Topline
The unidentified individual who leaked a trove of classified U.S. government documents on the instant messaging platform Discord claimed they had a job at a military base, according to a Washington Post report highlighting the source of the leaks, which may cause a major diplomatic headache for the White House.
A Discord display is shown at the company’s booth at the Game Developers Conference 2023 in San … [+]
Key Facts
The alleged leaker was part of a Discord group named “Thug Shaker Central” made up of around “two dozen” men and boys who loved “guns, military gear and God,” the Washington Post reported, citing a teenage member of the invite-only chat server.
The leaker, who identified themselves as “OG,” began sharing transcripts of classified intelligence documents that they claimed to have gained access to through their job at a military base whose location they refused to disclose.
While OG’s initial posts were transcribed by hand, they later switched over to sharing photos of the documents.
The Post’s report notes that both the teenager and another member of the chat group who corroborated the details claim they know OG’s real name and the state he resides in but refused to divulge that information.
All the documents were posted in a special channel on the chat server called “bear-vs-pig” and could be accessed by users who were foreign nationals, including Russian and Ukrainian citizens.
The members of the chat server had agreed to keep the leaked documents to themselves, and did so for several months before one of the members shared them on another Discord server.
Crucial Quote
Members of the server told Washington Post that OG did not plan on the documents being leaked so widely and only intended to share it with his friends in the chat server. “I would not call OG a whistleblower in the slightest…There was no heavy Snowden-like conspiracy here like some people may believe…Any claims that he is a Russian operative or pro-Russian is categorically false,” the teenage chat room user said.
Key Background
The federal government and intelligence officials have confirmed the authenticity of the leaked documents, but have warned some information may have been altered or even be outdated. These documents, some of which have “top secret” markings, began circulating on various social media platforms including Discord, Telegram, 4chan and Twitter. After only being shared on the “Thug Shaker Central” server for several months, the documents were shared by one of the forum’s users on another server belonging to U.K.-based YouTuber “wow_mao” in February. This would eventually spread to other Discord servers and finally other platforms like Telegram, which is frequented by both Russian and Ukrainian users. The leaked documents included detailed assessments of the war in Ukraine, including concerns about the current state of the Ukrainian military and the massive casualties suffered by the Russian side. In addition to details about the Ukraine war, the leaks also include sensitive briefings about various foreign powers, including Canada, China, Israel, South Korea and others.
Tangent
Discord is an instant messaging and voice chat platform that is popular with gamers. While initially used for voice chats during online multiplayer games, the platform saw a surge in use during the pandemic, as it allowed users from around the world to create and join chat servers based on specific interests. Amidst its growing popularity among younger users, the platform has seen its fair share of controversies, including its popularity among white supremacists and its use in sharing exploitative content. Unlike other popular online forums like Reddit, access to a Discord server requires an invite link and sometimes even approval from a server’s moderator. The platform, however, has recently cracked down on content deemed as spam, hateful or illegal. In a statement to the press Wednesday, the company said it was “cooperating with law enforcement,” in the document leaks case.
Further Reading
Leaker of U.S. secret documents worked on military base, friend says (Washington Post)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/04/13/intel-documents-leaker-told-friends-on-discord-they-worked-on-a-military-base-report-says/