By Abhik Sengupta: As we mark the tenth anniversary of Edward Snowden's groundbreaking revelations about the global surveillance programme conducted by the US government, new details have emerged about the involvement of a former Google employee in protecting Snowden. William Fitzgerald, who was a 27-year-old employee in Google's communication and public policy division at the time, came forward with his "small" yet significant role in safeguarding the former CIA employee. Earlier, Fitzgerald was known as a "longtime reader" in public accounts in the aftermath of Snowden's disclosures. While filmmaker Laura Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald have remained prominent figures associated with the case, Fitzgerald's involvement sheds new light on the events surrounding Snowden's revelations.
In June 2013, Snowden fled to Hong Kong from the US and met with Poitras and Greenwald to share details about the US government's secret programme and tools related to mass surveillance. Around the same time, Fitzgerald was also in Hong Kong and contacted Greenwald to offer help but "didn't yet know how." As reported by The Guardian, citing Greenwald, notes that the group viewed Fitzgerald's offer with a lot of scepticism, referring to the US government's effort to extradite Snowden to the US.
Greenwald adds, "We didn't know what the US government knew, what the CIA was doing, what the Hong Kong local authorities were doing. So when someone just appears out of nowhere like this...
The Green Party has suspended a London council candidate who shared social media posts blaming Israel for the arson attacks on Jewish volunteer ambulances in March. A repost on the social media pr...