Sweden’s public service television, SVT, aired an hour-long documentary on WikiLeaks, its members and its recent detractors. WikiRebels is also available online, via SVT’s website (embedded in this article) and YouTube (in four parts). It’s not known if SVT authorized the YouTube leaks.
SVT’s version is reportedly available online free until Dec. 13. The broadcaster may take down the documentary after that date.
WikiRebels tracks the early years of Julian Assange, describing his hacking days and trouble with the law. The documentary, which followed WikiLeaks personnel for six months, also includes footage from rarely-seen presentations by Assange and fellow WikiLeaks members at various tech and journalism conferences.
Viewers are treated to a rare glimpse of WikiLeaks’ back end – the ISP hosting the website discusses why they aligned themselves with the website known to leak classified documents to media across the world. The film also illustrates the tension within WikiLeaks, due to some members arguing with Assange’s decision to release many documents at once. Some former members of WikiLeaks are interviewed on air for the first time.
Some of the material in the documentary may be disturbing to some viewers. WikiRebels shows the collateral damage videos WikiLeaks revealed to the public, a graphic display of Iraqi civilians being killed by U.S. forces. There are also graphic images from war-torn Afghanistan and Iraq.
