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Media10 outlets ran this3 min read

Julian Assange returns to X with 'I'm back' post

WikiLeaks founder reappeared on social media after more than two years of silence.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
The photograph shared by WikiLeaks shows Assange standing in front of a mural depicting him in Sydney. WikiLeaks/X

What this story says

  • Julian Assange returned to X on September 17, 2026, posting 'I'm back'.
  • He had been absent from the platform since June 28, 2024.
  • Assange posted a photo from Sydney, Australia.
  • His wife, Stella Assange, has indicated more news will follow.

Who covered it

Left 67%(4)Centre 16%(1)Right 17%(1)

Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 4 of the 10 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

59/100

Hype

41/100

10 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

Only 1 of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, reappeared on the social media platform X on September 17, 2026, posting the message "I'm back." The post included a photograph of Assange taken in Sydney, Australia. This marks his first activity on the platform since June 28, 2024.

Assange had been absent from X following his release from prison in June 2024, after reaching a plea deal with the US Department of Justice. He had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified national defence documents. The sentence he received was time already served.

His wife, Stella Assange, has stated that further information will be provided next week.

Disagreements in reporting

The Hindustan Times reported that Assange was 55 years old at the time of his return to X. IBTimes UK stated he was 55 years old. However, the Hindustan Times also stated he was 62 years old when discussing his plea deal and sentencing.

What the coverage left out

None of the left-rated digests mention the specific date Julian Assange was absent from X prior to his return, only stating it was 'more than two years'. The centre-rated Hindustan Times report states he was absent since June 28, 2024. The right-rated Latestly digest also states he kept a low profile following his June 2024 release.

Tags:#JulianAssange#WikiLeaks#SocialMedia#X#Australia

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 17 Sept 2026, 17:30, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

4 rated outlets

  • Reports from the left-rated outlets IBTimes UK, Outlook India, Consortiumnews, and SWI swissinfo.ch focused on Assange's return to X after more than two years. They highlighted his "I'm back" message and the accompanying photo from Sydney. These reports also detailed his release from prison in June 2024 following a plea deal with the US Department of Justice, and his subsequent return to Australia. IBTimes UK noted the post attracted 2.3 million views within hours and discussed the varied reactions it generated, including questions about his future intentions and initial confusion over the account's authenticity. Consortiumnews mentioned his return occurred as the "AI crisis dominates the headlines."

Centre

1 rated outlet

  • The centre-rated Hindustan Times report led with Julian Assange's return to X after more than two years, featuring his "I'm back" message and a photo from Sydney. It detailed his June 2024 release from prison after a plea deal with the US Department of Justice, noting he had served his sentence. The report mentioned his return to Australia and living with his family. It also included background on his 2019 arrest in Britain and the US extradition request. The outlet also provided biographical details about the author of the report.

Right

1 rated outlet

  • The right-rated Latestly digest reported Julian Assange's return to social media platform X with an 'I'm back' post, quoting a verified WikiLeaks announcement and mentioning a street photo in Australia. It noted his low profile since his June 2024 US plea deal and release to Australia after five years in Belmarsh prison, and stated no further plans had been announced.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Julian Assange returns to X with 'I'm back' post?
Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 67% are rated left, 16% are rated centre, 17% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 10. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Julian Assange returns to X with 'I'm back' post left or right?
Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
Is the coverage of Julian Assange returns to X with 'I'm back' post biased?
Julian Assange returns to X with 'I'm back' post is one event reported by 10 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Julian Assange returns to X with 'I'm back' post?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Julian Assange returns to X with 'I'm back' post?
10 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
When did Julian Assange return to X?
Julian Assange returned to X on September 17, 2026. He posted a message stating 'I'm back' and a photo from Sydney, Australia, marking his first activity on the platform since June 28, 2024.
Why was Julian Assange released from prison?
Julian Assange was released from prison in June 2024 after reaching a plea deal with the US Department of Justice. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified national defence documents and received a sentence of time already served.
What did Julian Assange post upon his return to X?
Upon his return to X on September 17, 2026, Julian Assange posted the message 'I'm back.' He also shared a photograph of himself taken in Sydney, Australia.

Read it at the source

10 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

4

Centre

1

Right

1

Not rated

4

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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