Welcome Julian Assange to chat with the readers of SvD.se!

Hank: Hi, I assume you have heard of the swidish FRA-law? I read you have some servers here in Sweden. Aren't you afraid that critical information will be tapped and used as exchange with, for example, USA?

Julian Assange: We are familiar with the FRA law and understand both its danger (instant retargeting to monitor the Swedish population en mass) and its geopolitical benefits to Sweden (mass spying on Russian citizens and companies internet traffic, the majority of which transits through Sweden, gives the FRA information to ”trade” with the United States and other intelligence agencies). Because we are routinely the target of intelligence agencies which do not obey the rule of law, our security design presumes that all incoming and going communication to our servers is monitored. Online, we encrypt all communication with sources using ciphers rated by the National Security Agency for TOP SECRET material. We have a number of different methods to also conceal the source and destination of the communications, some of which you can read about on our Submit Documents page. Offline we also accept submissions in the post or through our network of supporting journalists and human rights workers.

björn: Are you worried Governments may use wikileaks as a channel for political propaganda using fake or selected documents? Do you think that has already happened?

Julian Assange: No. As far as we can tell, we have never released a misdescribed document. Selected is possible, but then, it is usually easy to plant these documents with traditional press who have lower standards and do not release the primary source document to the world community for scrutiny.

Schnudden: Hey Mr. Assange. Considering you are dependant on the liberties our swedish legal system gives you. Why take help from a socialistic movement rather then a more liberal choice? If the choice was there. Regards /Schnudden

Julian Assange: We take assistance from all friends of freedom, but first it must be offered to us. Ask your party to do so.

anon: dear julian, i'm glad the swedish freedom of press is of help to you. i agree that it's one of the things that the swedish people have a right to be truly proud of. that said, sweden is not the only country with a strong press freedom. our close neighbours also have a very decent press freedom, as does countres like iceland, netherlands, switzerland etc. what's your motivation behind working with sweden rather than putting your servers in, say, switzerland? thank you,

Julian Assange: Switzerland destroyed the servers of the FARC movement from Colombia on US instigation. It is not enough to have good laws, the culture must also support them. It is true we also use other locations, but Sweden is, so far, the most proven in practice. It is not perfect and initiatives like the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative show that others are also looking to improve on Swedish laws which have set strong examples.

Reporter: Would you publish, for example, Tony Blairs medical journal? Since your mission is to reveal information of great political value, would it not be of interest for the public to know how the world leaders health condition are?

Julian Assange: Yes.

Carmen: What do you think (/hope) should happen after a leak has been published? Is it difficult to ”leave” a case and not act further upon it, in terms of political actions? Do you think there should be groups that follow up the cases and create attention and pressure when the media no longer talks about the leak? Do you fear that nothing will change with wikileaks, or is the transparency created so valuable in itself so that it doesn't matter if no one carries the torch any further and affectspolitics

Julian Assange: We try to get as much impact as posssible for material sent to us, but it is often a lot of work. However, it is often not necessary for the public to understand something, after all, the public have little power except when acting as a mass, which can only happen a dozen or so times per year at most. Our material can affect power players, even when journalists pay it no attention. Simiarly, search engines connect leaks to interested persons, without any media mediation.

Mirre: I've been in love with wikileaks ever since I first heard of it, however, I don't believe that you can do good without sacrifiying someone. Have you ever had doubts regarding wikileaks or any other project you've done when it comes to consequences? Is it possible to do something politically controversial without any collateral damage, affecting ”innocent” or already marginalized people? If not, where to draw the line and how to justify one's actions?

Julian Assange: We always have doubts. That is how we learn and improve. There are no easy choices for this organization when operating with such serious issues. We have duties to multiple publics and are also contrained by economic realities and the fact that publication delayed is justice denied.

David J: What do you see as the biggest challenges for Wikileaks in the forthcomming year?

Julian Assange: Attacks on our financial infrastructure.

Kristofer: All nations have secret documents concerning their national security. Many would say that this is nessecary in order to keep the nation safe. Do you think all of these documents should be published, and if so what good would it do?

Julian Assange: As a supranational organization we are compelled to rise above the nationalistic interests of nation states, and concentrate on the plight of human beings, in war, and out.

Jo: What would be the single most important thing anyone could do if they wish to support Wikileaks directly?

Julian Assange: Nothing is as flexible as reliable, ongoing financial support. However, it is also important to take on propaganda being spread by the people we expose, make connections between people who support us, and hold our flag high in other ways.

Oskar: Is there anything you would not publish, if you believe the release of documents itself could cause a major conflict?

Julian Assange: We always keep our promises to publish material that meets our simple editorial criterial. Like a court, the impartiality of our process is the most important thing we have. That said, we have a harm reduction mechanism, which may mean delay in publishing some part of the material. But we always eventually publish everything once it is safe to do so.

Datavetaren: Do you think there are similar movements to Wikileaks?

Julian Assange: Unfortunately, there as yet none, but we can see that the younger generation is closing to our values. In the United States, according to PEW research, a conservative think tank the majority of people under the age of 50, believe it was in the public interest for US to release 92,000 classified documents about the war in Afghanistan. An extraordinary and unexpected result, which shows that the main stream press in the United States is not accurately reflecting the sentiments of the people.

Per: Many wrongdoings are made without any papers left behind. Can you extend your service to include materials from hidden microphones and cameras?

Julian Assange: We already include that. For instance, we released dozens of telephone intercepts from Previan politicians, in what was to become the biggest scandle of 2009, ”petrogate”.

Choco canel: How did the culture of contribution to wikileaks emerge? What do you think it is that drives people to contribute to Wikileaks?

Julian Assange: Consistency in our philosophy. Doing what we say we do and not backing down. Staying on the side of justice even if that means criticism.

Jesper: Mr Assange, would you say that 1984 is upon us?

Julian Assange: In the spying sense we have long progressed past 1984. That is why activists and journalists must also upgrade their skills to keep powerful groups honnest. In Berlin the statement ”transparent government, not transparent people” is popular and we agree. The internet is a giant spy machine for power. We must fight this trend and make it an engine of transparency for the public, not merely the powerful.

nas: A less serious question aside; what would be your dream scoop? Proof of free energy hidden by the oil companies? Proof of Aliens? =)

Julian Assange: All records held by the NSA, CIA, GCHQ, PSB, SVRR and FSB.

Jimmy: I have no question for you. Just wanna tell you that I admire your work, and I hope that Wikileaks will live on for a long time. Thanks for teaching the world how real journalism should work.

Julian Assange: You are most welcome.

cpd: What's your opinion, if any, on the swedish pirate party and the international pirate party movement?

Julian Assange: Embrionic movements that represent important shifts. These parties, or at least, the ideas expressed by them, will flower into something hopeful and important. Already we have support from these groups that is significant.

Marcus S.: How important do you think the Internet is for democracy in the world today?

Julian Assange: The internet is a giant spy machine, however as a tool for combating the mass stupification effects of television, it is an unparalled wonder.

Siliva: I'm amazed that people dare to report things to wikileaks, as many of them are taking a personal risk. Do you think people will continue to do that? Do they find you or do you find them?

Julian Assange: The risks are over stated and there are genuine heroic acts. None of our sources have been exposed by our process.

Claire: Is it an issue that Wikileaks as an organization is deeply associated with the Julian Assange persona?

Julian Assange: Yes, But I initially tried to have no personas and it only made the media intrigue worse. We do have other spokespersons, but for some reason they do not have the traction I do. Organizations are complex so the public really does need a single person to represen an organization and be held accountable for its ongoing integrity.

knegoff: Dear mr. Assange, How is Wikileaks working with translation? I mean, if there are important information from swedish SÄPO in swedish, or some other obscure small language, that needs translation to have a wider impact. Is it up to other media to translate, or do you have the resources to do it yourselves? Keep up the good work!

Julian Assange: We have enough translators, what we do not have, is enough people or finances to effectively and efficiently organize them.

cpd: What do you think is the reason for the backlash against wikileaks by some entities in the traditional media and the blogosphere?

Julian Assange: Lack of fact checking and craven sucking up to power.

Freedom: Is there something that you have regret being published on wikileaks, and if so, what?

Julian Assange: Nothing yet.

nas: Say that Wikileaks gets information that potentially could cause a civil war or a thirld world war - Would Wikileaks still publice that type of info?

Julian Assange: We have a harm minimization process. In this case it might involve delay. But remember, we do not create information. If someone is intent on getting it out, they will.

nerke: Mr Assange, what in your opinion is the most severe threat (if any) to the democratic liberties we are used to in the west?

Julian Assange: Fast money flows. When fiscal power moves faster than political sanctions we are all doomed.

SvD.se: Tiden rinner ut. Nu svarar Julian Assange på de sista frågorna.

Daniel: Thanks for your work Juilian, Question: Wikileak has a very secret and non-transparent organization. How can the public know that wikileaks does not drive its own agenda? How do we know that you don’t only publish leaks that are in line with some hidden political agenda inside wikileaks ?

Julian Assange: No whistleblower has ever come forward to alleged otherwise and our content covers hundreds of countries and political issues from both the extreme right and left.

Gustaf Arnér: Do you feel that Wikileaks has accomplished what you set out to do when you first started this whole ordeal? What do you feel is still left do do? Keep fighting the good fight!

Julian Assange: We are making good progress but we have much further to go than we have come. We need to increase capacity 10,000 fold.

SvD.se: Thank you, Julian Assange and thank you SvD.se:s readers! We received a lot of questions and unfortunately mr Assange couldn't answer them all.

Tack Julian Assange och tack SvD.se:s läsare! Vi fick in väldigt många frågor och tyvärr hann inte mr Assange svara på dem alla.