Are Other NSA Employees Leaking Documents Under The Cover Of Snowden?
from the could-be-useful...-could-be-disinfo dept
While we were just suggesting that there are ways that NSA employees who believe the organization has gone too far can make a difference without also leaking documents, some are beginning to suspect that Snowden’s activities may be creating at least some copycats — and the interesting tidbit is that they may be less likely to get caught, because everyone assumes any new leaks are from Snowden. Matt Blaze recently noted that the most recent bombshell concerning the NSA’s catalog of exploits, didn’t actually name a source. And Glenn Greenwald has hinted strongly that the information is not from Snowden.
That doesn’t mean that the information isn’t from Snowden. It could very well be from him and just no one’s said so. Greenwald’s statements may actually be an attempt to solicit further leaks by making it clear that other leakers may be able to hide under the cover of Snowden. Blaze also points out that this possibility certainly runs the very real risk of someone providing false information to credulous reporters. That could come from those just pulling a prank or, more sinisterly, from an intelligence community looking to flood the press with disinformation to dilute and attempt to discredit the Snowden leaks. The intelligence community has certainly been involved in such campaigns in the past.
That said, this is a real opportunity for others who would like to blow the whistle from within the intelligence community to potentially do so under the cover of Snowden, allowing them to leak without everyone searching for the new leaker, believing the information is actually coming from Snowden. Still, if that’s happening, I hope that the reporters receiving those documents heed Blaze’s advice to be exceptionally careful to authenticate the documents, to find additional sources and also to disclose any uncertainty about the authenticity of the documents.
Filed Under: ed snowden, journalism, leaks, nsa, sources, surveillance
Comments on “Are Other NSA Employees Leaking Documents Under The Cover Of Snowden?”
The recent leak was in fact from me, just thought I’d let you know
Re: Re:
No, I’m Sparta- I mean Edward Snowden!
Re: Re: Re:
I wonder if you two are criminals for impersonating another person…
Re: Re:
We’re all Edward Snowden.
It would be smart to remember what happened to Dan Rather:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killian_documents_controversy
So Snowden = Batman?
So it’s official. Edward Snowden is not the hero we want. He’s the hero America needs.
Now all he needs is a cape to fight crime and bring the forces of darkness to light.
Re: So Snowden = Batman?
I’m guessing Snowden would settle for the kind of money B. Wayne had.
I’m guessing a whole lot of us would be”more heroic” if we had Wayne-level cash.
Re: Re: So Snowden = Batman?
This is a falsifiable claim. Are Gates or Buffet heroes?
Bwahahaha….
Where are the trolls?
Where is that asswink (horse with no name? maybe?) that pops up on virtually every article claiming that Masnick just writes poop?
so it took a few weeks to figure out that one.
snowden leaks
I have seen a lot of coverage of these “leaks” but no one has published the documents that were leaked. There are lots of .jpgs of documents but not the .ppt version. How long do we have to wonder about this story and its implications. Anyone can make a .jpg of something. Why do we trust the filters of Greenwald, the Times and the other media choke points / watch dogs / propaganda outlets.