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# Michael de Kort, the Coast Guard, and democratised media
- URL: https://werd.io/michael-de-kort-the-coast-guard-and-democratised-media/
- Published: 2006-08-30T12:52:52.000Z
- Updated: 2025-06-12T11:01:14.000Z
- Author: Ben Werdmuller
- Tags: General, #ben-684a32da145d7d001be71dae, #Migrated-1749693130536, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-06-11 21:52

<http://theinternetispeople.com/2006/08/30/michael-de-kort-the-coast-guard-and-democratised-media/>

[The Washington Post features a report](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/28/AR2006082801293.html) about Michael de Kort, a Lockheed Martin employee who - after getting no results from the usual channels - posted a whistleblowing video on Youtube about a set of critical security flaws in a fleet of refurbished Coast Guard patrol boats.

The report suggests Michael’s tactics have worked:  

This is unlikely to be the last time this happens. As the read/write web allows more and more people to publish content online, people like Michael who have something important to say but would ordinarily not have a voice will able to make their concerns known.

Better yet, thanks to embedded media and social networking, the message can be shared and amplified. Here’s the video:

  
I can see this becoming ever more important as we start inching closer to the end of President Bush’s term in office and a new US presidential election. The question is - given [the dubious turthfulness of some videos online](http://theinternetispeople.com/2006/08/28/lonelygirl15-a-new-kind-of-viral-marketing/) and the propensity of the medium to be used for viral marketing - how many of these messages will we be able to trust?