Many journalists are courageous, with some paying the ultimate price for revealing the truth about corruption and serious wrongdoing by the police, military, politicians and businessmen. There is often retribution for those with the courage to expose evil.It is reported that 45 journalists around the world were murdered in 2023 alone. The worst was in 2012 when 147 writers and journalists were killed. In 2022, four journalists were murdered in the Philippines.
The public had a right to know the truth about the crimes committed in their name, they said.Under the Espionage Act, criticism of the US government's involvement in World War I was considered a possible crime. That, many claimed, was a restriction of free speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Assange and his lawyers challenged that law. Were noncitizens, visitors, asylum seekers and migrants protected by the First Amendment? That is the unresolved legal question today.