Snowden Says NSA Targets Journalists Critical of Government

Snowden Says NSA Targets Journalists Critical of Government

During the interview, Snowden said that Laura is one of “the few who reported fearlessly on controversial topics throughout this period, even in the face of withering personal criticism.”

“After 9/11, many of the most important news outlets in America abdicated their role as a check to power — the journalistic responsibility to challenge the excesses of government — for fear of being seen as unpatriotic and punished in the market during a period of heightened nationalism,” he said. “From a business perspective, this was the obvious strategy,” he continued. “But what benefitted the institutions ended up costing the public dearly. The major outlets are still only beginning to recover from this cold period. Laura and Glenn are among the few who reported fearlessly on controversial topics.”

Snowden contends that in doing so, Poitras became “targeted by the very programs involved in the recent disclosures.”

According to Snowden, the agency tracked her e-mails and placed her on countless travel watch lists, causing her to have to repeatedly undergo airport interrogations.