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Netflix will begin streaming a brazen hatchet job on Julian Assange and WikiLeaks for its American subscribers on October 24th, just three days prior to a significant court date in Assange’s fight against extradition from the UK to the United States on October 27th.
“You can stream We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks on Netflix starting Sunday, October 24, 2021, at 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET,” Netflix Schedule reports.
We Steal Secrets was a “documentary” that is now so outdated beyond its 2013 release that one of its central characters, Chelsea Manning, is referred to by a dead name throughout its entirety. Why choose this specific moment to release it?
Well it doesn’t make much sense at all, if the timing wasn’t deliberately geared toward damaging Assange’s reputation in the nation whose government is trying to extradite him for exposing its war crimes. Assange’s October court date was set way back in August and Netflix didn’t announce it had scheduled to begin streaming this film until two weeks ago.
Three days before a crucial court hearing – as Julian Assange fights against extradition to a US super-max prison – Netflix is showing Alex Gibney's execrable propaganda film We Steal Secrets. I wrote a post detailing its smears at the time of its release https://t.co/lJJUoerJDq https://t.co/BMpNrg2h4i
— Jonathan Cook (@Jonathan_K_Cook) October 13, 2021
After all, We Steal Secrets was so egregious in its spin that not only did WikiLeaks supporters like World Socialist Website and journalist Jonathan Cook pan it as a smear at the time, but WikiLeaks itself went to the trouble of publishing a line-by-line refutation of the mountains of propaganda distortion heaped on the narrative by filmmaker Alex Gibney.
“The title (‘We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks’) is false,” WikiLeaks writes at the beginning of its response. “It directly implies that WikiLeaks steals secrets. In fact, the statement is made by former CIA/NSA director Michael Hayden in relation to the activities of US government spies, not in relation to WikiLeaks. This an irresponsible libel. Not even critics in the film say that WikiLeaks steals secrets.”
“Gibney’s latest release—We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks—is something else again,” World Socialist Website wrote in 2013. “The 130-minute feature is a political hatchet job against Julian Assange and dovetails with the media and US government campaign against the WikiLeaks web site. Whether Gibney has shifted to the right or simply revealed the fatal limitations of his liberal ‘oppositional’ views is a matter for a separate discussion. In any event, his newest work is an effort at disinformation.”
“The job of a good documentarist is to weigh the available material and then present as honest a record of what it reveals as possible. Anything less is at best polemic, if it sides with those who are silenced and weak, and at worst propaganda, if it sides with those who wield power,” critiqued Jonathan Cook at the time.
RELEASE: "We Steal Secrets: Not the Story of WikiLeaks" full annotated transcript http://t.co/Va4R9LOsy4 @westealsecrets @BaLueBolivar
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 23, 2013
This would not be the first time Netflix has helped circulate narratives that advance the interests of the US empire, or the second, or the third, having already run blatantly propagandistic “documentaries” advancing imperial interests in nations like Ukraine, Russia, Egypt, and multiple ones about Syria. Netflix has also signed deals with the Obamas and with British royalty.
So they’re not exactly looking out for the little guy, which from a company worth an estimated $229 billion should come as no surprise.
Still, such open facilitation of the world’s most powerful government in its campaign to imprison a journalist for inconvenient journalistic activity is a special kind of reprehensible. If there is a healthy humanity in the future, it will look back on the worldwide smear campaign against Assange and WikiLeaks with horror.
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24 responses to “Netflix To Launch WikiLeaks Smear Job Three Days Before Assange Court Date”
I once subscribed to NF but now it’s dead to me & I’ll denounce it to everyone off- & on-line. To Caitlin – have you considered sending the story to TJDS & other indie leftie shows?
Netflix is now dead to me & I’ll denounce it to all my friends off- & on-line. To Caitlin – have you considered contacting TJDS & other indie leftie youtube channels to raise a big fuss there?
We should not discard the possibility they will use the media global audience focused on Assange as an opportunity to regain some of the lost glory on the withdraw from Afghanistan. Besides they are facing and hiding a strong resistance to comply with this transition from the normal old world to this new covid world state. The ship has thousands of leaks and Joe Biden will not have enough popularity to be reelected. To the creditors it does not matter if Joe will be remembered as the one who crushed Assange. And we must face the fact Assange is already dead no matter the outcome since the Ecuador embassy event. So, if something has to come out of it I hope you guys can write something around in forums,. Spread the word. The contents and how is up to you.
Ah, one more thing. I noticed some parameters how the toxic Google-bot-algorithm on Disqus and other CIA outlets hunt down dangerous content they want to kill it before spread out. For example, if someone make a consistent statement about the geopolitical shift of power towards Russia and China no matter how many military bases and nukes are pointed to the East you will draw the attention of the analysts and they will ban you. Another one is If you use parallels between, for example, the concept of freedom according Socrates and the unexpected high resistance of American troops deployed worldwide to take a covid shot https://www.rt.com/usa/537308-pentagon-archbishop-vaccine-mandate/ . The trick here is to make the reader understand it does not have difference between the 3rd reich agenda. I could go on but I’m pretty sure you will figure it out.
“Netflix To Launch WikiLeaks Smear Job Three Days Before Assange Court Date” is not surprising. They are overtly driven by partisan agendas and whatever controlled narratives or slants are desired at any current time. For a related example, the Netflix series “Messiah” precisely managed to make the main focus that of a dedicated/altruistic CIA officer, not one of the possible or likely Messiah. How far will some (of them) go to manipulate, manufacture, and control? This/that far. https://seaclearly.com/2021/04/10/messiah-a-modern-example
Meditations On Whiteness
White people have a lot of unprocessed feelings about racism, their role in it and the extent to which they’ve benefited from it, both in America and here in Australia, where the bright sun on my pale skin is a constant reminder to me that I am an alien on stolen land.
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2020/05/28/meditations-on-whiteness/
If I had a Netflix account, I’d cancel it. Never have used Netflix; never will.
This type of blatant in your face propaganda has been going on for years. Think back to the black and white westerns depicting the good cowboy, settlers and brave calvary against the evil indians. How about the brave british fighting the evil zulus and chinese during the boxer rebellion. Dont forget John Wayne in the Green Berets defending America against the evil Vietnamese. Lastly our brave Rambo in Afganistan. Even when you know what you see, you are still being slowly molded by the exposure. Even an aware mind can be manipulated.
Anyone subscribing to Netflix should cancel immediately, and tell them why. There are better ways to entertain yourself than inadvertently empowering evil.
How much they smear, attack and ignore Assange is a measure of how much good Assange permanently did. His name will be remembered long after the names of those families and “journalists” that want him dead are long forgotten or seen as just nothing more than the dreck of humankind.
Netflix and Shill
As George Carlin correctly pointed out: ‘Its a private club and we ain’t fucking in it’
Netflix, Amazon, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, BBC, etc etc.
Who the hell decides what is ‘secret’ and what isn’t?
Corporations?
The MIC?
Bought and paid for politicians?
Real democracies should have no secrets.
Enemies are manufactured to enrich psychopaths.
I didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton, Trump or Biden.
I always vote for the Socialist Equality Party. Always.
Creeps. That is very unattractive of Netflix to go after our dear Julian.
In the following short video Jimmy Dore explains exactly why that fundamental change has never happened after any previous elections, and it will never happen after future elections as long as Rs or Ds continue to hold the reins of power in the House, Senate and w(S)hite House.
The bottom line is that if you — a US voter — do not want More Of The Same that has happened after every election in the past; and will, therefore, certainly happen after each and every election from here to eternity, do not vote for another R or D, ever!, no matter what an R or D promises!
So touching that you think it matters who you vote or, or even vote at all.
Should the majority of people ever free their minds and hearts from propaganda, voting will become THE vehicle to bring about a better, more beautiful world. Would you prefer the imposition of a dictatorship, even of the proletariat? Or is government itself unnecessary…
I would prefer a socialist revolution. Capitalism must go.
Conservatives used to call Yugoslavia a dictatorship, but it was nothing of the sort. It was a lot like the rest of Europe.
Aussies Arselicking Americans into every Losing war since 1945 and the associated war crimes would be a better theme to run….more truthful…especially our war crimes exposed in Vietnam and the middle east. And we are punishing David McBride for exposing them……he took it up the chain of command, was ignored, took it to the pollies & cops, was ignored…..took it to the ABC and we all know what happened….they sent the cops in to raid the ABC and arrested McBride. McBride has a Go Fund Me happening for his legal fight. Raised $165K so far. Telling the truth is a dangerous pastime especially against the American war machine eg Assange and Manning. And to watch the Lib/Lab party continue the arselicking is revolting….I cringe…its an embarrassment not having our OWN foreign policy. More corruption buying Yankee arms….subs, planes, tanks. Its not Bronzed Aussies but Brown Nosed Aussies.
“its an embarrassment not having our OWN foreign policy.”
The other Australian governments know very well what happens to Australian governments who try for an independent Australian foreign policy.
See Whitlam & probably Rudd.
dump netfloss. net flax. newtpluck…we who own our own library…yes. the people’s bibliotech, get free movies….
FREE ASSANGE!
FREE SPEECH
STOP HIDING MILITARY SNUFF FILMS…!
KIll Grannie! neve started a war before nor should it.
All battle cries are bogus.
remember the Maine, Pearl, Lucytanya, the Alamo, BEAT LA!
Domino Theory. how does that look now? am i guilty for saying that?
ooops…silly me. Of course now not that long after the Viciously fighting VC
who were illegally defending their Grannies et femmes, have been subsumed by an outrageously dirty commie China,
showing how important it is to believe our US GOV’T
Glad i dont do Netflix