One thing that many people don't realize about the Hierarchy of Disagreement is that going up the hierarchy takes more and more effort. If someone makes claims that are so hypocritical that they instantly fail the laugh test, there's no need to move up the hierarchy and develop more sophisticated arguments against their main points.

Now, the obvious rebuttal to this would be to claim that I'm only saying this because I can't rebut Assange's points on their own merits, so I have to attack his character. This is an appealing but dangerous line of reasoning, because it forces you to engage with trolls. The appropriate response to a troll is not to examine their argument and point out its weaknesses, but to classify them as a troll and ignore them. Is this ad hominem reasoning? Sure, but ad hominem reasoning isn't necessarily bad.

I can rebut Assange's points on their own merits, but I choose not to because I think doing so gives Assange attention and credibility that he does not deserve. Don't feed the trolls.