Glenn Greenwald, the activist journalist who broke many of the stories related to the Edward Snowden National Security Agency leaks, said Sunday the U.S. news media “should really be ashamed” of its recent coverage of policies on domestic surveillance.
Appearing on CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” Greenwald said too many news outlets have parroted the talking points of Obama administration officials, who are promoting the broad renewal of laws that allow the government to amass the phone data of U.S. citizens.
“Well, American media outlets should really be ashamed of themselves, the way they do that,” Greenwald said. “I mean, supposedly, the lesson that large American media outlets learned from their role in selling the Iraq war to the public was, ‘oh, we’re not going to allow government officials to propagandize the public any longer by giving them anonymity whenever they ask for it. We’re going to make them put their names on things and therefore be held accountable.’ ”
Greenwald continued, “And yet this all turned out to be a complete scam.”
He said every national newspaper and TV news network, including CNN, “constantly” features stories wherein reporters give “anonymity to the people they’re supposedly serving as watchdogs over in order to scare the public.”
Some laws that govern NSA spying techniques, as part of the Patriot Act, expired on Monday, after the Senate failed to pass an extension.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he will open debate on a House-passed bill that modifies the NSA. The USA Freedom Act would end the government’s gathering of phone data but allow the government to search the records of phone companies. The bill is supported by President Obama.
