Hackers Are Whistleblowers Too: Practical Solidarity with the Courage Foundation

The Eleventh Hope

Presented by: Naomi Colvin, Nathan Fuller, Lauri Love, Grace North, Carey Shenkman, Yan Zhu
Date: Sunday July 24, 2016
Time: 10:00 - 10:50
Location: Noether

In the two years since the Courage Foundation was launched, they have supported beneficiaries at every stage of the information exposure process: hacktivists, investigative journalists, and human rights defenders. Most recently, the Courage Foundation announced their campaign to raise European funds and awareness for Chelsea Manning. They believe the blurred line between activists and journalists needs to be embraced as a spectrum of solidarity; each of these actors needs the others to bring information to public attention, and so each deserve our support. While whistleblowers like Edward Snowden enjoy international appreciation, hackers are often marginalized as outsiders who don't enact real change. But it's high time we recognized their value, understanding that - since the information war occurs largely online - digital activists are those that governments seek to make the biggest examples of. In this session, the speakers will provide updates on their ongoing cases, including Barrett Brown's and Chelsea Manning's, discuss some of the systemic issues encountered along the way, and then solicit your input. This is a two-way conversation. The purpose is to bring the kind of support Edward Snowden gets to all beneficiaries - and your ideas of how to get there are welcomed at this panel discussion. Naomi Colvin and Nathan Fuller from the Courage Foundation will recap what we've learned in the past two years and what they plan to do going forward. Grace North, prison-rights activist heading the Jeremy Hammond support network, who has also worked closely with Lauri Love on his case, will discuss the challenges Jeremy continues to face and what we need to do for Lauri to prevent him finding himself in the same situation. Lauri will be joining the discussion by video feed to talk about his ongoing battle against extradition to the United States. Yan Zhu, security software engineer and friend of Chelsea Manning, will talk about how we can help Chelsea from the outside. Carey Shenkman, First Amendment and human rights attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights representing journalists including Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, will explain the need for a public interest defense for journalistic sources.

Nathan Fuller

Grace North

Naomi Colvin

Carey Shenkman

Lauri Love

Yan Zhu


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