{"id":1239,"date":"2016-03-29T21:23:19","date_gmt":"2016-03-29T19:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.actvism.org\/?p=1239"},"modified":"2020-11-06T17:48:59","modified_gmt":"2020-11-06T16:48:59","slug":"whistleblower-meaning-support-annie-machon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.actvism.org\/en\/latest\/whistleblower-meaning-support-annie-machon\/","title":{"rendered":"The Life of a Whistleblower & How You can Support – Annie Machon (Former MI5-Officer)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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acTVism Munich organized an event at the Muffatwerk in Munich, in which the significance of whistleblowers, activism and the alternative media in the 21st century were discussed with Noam Chomsky, Paul Jay, founder of the Real News Network, and Annie Machon, former MI5-Officer turned whistleblower.<\/p>\n

Brief summary of the treatment of whistleblowers in the United States:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The US government, especially during the tenure of President Obama, has come down hard on whistleblowers.\u00a0 According to Glenn Greenwald:<\/a><\/p>\n

When it comes to low-level government employees with no power, the Obama administration has purposely prosecuted them as harshly as possible\u00a0to the point of vindictiveness: It has notoriously prosecuted more individuals under the Espionage Act of 1917 for improperly handling classified information\u00a0than all previous administrations combined.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although the second US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled in May 2015<\/a> that the NSA dragnet collection program exposed by Edward Snowden was illegal and was followed by a 2015 report<\/a> produced by a U.N. envoy tasked with safeguarding free speech around the globe in which it declared that whistleblowers are a crucial element of a healthy democracy, the Obama Administration continues to maintain its position.<\/p>\n

In the video below, Annie Machon explains what it means to be a whistleblower and how the public can support them:<\/h2>\n