WikiLeaks To Issue Statement, Says Julian Assange Is Safe


Shortly after midnight on Sunday, the WikiLeaks Twitter account sent out a message telling supporters that its founder and editor Julian Assange is safe and remains in control of the organization. The message stated that WikiLeaks will release a statement soon about this, hopefully with greater detail about Assange’s situation. The message is meant to soothe his supporters who have been worried about his safety after a series of unusual events beginning earlier this week when the Ecuadorian Embassy restricted his internet access.

It is unclear whether this means the message will come later on Sunday morning or on Monday, as it was published at 12:16 a.m. A tweet asking WikiLeaks to clarify the day has been sent and we will update if a response is given prior to the scheduled statement.

Responses to the tweet range from relief that he is safe to persistent skepticism. Twitter users are asking for video proof that Assange is safe and still alive at the Embassy. Others want him to sign something with his PGP private key to prove that he still retains control and someone else hasn’t taken over the account.

What everyone wants, though, is proof of life. Proof that he remains in the embassy and is safe and unharmed. Signing his PGP key on the day’s newspaper and releasing a video would do well to placate the heightened fear among his supporters and dispel the suspicion that the United States has managed to get its hands on Assange.

In the last week, Ecuador, which granted Assange asylum at its London Embassy, restricted the WikiLeaks founder’s internet access after it determined he was interfering in the U.S. elections by releasing the Podesta Emails. This came after a visit by celebrity and activist Pamela Anderson, who expressed concern about his health. Since Assange has not been able to perform his duties in full, someone else has taken over the job of tweeting out the leaks, some of which have had spelling mistakes that led many people to believe the mistakes were a coded message.

Other strange things have happened outside of Wikileaks that have led people to believe that either Hillary Clinton SuperPAC Correct the Record or the CIA have taken over some public forums like various Reddit subreddits and 4Chan. On Reddit’s r/conspiracy forum, users related how any mention of the pro-Clinton organization’s digital director Benjamin Fischbein, even just posting his name, is enough to get users banned from the site.

Users not banned are unable to use Fischbein’s name in comments. When they type it in a comment box, an error message appears that the post contains “banned text.” On Reddit’s r/wikileaks, users suspected a takeover by CTR operatives as well. However, the moderators of the sub have sought to squelch such conspiracy theories about Assange, claiming that the alarmist theories are actually the result of CTR people, not concerned WikiLeaks supporters. This particular explanation is suspicious itself because it makes little sense for Correct the Record folks to spread rumors that Assange is dead, or that he is no longer safe at the Embassy. On the contrary, the argument only draws more suspicion that the sub has been compromised.

Julian Assange, Feb. 2016 [Image by Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Images]

WikiLeaks has sped up its data dumps since Assange was cut off from the internet, and some of the emails reveal a campaign that worked hard to suppress Bernie Sanders’ campaign and anyone who chose to work with him. Faiz Shakir, who is a former employee of the CAP and a Podesta protégé, according to Politico, was called a vulgar epithet by Neera Tanden when she learned he was advising Bernie Sanders and helping him with speeches.

“Makes sense since all these freaks after Hillary are like his spawn.”

In the next day or two, all eyes will be on WikiLeaks to verify that Julian Assange is safe and unharmed. However, just how safe is unclear as the British and the U.S. governments have reportedly been putting pressure on Ecuador to turn him over, although they deny any such action, according to The Guardian. Until his supporters know that Assange truly is alive and safe, the rumors about his fate will continue to swirl.

[Featured Image by Markus Schreiber/AP Images]

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