Monash Expert: David McBride sentencing
Following the sentencing of former army lawyer, David McBride, for stealing commonwealth information and passing it to the ABC, a Monash expert is available to comment on the case and its wider implications around whistleblowing and leaking information.
Associate Professor Emma Briant, Associate Professor of News and Political Communication, Faculty of Arts
Contact details: +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
Read more about Associate Professor Briant’s articles on the Jack Teixeira case and leaks in policy press
The following can be attributed to Associate Professor Briant:
“Today the West's enemies have learned to hack documents and exploit evidence of shameful scandals and war crimes with viral campaigns often twisted into conspiracy theories. Facing such threats, governments have become uncompromising and secretive, punishing genuine public interest truth-tellers in a way that will only feed distrust and crush genuine journalism such as that enabled by McBride’s whistleblowing.
“Not only will a decision such as this create an over-cautious press with its hands tied, at a time when strong journalism matters most to counter disinformation, the rollback of transparency creates opportunities for nefarious foreign hackers to fill the information vacuum on critical national security reporting with misleading, self-serving and distorted conspiracy theories that serve only Australia’s enemies.
“McBride’s motives and actions, the nature of what he released and the respected outlet he provided it to - contrast with other recent leakers such Jack Teixeira, the recent Pentagon leaker who shared classified information on Discord for his reputation among his friends.
“Treating every case as the same not only threatens journalism but also our ability to feel confident of the ability to hold our government accountable for human rights violations. While militaries need - and have - internal channels for whistleblowing and raising concern with superiors, real change may sometimes need public pressure.”
For any other topics on which you may be seeking expert comment, contact the Monash University Media Unit on +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu