Why is the internet comparing Julian Assange to David Letterman?

For those of you who haven’t followed the WikiLeaks/Assange saga, here’s a quick summary:

  • Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, was arrested Thursday in London.
  • Founded in 2006, WikiLeaks has come under fire for publishing classified information, including documents provided by an Army intelligence analyst now known as Chelsea Manning, and other materials such as hacked emails from former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.
  • The U.S. government has charged Assange with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion in connection with Manning, who was convicted by court-martial in 2013 after providing more than 700,000 classified or sensitive documents to WikiLeaks.
  • President Trump has flip-flopped on his support for Assange, going from “I love WikiLeaks” (2016) to “I know nothing about WikiLeaks” (2019).
  • Assange is no innocent free-speech champion, and he has exploited ties to the Kremlin.
  • His arrest might not have happened so soon if he had just cleaned up his cat’s litter box.

Finally, people on Twitter were quick to point out the truly important news, not that Assange was a national security threat who might finally go to prison, but that the 47-year-old was starting to look a lot like David Letterman.


Letterman, the former late night host, looks to have aged well for his 71 years. Assange, not so much.

The internet loves a good meme, but this time it’s onto something. If Assange hadn’t spent the last decade publishing sensitive material and evading authorities, maybe he wouldn’t look so weary.

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