Whistleblowers are the conscience of society, yet suffer gravely

Post by Haga » Sun, Apr 30, 2023, 9:45 PM UTC

phailhaus wrote: post #212

paulmd wrote: post #71

Whistleblowers act against power structures and that's the ultimate transgression as far as the power structure is concerned. Transgressions in favor of the state are one thing, you'll get a slap on the wrist at most, even personal benefit and promotion in some cases, but transgressions against the state are what will provoke a real response. See, for example, the incredible vigor pursued against the people who relea…

Yeah, and it's why I think it's fundamentally impossible to prevent retaliation against whistleblowers. Organizations act in favor of self-preservation, like any living thing. Whistleblowers by definition act against them, so an organization will always benefit by removing them. Failure to do so will prolong the damage and encourage further transgressions.

Post by freetime2 » Sun, Apr 30, 2023, 9:48 PM UTC

ngngngng wrote: post #253

freetime2 wrote: post #17

It’s a travesty that Edward Snowden is still a fugitive in the United States. James Clapper went in front of congress and lied about the scope of surveillance on US citizens. Snowden saw it as his moral obligation to expose those lies, and he did it in the least destructive way possible by leaking the evidence to qualified journalists.

Your usage of the word travesty is a tragedy (and ironically, also a travesty)

Post by lll-o-lll » Sun, Apr 30, 2023, 9:51 PM UTC

macrolocal wrote: post #255

phailhaus wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, and it's why I think it's fundamentally impossible to prevent retaliation against whistleblowers. Organizations act in favor of self-preservation, like any living thing. Whistleblowers by definition act against them, so an organization will always benefit by removing them. Failure to do so will prolong the damage and encourage further transgressions.

Although, silencing whistleblowers is as weak a strategy as security through obscurity.

Post by macrolocal » Sun, Apr 30, 2023, 9:56 PM UTC

phailhaus wrote: post #277

macrolocal wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although, silencing whistleblowers is as weak a strategy as security through obscurity.

I disagree, it is an extremely strong strategy. You shut them up, they cannot inflict any more damage. The public can speculate what other secrets exist, but they can't know as they would if the whistleblower was kept around. The short-term negative publicity is tiny compared to the fallout if more information was leaked. This is why organizations basically always move to silence: It works.

Post by lost_tourist » Sun, Apr 30, 2023, 10:06 PM UTC

0xDEF wrote: post #244

yarg wrote: post #116

I continue to maintain that Snowden was one of the greatest American patriots in decades. There are many leakers that deliberately act with the intention to harm the state; That wasn't Snowden - he threw away his life to stage an intervention. Why has he been left to rot in a dictatorship? I'd say sign a pardon for the man, but unless he can get out of Russia there's a damned good chance that things would only get wo…

I am 99% sure Snowden is cringing at the term "American patriots". Snowden's primary motivation was most likely opposition to US foreign policy and control of the world. There is no other reason to contact Glenn Greenwald in late 2012. In 2008-2012 Glenn Greenwald was primarily known as one of the harshest opponents of US foreign policy and someone who didn't shy away from defending Russia, Iran and other geopolitica…