Exposing ‘Collateral Murder’ and Mass Surveillance: Why the World Should Be Grateful to Assange

In the above 89-second video, RT takes a look back at the key moments in Assange’s career that remind us why the world owes him a debt of gratitude.

Julian Assange is a pioneering whistleblower in the digital-age, speaking truth to power like no one before him managed on such a significant scale. As he sits in a London jail cell, here’s why we should be grateful for his work.

By setting up the international non-profit organization WikiLeaks in Iceland in 2006, Assange irrevocably shifted the balance of power in the online era.

From humble beginnings as a master coder and hacker, caught by Australian authorities in 1995 but escaping a prison term, to the foremost publisher of sensitive, embarrassing and potentially dangerous material for the world to see, Assange's storied career as a publisher and whistleblower has captured headlines, and the global public's attention for years.