Steemit, the coming age of transparency and great journalists

Sometimes I sit and wonder at the amazing people who dare to continue to write the truth about the world we live in. I am in absolute awe of their quality of investigation and mastery of the English language.

Sometimes I feel all the inadequacy and doubt that I felt as an aspiring fourteen-year-old guitarist when I heard Eddie Van Halen for the first time. These people are so bloody good it’s frightening. Their writing intimidates and inspires me simultaneously.

A year ago, I wasn’t even aware that these people existed – now I can’t live without them.

You won’t find them on the pages of legacy media, nor will you find them being interviewed on legacy media programs. You will find them digging deeper, writing better and annoying the hell out of privileged lazy corporate hacks who’d prefer that you read the sports pages anyway.

Today, in the midst of another attempt to silence and punish the most important news source of our time, the offerings from Independent Media are absolutely astonishing.

There’s a brilliant piece from Elizabeth Vos on British links to Russiagate and the 2016 Presidential election.

https://steemit.com/informationwar/@elizbethleavos/all-russiagate-roads-lead-to-london-as-evidence-emerges-of-joseph-mifsud-s-links-to-uk-intelligence

Mainstream media has either neglected to make the connections that Elizabeth makes or is incapable of honest journalism. Either way, the conclusions that can be drawn from the article surrounding Britain’s involvement in Russiagate are at once frightening and amazing.

Shortly, after reading Elizabeth’s piece with my mind still reeling at the ramifications, Caitlin Johnstone neatly summed up the willing compliance in the media with an article that nails what legacy media’s precise function is.

It is well worth a read

https://steemit.com/media/@caitlinjohnstone/if-western-media-were-honest-about-russia

Then to top off my morning I delighted (it’s the wrong word in such circumstances, I know) in watching HA Goodman and Suzie Dawson discuss the current developments with Julian Assange. Suzie’s recent report Being Julian Assange is a milestone piece of reporting and is a must-read. HA is HA -passionate, eloquent, occasionally frustrated, funny and always prepared to look at the situation with two eyes. The interview is riveting.

All of these people could wipe the floor with any legacy media journalist. They represent a new wave of journalism- passionate, questioning, determined and empowered to find the truth.

They give voice to courageous whistleblowers like Bill Binney, Ray McGovern and John Kiriakou and their audience is growing on a daily basis.

It’s scaring the living shit out of the establishment and they keep scrambling to neutralise these voices of dissent. But they can’t. The genie is out of the bottle and try as they might mainstream media can’t reign in free speech.

Truly independent platforms like Minds, Gab and Steemit are gaining larger audiences on a daily basis making the suppression of opinion and discussion outside government-approved narratives not only possible but quite potentially the new normal in the not too distant future.

The catalyst for this wave of fierce independence, in my opinion, was WikiLeaks. Without the brave example set by Julian Assange and his team, the enormity of standing up to the state would be too much for these people and the audiences that they serve.

Assange then becomes much more than a man, a journalist or a publisher. He is the father of an idea – a movement if you like.

The ideas name is transparency. It has the power to bring down governments and corporations. They will fight tooth and nail to suppress it. They are focussed on Assange. They cannot see the wood for the trees.

When an idea’s time has come there is no stopping it.