The Intercept, along with its parent company First Look Media, recently hosted a workshop for pro-war, Google-funded organization Bellingcat in New York. The workshop, which cost $2,500 per person to attend and lasted five days, aimed to instruct participants in how to perform investigations using “open source” tools — with Bellingcat’s past, controversial investigations for use as case studies. The details of the workshop have not been made public and Bellingcat founder Elliott Higgins declined to elaborate on the workshop when pressed on social media.
The decision on the part of The Intercept is particularly troubling given that the publication has long been associated with the track records of its founding members, such as Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald, who have long been promoted as important “progressive” and “anti-war” voices in the U.S. media landscape.Bellingcat, which is essentially Elliott Higgins, is an MI6 front organization. I will no longer be linking to The Intercept, since it has now shown that its not trustworthy.
Greenwald publicly distanced himself from the decision to host the workshop, stating on Twitter that he was not involved in making that decision and that — if he had been — it was not one “that I would have made.” However, he stopped short of condemning the decision.If Greenwald is wise, he will resign from The Intercept immediately, as should others who do not support the decision. Silence not only of word but also of action is consent, and they become suspect of being CIA assets. It is hypocritical to say one thing and do another. If you don't agree, get out while you can still save your reputation as an honest broker of information.
This is actually no surprise to those that raised their eyebrows when Pierre Omidyar founded The Intercept and assurances were given that nothing like this would happen.
