They might also injure Mr. Assange’s reputation among the public: certainly I have learned more about details Mr. Assange’s personal life in recent days than I would care to know.
When I heard about the charges, I ignored them, and I know just about nothing about them, and I prefer to keep it this way. Is this justified? That is:
Should I be repeating my litany: "If Assange is a sex offender, then I want to believe that Assange is a sex offender"?
Or should I be ignoring the case, on the grounds that any information about it is likely to make my opinion of the real Wikileaks issues More Wrong?
Edit: or should I repeat the litany of the News of the World: "If there is a possibility of a sex scandal, then I want to believe there is a sex scandal. And I want to know ALL about it!"
If Wikileaks is more important than the possible sex offence (as it probably is) then you should ignore info about Assange's personal life. Of course, one should also bear in mind the long term effects of high-profile individuals being seen to get away with sexual assaults.
From Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight: A Bayesian Take on Julian Assange.