Publishing is not a crime’: media groups urge US to drop Julian Assange charges

https://www.newssniffer.co.uk/articles/1706143/diff/0/1 (Diffs of an article published by The Guardian; the changes were made silently after the article started to receive criticism.)

https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/1067531696143241217 (A tweet from WikiLeaks claiming that Julian Assange instructed his lawyers to sue The Guardian for Libel, posted hours after the above article was published.)

It doesn't even seem cynical to believe that this is a statement made strictly because it is expected that it will have no tangible effect on the current persecution of journalists. The Guardian is attempting to appear as defenders of free reporting while making attacks on free reporting.