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>Has the technical and scientific community in the US already forgotten this huge breach of trust? Have you ever seen the comment section of a Snowden thread h

>Has the technical and scientific community in the US already forgotten this huge breach of trust? Have you ever seen the comment section of a Snowden thread here? A lot of users here call for Snowden to be jailed, call him a russian asset, play down the reports etc. These are either NSA sock puppet accounts or they won't bite the hand that feeds them (employees of companies willing to breach their users trust). Edit: see my comment here in a snowden thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46237098 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46237098

TiredOfLife 9mo ago
Him being (or best case becoming) a russian asset turned out to be true
- omnimus 9mo ago
  Like it would matter for any of the revelations. And like he would have other choices to not go to prison. Look at how it worked out for Assange.
  - jll29 9mo ago
    They both undertook something they believed in, and showed extreme courage. And they did manage to get the word out. They are both relatively free now, but it is true, they both paid a price. Idealism is that you follow your principles despite that price, not escaping/evading the consequences.
  - BlueTemplar 9mo ago
    Assange became a Russian asset *while* in a whistleblowing-related job. (And he is also the reason why Snowden ended up in Russia. Though it's possible that the flight plan they had was still the best one in that situation.)
    - Matl 9mo ago
      So exposing corruption of Western governments is not worthwhile because it 'helps' Russia? Aha, got it. I am increasingly wondering what there remains of the supposed superiority of the Western system if we're willing to compromise on everything to suit our political ends. The point was supposed to be that the truth is worth having out there for the purpose of having an informed public, no matter how it was (potentially) obtained. In the end, we may end up with everything we fear about China but worse infrastructure and still somehow think we're better.
      - BlueTemplar 9mo ago
        No, exposing Western corruption is all well and good, but the problem is that at some point Assange seems to have decided "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", which was a very bad idea when applied to Putin's Russia.
        Matl 9mo ago
        > Assange seems to have decided "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", which was a very bad idea when applied to Putin's Russia What if he simply decided that the information he obtained is worth having out there no matter the source? It seems to me that you're simply upset that he dared to do so and are trying very hard to come up with a rationalization for why he's a Bad Guy(tm) for daring to turn the tables. It's a transparent and rather lackluster attempt to shift the conversation from what to who.
        BlueTemplar 9mo ago
        No, I'm upset that he took money from the Kremlin and hosted a show on Russia Today. (At least it was before 2014 I guess...)
        Matl 9mo ago
        One can only hope that you're at least as upset at the double tapping criminals he exposed.
- vezycash 9mo ago
  Truth is truth, no matter the source.
  - TiredOfLife 9mo ago
    Whole Truth is truth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lie#:~:text=citation%20needed%5D-,Lying%20by%20omission,-%2C%20also%20known%20as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lie#:~:text=citation%20needed%...
    - rvnx 9mo ago
      There is also the truth that you say, and the truth that you feel
- jimmydoe 9mo ago
  He could have been a Chinese asset, but CCP is a coward.
- lionkor 9mo ago
  If the messenger has anything to do with Russia, even after the fact, we should dismiss the message and remember to never look up.
- sunaookami 9mo ago
  In what way did it "turn out to be true"? Because he has russian citizenship and is living in a country that is not allied with his home country that is/was actively trying to kill him (and revoked his US passport)?
jll29 9mo ago
What Snowden did was heroic. What was shameful was the world's underwhelming reaction. Where were all these images in the media of protest marches like against the Vietnam war? Someone once said "Religion is opium for the people." - today, give people a mobile device and some doom-scrolling social media celebrity nonsense app, and they wouldn't noticed if their own children didn't come home from school.
- vladms 9mo ago
  Looking back I think allowing more centralized control to various forms of media to private parties did much worse overall than government surveillance on the long run. For me the problem was not surveillance, the problem is addiction focused app building (+ the monopoly), and that never seem to be a secret. Only now there are some attempts to do something (like Australia and France banning children - which am not sure is feasible or efficient but at least is more than zero).
- linkregister 9mo ago
  Protests in 2025 alone have outnumbered that of those during the Vietnam War. Protesting is a poor proxy for American political engagement. Child neglect and missing children rates are lower than they were 50 years ago.
- sunaookami 9mo ago
  Remember when people and tech companies protested against SOPA and PIPA? Remember the SOPA blackout day? Today even worse laws are passed with cheers from the HN crowd such as the OSA. Embarassing.
linkregister 9mo ago
Are you asserting that disagrees with you is either a propaganda campaign or a cynical insider? Nobody who opposes you has a truly held belief?
- sunaookami 9mo ago
  So you hate waffles?

TiredOfLife 9mo ago

Him being (or best case becoming) a russian asset turned out to be true

omnimus 9mo ago
Like it would matter for any of the revelations. And like he would have other choices to not go to prison. Look at how it worked out for Assange.
- jll29 9mo ago
  They both undertook something they believed in, and showed extreme courage. And they did manage to get the word out. They are both relatively free now, but it is true, they both paid a price. Idealism is that you follow your principles despite that price, not escaping/evading the consequences.
- BlueTemplar 9mo ago
  Assange became a Russian asset *while* in a whistleblowing-related job. (And he is also the reason why Snowden ended up in Russia. Though it's possible that the flight plan they had was still the best one in that situation.)
  - Matl 9mo ago
    So exposing corruption of Western governments is not worthwhile because it 'helps' Russia? Aha, got it. I am increasingly wondering what there remains of the supposed superiority of the Western system if we're willing to compromise on everything to suit our political ends. The point was supposed to be that the truth is worth having out there for the purpose of having an informed public, no matter how it was (potentially) obtained. In the end, we may end up with everything we fear about China but worse infrastructure and still somehow think we're better.
    - BlueTemplar 9mo ago
      No, exposing Western corruption is all well and good, but the problem is that at some point Assange seems to have decided "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", which was a very bad idea when applied to Putin's Russia.
      - Matl 9mo ago
        > Assange seems to have decided "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", which was a very bad idea when applied to Putin's Russia What if he simply decided that the information he obtained is worth having out there no matter the source? It seems to me that you're simply upset that he dared to do so and are trying very hard to come up with a rationalization for why he's a Bad Guy(tm) for daring to turn the tables. It's a transparent and rather lackluster attempt to shift the conversation from what to who.
        BlueTemplar 9mo ago
        No, I'm upset that he took money from the Kremlin and hosted a show on Russia Today. (At least it was before 2014 I guess...)
        Matl 9mo ago
        One can only hope that you're at least as upset at the double tapping criminals he exposed.
vezycash 9mo ago
Truth is truth, no matter the source.
- TiredOfLife 9mo ago
  Whole Truth is truth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lie#:~:text=citation%20needed%5D-,Lying%20by%20omission,-%2C%20also%20known%20as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lie#:~:text=citation%20needed%...
  - rvnx 9mo ago
    There is also the truth that you say, and the truth that you feel
jimmydoe 9mo ago
He could have been a Chinese asset, but CCP is a coward.
lionkor 9mo ago
If the messenger has anything to do with Russia, even after the fact, we should dismiss the message and remember to never look up.
sunaookami 9mo ago
In what way did it "turn out to be true"? Because he has russian citizenship and is living in a country that is not allied with his home country that is/was actively trying to kill him (and revoked his US passport)?

jll29 9mo ago

What Snowden did was heroic. What was shameful was the world's underwhelming reaction. Where were all these images in the media of protest marches like against the Vietnam war? Someone once said "Religion is opium for the people." - today, give people a mobile device and some doom-scrolling social media celebrity nonsense app, and they wouldn't noticed if their own children didn't come home from school.

vladms 9mo ago
Looking back I think allowing more centralized control to various forms of media to private parties did much worse overall than government surveillance on the long run. For me the problem was not surveillance, the problem is addiction focused app building (+ the monopoly), and that never seem to be a secret. Only now there are some attempts to do something (like Australia and France banning children - which am not sure is feasible or efficient but at least is more than zero).
linkregister 9mo ago
Protests in 2025 alone have outnumbered that of those during the Vietnam War. Protesting is a poor proxy for American political engagement. Child neglect and missing children rates are lower than they were 50 years ago.
sunaookami 9mo ago
Remember when people and tech companies protested against SOPA and PIPA? Remember the SOPA blackout day? Today even worse laws are passed with cheers from the HN crowd such as the OSA. Embarassing.

linkregister 9mo ago

Are you asserting that disagrees with you is either a propaganda campaign or a cynical insider? Nobody who opposes you has a truly held belief?

sunaookami 9mo ago
So you hate waffles?