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Julian Assange, Dominic Raab and the not-so-subtle art of literary signalling | Arwa Mahdawi

The WikiLeaks founder made a point of clutching a Gore Vidal book as he was arrested – but he is not the first public figure to use literature to reinforce their narrative

Julian Assange has become a literary influencer. When the WikiLeaks founder was dragged from the Ecuadorian embassy in London last Thursday, haggard and hirsute, he was brandishing a copy of Gore Vidal: History of the National Security State. His choice of reading material, held cover-up for the cameras, was strategic. It reinforced Assange’s narrative that he is a victim of the US’s oppressive security apparatus. It also sparked a reading frenzy: Assange’s supporters are buying the 2014 book – a compilation of conversations between Vidal and the journalist Paul Jay – in droves. It has become an Amazon bestseller and many of the recent online reviews are tributes to the Australian.

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from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2VRrkT0
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