Wikileaks and the Question of Responsibility within a Global Democracy

Abstract

Making sensitive or even secret information public was hitherto the domain of investigative journalism. WikiLeaks has made it possible for whistle-blowers to shed light on anything they think the general public should know about. This has given birth to a new breed of journalism. The new way of bringing sensitive information to the public is much less responsible in many respects, even though it can by some measures fulfil the norm of fairness. Who are the affected parties and what are the pros and cons? These are the questions this article seeks to answer by comparing WikiLeaks with classic journalism.