CLOSED
June 27, 2024 1220 replies
assange169.jpg
Assange supporters outside Royal Courts of Justice in London, May 2024. Getty // Peter Nicholls
Q1. Julian Assange is an Australian publisher and activist who founded Wikileaks in 2006.

In 2010, Wikileaks published a series of leaks from US Army intel analyst Chelsea Manning including top secret footage and logs from the Afghan and Iraq wars, as well as confidential diplomatic correspondence.

In 2016 Wikileaks published tens of thousands of documents the US says were stolen from Democrats by Russian government hackers.

How do you view Wikileaks, Assange, and Manning?
(check all that apply)
male
female
rep
ind
dem
18-29
30-44
45-64
65+

Wikileaks approve

50%
54%
45%
57%
61%
38%
72%
59%
44%
35%

Disapprove

40%
35%
44%
32%
28%
50%
12%
32%
46%
55%

Assange approve

43%
49%
36%
53%
51%
30%
66%
50%
36%
30%

Disapprove

45%
40%
51%
36%
33%
57%
17%
37%
54%
57%

Manning approve

24%
26%
21%
15%
35%
31%
39%
35%
17%
13%

Disapprove

56%
56%
56%
62%
44%
52%
33%
46%
63%
68%

Don't know

11%
8%
14%
10%
9%
12%
20%
9%
9%
10%

Don't care

1%
2%
1%
2%
2%
1%
1%
0%
2%
3%
Q2. In 2019, the US charged Assange with 18 counts of espionage for conspiring to disclose classified information and to hack a military computer in connection with the 2010 leaks.

Assange's supporters argued he merely published information given to him, much as a journalist would, and so is protected as the press is under the 1st Amendment.

Opponents said Assange differed from a journalist because he allegedly solicited the information and knew its publication would jeopardize lives.

Do you believe Assange was guilty under the law, and did he do the US a favor or disservice in publishing the leaked documents?
male
female
rep
ind
dem
18-29
30-44
45-64
65+
Group A

Guilty

53%
50%
56%
43%
41%
66%
30%
44%
60%
66%

Not guilty

37%
41%
33%
48%
45%
25%
54%
46%
32%
26%

Don't know

10%
9%
10%
9%
13%
9%
17%
9%
9%
8%
Group B

Did US a favor

43%
48%
37%
51%
53%
32%
64%
55%
35%
31%

Disservice

44%
42%
47%
37%
35%
55%
17%
34%
53%
59%

Don't know

12%
9%
15%
12%
11%
13%
19%
11%
12%
10%

Don't care

1%
1%
1%
0%
2%
1%
0%
0%
1%
1%
Q3. In 2012, facing rape charges in Sweden, Assange took up residence at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, seeking asylum. The charges were dropped, but when the Ecuadoreans asked him to leave in 2019, he was put in a British prison while extradition to the US was being argued.

On Tuesday, it was reported Assange had agreed to plead guilty to a US felony charge of conspiring to obtain and distribute classified information. In a break with policy, the US agreed he would not have to make that plea on US soil, which Assange had resisted. He will not face jail time as the sentence he would have received if convicted is exceeded by his time in the British prison.

Do you approve of the plea deal, and will Wikileaks start publishing again (it stopped in 2023) now that Assange is free?
male
female
rep
ind
dem
18-29
30-44
45-64
65+
Group A

Approve of plea deal

41%
42%
40%
38%
40%
45%
48%
34%
40%
45%

Disapprove, too hard on Assange

16%
19%
13%
22%
24%
9%
17%
28%
12%
8%

Disapprove, too easy on Assange

31%
26%
37%
30%
22%
34%
5%
27%
39%
39%

Don't know

10%
12%
8%
10%
13%
10%
26%
8%
7%
7%
Group B

Wikileaks will start publishing again

50%
49%
51%
56%
52%
42%
35%
52%
54%
50%

Will not

18%
20%
17%
20%
16%
18%
24%
18%
16%
19%

Don't know

28%
28%
30%
22%
30%
37%
37%
28%
28%
28%

Don't care

2%
3%
2%
1%
2%
4%
4%
2%
2%
2%

In 2016, 31% approved of Assange, 36% did not. 

In 2017, 64% said the CIA should accept Assange's offer of help to fix vulnerabilities. 

In 2019, after he was indicted by the US, 13% approved of Assange, 60% did not. 25% approved of Wikileaks, 48% did not. 

In 2021, 42% Assange did grave harm to the US, 40% did not. 44% said if a journalist did what Assange did they should be protected under the law, 28% did not. 


22 Comments