The first part of my Wednesday column:
It keeps happening. Last Thursday, Glenn Greenwald published another bombshell article in The Guardian based on one of Ed Snowden’s leaked documents. The article details how Microsoft has provided user data for NSA’s PRISM surveillance database. Then, before the ink was dry on the article, Greenwald issued Snowden’s ridiculous threat against the U.S. government, thus obliterating any debate about the Microsoft documents and skewing the debate back to Greenwald and Snowden. And all the while, Greenwald continued to hector anyone who dared to write about the duo’s antics in lieu of writing about the new documents.
Okay, fine. Let’s talk about the new documents.
Like most of The Guardian‘s previous NSA articles, the reporting is full of clever omissions intended to lead readers to believe something that’s not backed up by the article itself. Take the lede for example:
Microsoft has collaborated closely with US intelligence services to allow users’ communications to be intercepted, including helping the National Security Agency to circumvent the company’s own encryption, according to top-secret documents obtained by the Guardian.
Once again, we’re being duping into believing that Microsoft is handing over all user communications, including content, without any warrants or oversight. [READ ON]