Third, the WikiLeaks effect will last longer if there’s a series of such disclosures in the coming weeks and months. The threatened release of internal documents of banks could have serious repercussions for the market. The spread of the internet and the ease with which confidential information in many countries is being regularly accessed and disseminated in our digital age may point to a more enduring and broader challenge than the current disclosures.
Governments across the world have shown an inability to come to terms with 24/7 news coverage and instant media. Without a well thought out strategy to manage communications in general, hiding less from their citizens, governments will find it virtually impossible to keep pace with, let alone manage, new social media such as Twitter, Facebook and the blogosphere.
Rather than hunker down in the face of the WikiLeaks, damaging as they may appear to be, it would be worthwhile for governments to learn to ride the communications wave rather than be swept aside by it. It’s inevitable that there will be severe limitations put in place for the handling of confidential information, but these by themselves are unlikely to eliminate the risk of future WikiLeaks-type disclosures.
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There must be, in parallel, a strategy that develops capacity within governments, to understand and influence the impact that digital media, social network sites, electronic media and the internet in general are having on the creation of public and political opinion, both at home and abroad. This will enable them to deal with future WikiLeaks as part of managing the overall challenge of a much more interconnected and instantly perceived real-time world.
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