The protests in Tunisa, Egypt, Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa are the first such mass demonstrations since WikiLeaks and the news outlets it worked with started posting revelations from thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables.
And those revelations include many candid comments from U.S. diplomats about the corrupt nature of regimes in those nations.
But one editor at a news outlet that's front-and-center in the publishing of those secrets says the leaks are not driving factors in the upheavals now underway in some nations.
Ian Black, Middle East editor at The Guardian, told All Things Consideredco-host Robert Siegel today that "it's been the fundamental factors that have motivated people," including rising food prices, unemployment and anger at corrupt governments.
"The WikiLeaks revelations ... at most, provide confirmation that America ... knows what is really happening," he added. "Of course that doesn't always show the United States in a good light."
Here's some of what Black had to say:
More from their conversation will be on today's ATC. Click here to find an NPR station that broadcasts or streams the show. Later, we'll add the as-aired version of the interview to the top of this post.
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