Thread by @aaronjmate

I think Reality Winner should be freed, but I want to be clear about something: she isn’t a whistleblower. She didn’t expose any wrongdoing. She leaked an evidence-free document that The Intercept, in a juvenile rush to prove that it could Russiagate, blew way out of proportion.

I explain the problems with TI's reporting of the Reality Winner leak in this thread:

https://twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1011299130864435200?s=20

Here's a one-paragraph summary:

If you want to see an Intercept reporter given the opportunity to explain what the Reality Winner leak actually says, but refusing to do so (because it shows nothing of substance), watch or read my 2018 interview with The Intercept's Jim Risen: therealnews.com/what-does-the-…

If you want to know why The Intercept rushed out & overhyped Reality Winner's leak, look no further than editor Betsy "soft loose type collusion" Reed. TI reporters told NYT "they’d been pushed to rush the story to publication."

Not surprising, given Betsy's expressed views:

Another window into the prevailing editorial mindset at TI re: Russiagate: its co-founder, who is one of the few people who accurately covered the Russia story from the very start, was somehow deemed a *hindrance* to TI's ability to "credibly cover the Russia story":

BTW: Jim Risen, who is paid $305,000 to generate Russiagate fan fiction (when he feels like it), says The Intercept needs to raise $900,000. Supporting outlets that pay obscene salaries to parrot CIA propaganda is vital to saving bold, fearless journalism.

Please dig deep: