Session B: “An end to the era of secrecy” Undisclosed sources....dangerous information and dis-information.... who pays the price - Baniyas Grand Ballroom
Tuesday, 17 May 2011 02:30 PM – 03:45 PM
The anti-secrecy website ‘WikiLeaks’ has allowed the world to download sensitive information and data without actually identifying the source. By publishing classified documents, WikiLeaks has rattled politicians and the security establishment and has become the focus of the global media.
WikiLeaks has transformed the media landscape by circumventing the traditional role of research and investigation from journalists, while major media outlets around the world have found themselves competing to release this new type of ‘breaking news’.
Regardless of whether the information available on WikiLeaks is selectively released, inaccurate or even dis-information, the media has raced to publish the cables without worrying about the impact they might have on the public or the safety and security of affected communities. This, in turn, has made WikiLeaks a point of contention between those who call for responsible freedom and those who support unconditional freedom of information.
Through a discussion amongst experts, academics and media personnel, this session aims to focus on these and other dimensions of the WikiLeaks phenomenon in the context of the age of Google, Facebook, Wikipedia and the ‘Ushahidi’ website (a site that ‘uses social networks to enable users to submit reports of violence using mobile phones or the internet, while simultaneously creating a temporal and geospatial archive of events’).
Topics:
- Is WikiLeaks nothing more than a successful breach of security and confidentiality? Or, is there an ulterior motive?
- Is the line between freedom and responsibility diminishing? Who determines the potential impact of releasing information?
- In the era of unofficial sources, can the media continue to disseminate information selectively in keeping with its editorial policy and overarching agenda?
- Who has the capacity to analyse the huge volume of content released by WikiLeaks?
Moderator:
Speakers:
Hasni Abaidi
Director
Center for Studies and Research on the Arab and Mediterranean World 
Omar Nashabe
Editor of the Justice Section and columnist
Al-Akhbar daily paper, Lebanon
Wayne Madsen
Investigative Journalist
USA
Evan Kraus
Executive Vice President and Managing Director
APCO Online
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