Julian Assange's internet's down and everyone on Twitter has a theory
Sound the cyberwar cannons. It has begun.
On Monday afternoon the WikiLeaks Twitter account sent out an urgent tweet to the masses: "Julian Assange's internet link has been intentionally severed by a state party. We have activated the appropriate contingency plans."
The Australian founder of the activist website, known for releasing leaked and classified documents, was apparently having a connectivity issue. How the internet link was severed is unclear.
While some immediately recalled seeing Hillary Clinton lurking outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London with a big pair of scissors, there were some alternate, equally valid theories.
Did he reach his bandwidth cap on the Ecuadorean Embassy guest wifi? https://t.co/1hvOFWU6O9
— Bad Take Bernie (@bernietb) October 17, 2016
when mum tells you to get off MSN because you've got dialup internet and she needs to make a phone call https://t.co/1d3lQMlBs5
— Josh BOOoOoOtler (@JoshButler) October 17, 2016
"appropriate contingency plans" = have a friend pop on down to starbucks https://t.co/1jLa8jlz4B
— Christopher Hooks (@cd_hooks) October 17, 2016
WikiLeaks has played a significant role in the current U.S. election. It released troves of documents from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in July, forcing the resignation of Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz after tensions were revealed between the DNC and Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The organisation is currently sharing emails stolen from the account of Hillary Clinton's advisor, John Podesta.
WikiLeaks has not disclosed the origins of its documents, although some security officials have pointed to Russian hackers hoping to influence the U.S. election. The link has not been definitively proven.
Assange, for his part, has been living in the Ecuador Embassy since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden where he faces sexual misconduct charges. A United Nations panel recommended in February he should be allowed to move freely.
Assange has denied the most recent leaks were intended to damage the Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, however WikiLeaks's political sympathies have been called into question.
The group's Twitter account deleted a poll in September speculating about Clinton's health, and has also deleted tweets accused of being anti-Semitic.
Still, never one to hold a grudge, Twitter has some tried and tested suggestions if Julian needs some help.
Have you tried reseting the router... https://t.co/0R4ZWtjuPC
— Iain Martin (@_IainMartin) October 17, 2016
"So you've tethered to your iPhone?"
"Yeah, war is hell". https://t.co/ssZnJf7wI8— Glenghoulron (@glengyron) October 17, 2016
Mom is gonna drive them over to Julian's so they can just have the LAN party IRL https://t.co/ZcX1ZPTIwY
— annihilation craver (@ChrisCaesar) October 17, 2016
don't worry I'm calling Time Warner right now https://t.co/vlhjPINdFK
— John Carpenter's (@MilesKlee) October 17, 2016
Hours earlier, the same Twitter account sent out three cryptic tweets, leading to fevered Reddit speculation Assange had died and the tweets were a "dead man's switch" to be triggered on his demise.
Given the concern about his internet, that is presumably not the case.
pre-commitment 3: UK FCO f33a6de5c627e3270ed3e02f62cd0c857467a780cf6123d2172d80d02a072f74
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 16, 2016
pre-commitment 1: John Kerry 4bb96075acadc3d80b5ac872874c3037a386f4f595fe99e687439aabd0219809
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 16, 2016
pre-commitment 2: Ecuador
eae5c9b064ed649ba468f0800abf8b56ae5cfe355b93b1ce90a1b92a48a9ab72— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 16, 2016
Anyway, if all else fails, Verizon's got you Julian.
Image: mashable
If you were wondering whether WikiLeaks's actions during the U.S. election have made Twitter users (among them vast swathes of the media) take it a tad less seriously, these LOLs may be your answer.