WikiLeaks gets roasted for tweets on Paris terror attacks
Transparency website WikiLeaks faced the ire of Twitter users after it posted a tweet in the aftermath of the Paris attacks that pointed to France’s purported role in the rise of the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The multiple attacks in Paris on Friday night left at least 128 dead and people in France and across the world used social media, mainly Twitter, to condemn the violence and express solidarity with the victims.
But even as the attacks were unfolding, WikiLeaks tweeted this: At least 39 dead in French terror attacks this evening. France has closed borders. US, UK, France fed ISIS. Not so funny now, is it? In another provocative tweet, WikiLeaks posited that the Paris attacks were the “entirely predictable consequence of funding, training and arming Sunni extremists in Syria and Libya for years”. It compared the deaths in Paris with the “250,000 dead in Syria & Iraq” and contended both were “a direct result of US, UK, France feeding Sunni extremists”.
WikiLeaks’ reasoning did not garner many supporters, with several users condemning the handle for the timing and contents.
Even those who support WikiLeaks’ activism pointed out it was inappropriate to post such tweets while the attacks were underway. Others responded with more hostility while a few agreed with the transparency website.