
New NYPD press officer co-wrote The Intercept Reality Winner story - exolymph
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/05/20/the-intercept-reality-winner-richard-esposito-nypd/
======
jgacook
Not the first sketchy thing spotted at The Intercept. Read also this excerpt
on Glenn Greenwald's spurious reporting of Michael Flynn's prosecution:
[https://www.emptywheel.net/2020/05/19/glenn-greenwalds-
inven...](https://www.emptywheel.net/2020/05/19/glenn-greenwalds-invented-
claims-in-defense-of-bill-barr-and-mike-flynn)

Old adage about incompetence and maliciousness being indistinguishable
applies, but having whistleblowers land in jail MULTIPLE times should raise
eyebrows for such a young news organization.

Wondering if The Intercept belongs in the nether world of "news" organizations
(read: thinly veiled propaganda outlets) along with InfoWars, RT, etc.

~~~
_iyig
>Wondering if The Intercept belongs in the nether world of "news"
organizations (read: thinly veiled propaganda outlets) along with InfoWars,
RT, etc.

It's worth noting that the submission is a link to The Gray Zone, which in my
view falls squarely into that category. Their founder Max Blumenthal is a
frequent contributor to Sputnik and RT. He also attended the same expenses-
paid 2015 gala in Russia, celebrating RT's 10-year anniversary, at which Jill
Stein and Mike Flynn were photographed sitting with Vladimir Putin. Flynn was
later caught lying about taking payments from the Russian government in
connection to the event:

[https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/flynn-putin-
din...](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/flynn-putin-dinner-
payment-security-clearance-photo/)

One month after attending this gala, Blumenthal founded The Gray Zone. Its
funding sources remain opaque. He also did a 180 from his earlier anti-Assad
reporting to become one of the dictator's biggest supporters:

[https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/bruce-
bawer/usef...](https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/bruce-bawer/useful-
idiot19/)

He's also published pro-state narratives for other dictators. Here's a 2019
video of Max cheerfully receiving honors from Venezuelan President Nicolás
Maduro, who has ruled that country by violence and decree since 2015:

[https://twitter.com/NicolasMaduro/status/1156588153945427970](https://twitter.com/NicolasMaduro/status/1156588153945427970)

And here's a piece that goes into detail on errors in The Gray Zone's
reporting from Latin America:

[https://medium.com/muros-invisibles/grayzone-grifters-and-
th...](https://medium.com/muros-invisibles/grayzone-grifters-and-the-cult-of-
tank-fbd9b8e0dbe2)

~~~
jgacook
Interesting - thanks for the info! It's a good personal reminder to always vet
my sources and keep reporting outlets accountable.

------
beezle
It does make you wonder if this whole time the Intercept has just been a spook
front to manage the revelations known to be coming from 'unfriendly' media.
This is all confusing and none of it any good.

~~~
AaronFriel
Even if that isn't the case, the integrity of the Intercept has been called
into question and all would-be whistleblowers would be wise to prefer
institutions that have a better record of protecting anonymous sources.

Has Greenwald or the Intercept made an official comment on how they helped the
federal government go after a whistleblower?

~~~
uoaei
Do you think it's probable that they exposed Reality Winner intentionally?

~~~
kevin_thibedeau
She exposed herself with bad OPSEC. NSA was going to find her eventually
without the tipoff from the Intercept once they published.

~~~
uoaei
Yes I know that's the case in this instance. I was doing further reading and
found a couple other informants/whistleblowers were also burned by the
Intercept, and the person who owns and founded it (Pierre Omidyar) has said
some very suspicious things about how whistleblowers ought to be treated by
the press.

------
pvg
This looks like the sort of conspiratorially-minded, innuendo-laden thing that
the same author has previously written for _The Intercept_. _The Gray Zone_
having some sort of spat with _The Intercept_ is maybe an interesting
spectator sport for those who are into that sort of thing but I think it's a
pretty lousy as an HN topic.

~~~
exolymph
"conspiratorially-minded" is not the same thing as "wrong." can't deny the
guy's sketchy career trajectory

~~~
pvg
It's not but both of these outlets are known for their motivated, advocacy-
oriented reporting. A conflict of theirs (presented by one side) is a poor
starting point for any kind of interesting discussion.

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closeparen
Is it really that weird for a PR department to hire a journalist whose former
beat is relevant to the client?

