Cryptome’s John Young: WikiLeaks Pimps Out Secrets for Money
Image: Byron Moore
Cryptome‘s John Young says he believes WikiLeaks is selling “insider secrets” for commercial gain.
Young was one of the founders of whistle-blower site Cryptome. His history of not giving into pressure to remove leaks posted on Cryptome led him to be invited to join WikiLeaks. At WikiLeaks’ conception, Young agreed to be the “public face” of the site, but he later resigned when the other founders wanted unneeded funding from sponsors.
The Register reported that in an interview with U.S. talk radio, Young argued that Julian Assange had turned his insider knowledge into a lucrative venture.
“Well, it only came up in the topic of raising $5 million the first year,” Young said. “That was the first red flag that I heard about. I thought that they were actually a public interest group up until then, but as soon as I heard that, I know that they were a criminal organization.”
In a posting to the nettime mailing list, Young wrote he was appalled by Assange’s advertising techniques, which included pimping out information for funds.
“Assange is a narcissistic individual,” Young said. “WikiKeaks is willing to sacrifice Bradley Manning and anyone else to advance their own interests.”