That is exactly how the secret services of governments operate when someone leaks the information that shows the level of horrific injustice that is perpetuated in our name... they smear them with sexual assault... or better yet sexual abuse.

How you might say? A woman came forward who Assange assaulted.

It's literally their job to protect government secrets, and they have vast resources at there disposal. The way they manipulate people in such a sick way is to find leverage on someone who had associated with Assange, someone they know has too much to lose. Then they threaten them with whatever they have on them.

That type of operation I described above is a pretty standard affair for various intelligence agencies. And politicians for that matter. Smear campaign is par for the course. Shit, I've even seen someone on steem smeared by unscrupulous individuals but a lot less sophisticatedly.

Am I 100% sure that it's a smear campaign on Assange? I can't be without being a fly on the wall. And I am someone who hates abusers and people who perpetuate violence against women. But in the Assange case I really do think it was a smear. And that they chose to do that because they know that they can't extradite him for wikileaks without ruining the veneer of freedom that is painted. Freedom of speech is a very good sales pitch from government, but the product doesn't deliver on the pitch.

The other thing that gets me a little down is that people in very high positions of power play these games with people's lives while maintaining their veneer of respectability. A lot of the abusers who need taking down are in government, the upper classes and the priesthood. Even when some of these people are discovered to be monsters, it all seems to go away... everything goes quiet and they get away with it as a new story breaks in the press and the masses get distracted. This is certainly what happened in the UK with scandals about establishment (MP and house of lords) sexual abuse rings. It all went away when a certain politician lost the files on their crimes. Similarly with the Catholic church and some of the sick sht some priests have done, it has been quashed.

I honestly understand where you're coming from with your comment though Francesca. I watched Tommy Robinson (a nasty racists scumbag and head of neonazi organisation from the uk) join steem and half of the community went on his intro post and welcomed him with words of encouragement. There is a somewhat binkered attitude on steem that we just need to swoop in and bring anyone to steem. I was pretty pissed off to see everyone welcoming what I see as a racist waste of space person. And I'm pretty sure that many of them just hadn't done any research on him, as all he was talking about on his blog initially was how he had been kicked off twitter and Facebook. But when I really thought about the whole thing, I had to concede that him coming to steem is the price we pay for having a platform that can't be censored. I just wished that there hadn't have been so many welcoming him, people who I know aren't racists or neonazis. Fck I would have expected to see the hard right people on his intro post but not so many others. This fervour towards anyone work with a hint of celebrity is something that worries me about the steem community if I'm honest.

So when you say:

Bad press better than no press, but is it really?

I understand where you're coming from for sure. I'm still wrestling with this in regards to steem. But one thing I'm sure of is that all press come from their particular angle or 'wing'. In the noise that constant debate of opinion creates, facts get muffled, truth gets skewed and people get hurt.