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Re:U.S. may change how it monitors the web after missing lea... by xg15 on Saturday April 15, 2023 @01:33PM (#35582667)
I have to say, this is the aspect that almost shocks me the most. The leaker himself doesn't seem like the most sympathetic character, and it might be very well be that he was some rightwing gun nut who shares this for entirely questionable motives.

And yes, I'd also condemn publishing detailed military positions or names of sources.

Nevertheless, I think it's unsettling how quickly media, politicians and the public are to treat any kind of leaking as a grave crime. From what I understood, the documents contained evidence of illegal activity by us agencies - spying on allies, and possibly misleading the public about casualty numbers (that seems questionable though). Yet everyone is condemning the leaker for exposing this stuff instead if demanding an investigation.

Looks like the US press really learned their lessons from the Snowdon leaks - and it weren't the ones he intended.

You can see it in the naming conventions as well - he is called "leaker" now, not "whistleblower" - or, if any media has to, it's "self-described whistleblower".

Re:U.S. may change how it monitors the web after missing lea... by baseballdork on Saturday April 15, 2023 @01:39PM (#35582729)
> spying on allies, and possibly misleading the public about casualty numbers

Are either of these things illegal? Because what the leaker did absolutely _is_ illegal.

Re:U.S. may change how it monitors the web after missing lea... by xg15 on Saturday April 15, 2023 @01:41PM (#35582755)
Good question. Not on a national level, I'm sure, though I'd have thought there were international treaties or UN rules about this.
Re:U.S. may change how it monitors the web after missing lea... by mjreacher on Saturday April 15, 2023 @02:16PM (#35583103)
> spying on allies

That is one of the exact purposes those agencies exist for in almost every country of the world.

> possibly misleading the public about casualty numbers

The numbers given in the documents are consistent with the numbers publicly stated by the US military.

> demanding an investigation

For what? I don't see how he is a whistleblower when he hasn't exposed any illegal activity. It's pretty clear from what he friends said that he was doing this solely to impress his friends, which is pretty clearly illegal.