk. This argument was first made by then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates following the publication of the Afghan War Logs in 2010 — tens of thousands of classified files documenting numerous attacks and slaughters of civilians by US and Western forces in Afghanistan. Gates accused WikiLeaks and Assange of “having blood on their hands” — a claim that was widely echoed in the international media.

The truth is that the publication of the Afghan War Logs was far from indiscriminate. In fact, the information had been carefully redacted by WikiLeaks and its partnership media organisations precisely to avoid putting the lives of individuals at risk. The same line was followed with respect to all subsequent publications as well. Indeed, on more than one occasion WikiLeaks contacted the US authorities to help them minimise the risk of the leaks putting anyone’s life in danger, but they refused to cooperate.