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No. This is the problem with the post-Wikileaks concept of "leaked documents". By default, the reader is lead to believe that by a document being leaked it dem

No. This is the problem with the post-Wikileaks concept of "leaked documents". By default, the reader is lead to believe that by a document being leaked it demonstrates something nefarious or shadowy. We saw this most notably with the Panama Papers and the Podesta emails. No one was directly prosecuted as a result of evidence derived from the wholesale publishing of the material. In the case of Podesta, it revealed absolutely nothing. So much so that a certain group of people became obsessed with innocuous messages about pizza. The ProPublica IRS hack, in my opinion, is doing nothing for journalism ethics.

kristofferR 5y ago
This IRS leak clearly demonstrates something nefarious or shadowy. Nefarious things like using appreciating sports teams for claiming depreciation can be totally legal. Billions of tax dollars have been recovered due to the Panama Papers alone [1]. The Podesta emails were BS, but everyone in the know always have agreed on that. How you can claim that the ProPublica IRS leak isn't good journalism is unclear to me. In the few articles they've published, they've clearly exposed the nefarious practice of legal tax avoidance using specific leaked information that wasn't documented or widely known before. [1] https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/panama-papers-helps-recover-more-than-1-2-billion-around-the-world/ https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/panama-pap...
newfriend 5y ago
> became obsessed with innocuous messages about pizza. Totally innocuous. I mean, who doesn't write vague messages about pizza and pasta? Who doesn't collect art depicting stylized child abuse? Who isn't friends with convicted child molesters? It's all merely a coincidence. Of course it's impossible to get direct prosecution from any leaks of vague messages. That doesn't mean they aren't nefarious or shadowy. Here's another totally innocuous message from a high-level "waste-management consultant" in New Jersey: "Hey Paulie, our friend with the hair needs to go".

kristofferR 5y ago

This IRS leak clearly demonstrates something nefarious or shadowy. Nefarious things like using appreciating sports teams for claiming depreciation can be totally legal. Billions of tax dollars have been recovered due to the Panama Papers alone [1]. The Podesta emails were BS, but everyone in the know always have agreed on that. How you can claim that the ProPublica IRS leak isn't good journalism is unclear to me. In the few articles they've published, they've clearly exposed the nefarious practice of legal tax avoidance using specific leaked information that wasn't documented or widely known before. [1] https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/panama-papers-helps-recover-more-than-1-2-billion-around-the-world/ https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/panama-pap...

newfriend 5y ago

> became obsessed with innocuous messages about pizza. Totally innocuous. I mean, who doesn't write vague messages about pizza and pasta? Who doesn't collect art depicting stylized child abuse? Who isn't friends with convicted child molesters? It's all merely a coincidence. Of course it's impossible to get direct prosecution from any leaks of vague messages. That doesn't mean they aren't nefarious or shadowy. Here's another totally innocuous message from a high-level "waste-management consultant" in New Jersey: "Hey Paulie, our friend with the hair needs to go".