The Fifth Estate Page #10

a bloody megaphone, they will.

He's not a source.

He's the head

of a huge media empire

that's accountable to no one.

And we put him there.

What is the purpose

of your trip?

He s a guest lecturer

at University of Cairo.

What are you lecturing about?

Petroleum geology.

We've crossed the border.

Can you put them on?

Sarah?

You're safe.

What do we do now?

Where do we go?

We have tried hard

to make sure...

that this

material does not bring

innocents to harm.

We're familiar with groups

whose abuses we exposed...

- Did you reach him?

- No.

If we both plug in,

we should be able to do it

while he's speaking.

We have a harm

minimization process.

We don't do things

in an ad hoc way.

All the material is over

seven months old...

Daniel, we both know he's

never going to step aside.

He can't be trusted.

We need to shut him down.

If you want to do this,

we have to do it now.

...whose

abuses we exposed...

is attempting to criticize

the messenger, to detract...

It takes two things

to change the world...

and you'd be surprised how

many people have good ideas.

But...

commitment, true commitment...

it requires sacrifice.

Good journalism

exposes powerful abusers...

so that often leads

to backlashes, but...

revolution is...

the struggle

between the past...

and the future.

And the future has just begun.

I guess that

Turkmenistan comment

didn't go over too well

with the Secretary, did it?

Actually,

Berdymukhammedov himself

called for my early retirement.

I'm sure he called for

a lot more than that.

But there's diplomacy for you.

Well, let's drink to diplomacy.

At least while we still can.

Okay.

You know, I was...

I was watching him

give an interview

while I was packing up.

He was talking

about all the leaks

he'd put out in the last

six months alone...

and I started thinking.

Two advanced degrees,

a Fulbright.

Five diplomatic posts,

14 years abroad.

All those nights,

I stayed up worrying...

if the slightest turn of phrase

would send the whole world

to hell in a hand basket.

And right now,

at this very moment...

I don't know which one of us

history is gonna judge

more harshly.

Julian!

Contact us online,

I'll have my press person

get back to you.

Thank you.

That was amazing. Genius.

Have you seen Time?

Forbes?

We've got interview requests

- from Larry King, BSkyB...

- Julian.

Julian!

What is it?

There's something wrong

with the submission platform.

It's disabled.

Completely.

No one will be able to submit.

You know, he dyes his hair.

I saw it once.

We were at a conference,

and he went up

to the hotel room.

The cult he was in,

The Family...

they made the kids

dye their hair white.

I guess everyone has secrets.

Scars.

Moments in time

that shape them.

Some we can get past.

Some we can't.

There was a moment

when everything was possible.

We changed the world.

He changed the world.

But then he made it

all about him.

It always was.

Only someone so obsessed

with his own secrets...

could have come up with a way

to reveal everyone else's.

You know, there was a time

when British papers...

couldn't report

on parliamentary debate.

But then a few

very brave men...

started printing pamphlets

and leaking these debates.

And, uh, well,

I believe the men were hanged.

But the public

saw these pamphlets,

and demanded access...

and the modern

fourth estate was born...

from the passion

and the vision...

of these few brave souls.

Who were hanged.

Who were hanged.

And now, we find ourselves

in the same position.

A new information revolution...

infinitely more powerful

than the last.

A fifth estate...

seemingly hell-bent on

destroying its predecessors.

All the old models,

dying faster

than the new can replace them.

Which is why we need

more brave souls.

You and Julian

have charted a course

through all this chaos...

pointed at the truth.

And yes...

the tyrants of this world

should beware.

Knowing that now,

we have the power

to demand the information

that one day soon...

will wash them all away.

How's that?

So, where should we start?

Well, most good stories

start at the beginning.

Free Julian Assange!

Free Julian Assange!

There is no proof...

that anyone came to any harm

as a result

of the full disclosure...

of the unredacted documents

published on

the WikiLeaks website.

Not one shred of evidence.

We're taking on large,

powerful groups...

with vast and powerful lobbies

to protect them.

So, of course,

we're going to be attacked

in all sorts of manners.

My goodness.

Well, I know the mainstream

media is biased...

but this is absurd.

These allegations

are without basis...

and their issue

is deeply disturbing.

As an organization, of course

of course we, uh,

have made mistakes.

Um...

Uh... There are perhaps

a number of individuals...

An individual, perhaps,

that we should not

have employed.

Um...

That is possibly

the greatest mistake.

A WikiLeaks movie?

Which one?

Oh, that one. Mmm.

Well, that one is based on

the two worst books...

full of lies and distortion,

like all bad propaganda.

Look, urn...

A WikiLeaks movie...

It's more like

the "anti-WikiLeaks" movie.

If you want to know

the truth...

no one is going

to tell you the truth.

They're only going

to tell you their version.

So, if you want the truth...

you have to seek it out

for yourself.

In fact, that's where

the real power lies...

in your willingness

to look beyond this story...

any story.

And as long

as you keep searching,

you are dangerous to them.

That's what

they're afraid of. You.

It's all about you.

And a little bit about me, too.

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