The Hindu :The public has a right to know

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : The public has a right to know
Thanks to WikiLeaks and ‘Radiagate,' a significant treasure trove of classified or privately held information with the potential to affect the lives of millions of people has been brought into the public domain. To be sure, the two sets of documents — diplomatic cables in one instance, audio recordings in another — pertain to vastly different subjects. But both provide a much-needed glimpse into the real world — especially the real and often illegitimate interests that lie hidden behind the diplomatic niceties, political correctness, and corporate PR that dominate international and domestic messaging. The leaks we have seen and those that are yet to come are unlikely to alter any of fundamental balances. Nevertheless, it is also true that as a result of these disclosures, the task of those who use misinformation, manipulation, and deception in the exercise of global, political, and corporate power has become a wee bit harder. That is why legal and even strong-arm tactics — the cyber equivalent of which is hacking and denial of service attacks — have been employed to stop this information from being made public. In the case of WikiLeaks — a not-for-profit media