Julian Assange is an Australian journalist and computer programmer best known for founding the organization WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks is a platform that publishes classified and sensitive information from anonymous sources, aiming to promote transparency and accountability in government and other institutions. Assange gained international attention in 2010 when WikiLeaks released a large cache of U.S. military and diplomatic documents, sparking debates about freedom of information and national security. He has faced legal challenges, including extradition requests from the United States, and has spent several years in asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London before his arrest in 2019.