# Der Spiegel

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Der Spiegel," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/der-spiegel/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*At a 2026 Berlin panel, a former Der Spiegel journalist said it took him years before he could call Julian Assange a publisher rather than an activist.*

Der Spiegel is a mainstream media outlet. At a 2026 Berlin panel that included [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou), the moderator — who described himself as having worked inside Der Spiegel — said it took him three to five years before he could describe [Julian Assange](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/julian-assange) there as a journalist or publisher rather than an activist; the remark was the moderator's own, not Kiriakou's.[1]

## Sources

1. War & Military · Exposing Crimes is Not a Crime  · John Kiriakou, Jesselyn Radack... · (2026-03-20), at 49:50:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8HH4U7_tKo&t=179400s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-20-disruption-network-lab-war-military-exposing-crimes-is-not-a-crime-jo/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/der-spiegel/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt