Secrets outlet WikiLeaks deserves credit for revolutions sweeping across the Middle East, according to founder Julian Assange.

In an interview with the Australian news show Dateline, Assange told SBS' Mark Davis that the "material that we published through a Lebanese, Al Akhbar, newspaper was significantly influential to what happened in Tunisia."

Assange, 39, said cables leaked on his whistleblowing site questioning US support for Ben Ali gave citizens the confidence to rise up and influenced the decisions of surrounding nations on whether to intervene.