WikiLeaks would very much like you to refrain from saying the following things:
- That Julian Assange smells bad
- That Julian Assange does not use cutlery
- That Julian Assange does not wash his hands
- That Julian Assange bleaches his hair
- That Julian Assange lives, or has previously lived, in a basement, in a cupboard, or under the stairs
- That Julian Assange played soccer or used a skateboard during weekdays or office hours at the Ecuadorian embassy
- That Julian Assange has previously tortured cats and/or dogs
- That Julian Assange is a paedophile
- That Julian Assange is racist
- That Julian Assange is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood
- That Julian Assange has been asked to take better care of his cat by the Ecuadorian embassy
- That Julian Assange is a conspiracy theorist
- That Julian Assange is a hacker
- That Julian Assange, his mother, or his father were ever members of a cult
- That Julian Assange’s mother is currently or has ever been a hippie
- That Julian Assange has ever walked into embassy meeting rooms in his underwear
- That Julian Assange “drinks to excess“
This is just a fraction of a list put out by WikiLeaks of statements that they deem to be “false and defamatory“, which was released by journalist Emma Best.
As reported by Reuters, WikiLeaks sent out the list of the 140 statements to reporters on the weekend, ostensibly as a resource to help accurate reporting on Assange and his circumstances:
Since Mr. Assange’s isolation and gagging on March 28, 2018 the publication of false and defamatory claims about him has accelerated, perhaps because there is an incorrect view that Mr. Assange is has no means to defend his reputation from falsehoods in such grave circumstances. . . . It is well documented that there is a pervasive climate of inaccurate claims about WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, including purposeful fabrications planted in large and otherwise “reputable” media outlets. . . . Consequently journalists and publishers have a clear responsibility to carefully fact-check from primary sources and to consult the following list to ensure they are not spreading, and have not spread, defamatory falsehoods about WikiLeaks or Julian Assange.
After Best leaked the original list (version numbered 1.2), WikiLeaks released it themselves… sort of. Version 1.3 of the Defamation List features significant changes, including the removal of the stuff about using meeting rooms in his underwear, the stuff about torturing animals, the stuff about living under the stairs, and the stuff about him not washing his hands. How odd.
