The chilling effect is a concept that can be used as tool to control a person or group of people. The Chilling Effect refers to the limitation of expression that a group or individual feels that they have due to the fear of violating the law. It doesn't just affect journalists, but it is designed to restrict free speech and expression, among other things, so it's inevitable that journalists would have repeated run-ins with the concept.
One of the many times the chilling effect has been used was against Australian journalist Julian Assange. Assange founded WikiLeaks, an international non-profit organization that publishes news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Assange wanted to spread the truth while protecting whistleblowers.
In the early 2010s, documents regarding the war in Iraq and Afghanistan were released via WikiLeaks. The classified documents showed the truth about United States and the truth wasn't so flattering.
Assange action angered the United States. They did everything in their power to ruin, silence and possibly kill Assange without making their goal clear to the majority of the American public. They had a goal and they didn't care how long it would take. To this day, the United States still wants Assange brought back.
The government created allegations against Assange accusing him of sexual assault. The timing of the accusations were random and seemed like a clear attempt to ruin Assange.
In 2010, Assange was arrested in London and held without bail until 2011. Then he was ordered to be extradited to Sweden.
He appealed to the Supreme Court in England but his appeal was denied. In 2012, he fled to Ecuador to evade several different governments in varying countries. In 2015, the sexual assault allegations got dropped. Assange hid from different governments for years until a change in Ecuadorian government caused Assange's asylum to be taken from him in 2019. Assange was taken to England in a maximum security prison with terrible conditions.
The main job of a journalist is to tell the truth. The second job and is almost just as important as the primary responsibility is to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. Essentially, journalists are called to hold the powerful (comfortable) accountable for whatever actions they may take: government officials, politicians, etc., while also looking out for the "little guy" andcomforting the afflicted, the afflicted being anyone not with great power. The problem journalists like Assange face is that the comfortable often enjoy their comfort and some even think they are above the law. And those people do not want journalists like Assange holding them accountable and making sure they are held to a standard.
The chilling effect is the government's way of forcing/coercing journalists into silence before they can expose secrets uncovered in their own investigations. The one that sticks out the most to me being that of Julian Assange.
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