It’s being described as the most severe intelligence leak in years.
Dozens of pages of classified material are spreading online after being initially posted on a gaming platform. U.S. officials are investigating the origin of the leaks and the impact of information meant to be secret about the war in Ukraine, Russian forces and even U.S. spying on American allies. Source: PBS Lessons.
Classified documents containing sensitive U.S. intelligence have been leaked online, which appears to be the most serious spillage of U.S. intelligence in years. The documents appear to contain information on everything from military operations to diplomatic communications. The U.S. national security agencies and the Justice Department are scrambling to determine the source, scale, and sensitivity of this leak. The leak was originally posted on a gaming platform.
Read this article in the Guardian; US intelligence leak: what do we know about ‘top secret’ documents? And answer these questions:
- What is the leak about?
- What kind of documents were leaked?
- What is the significance of the leak?
- How did the leak happen?
- What is the US Department of Defense’s response to the leak?
- What are some of the details revealed in the leaked documents?
- How does this leak compare to other recent leaks?
Watch the youtube clip and answer these questions:
FIVE FACTS
- What is in the leaked documents described in this story?
- When and Where were the documents first leaked publicly, as far as is known?
- How have the documents revealed the U.S. has c
- Why are the leaks damaging to the U.S., according to officials?
- Who might be responsible for the leak, according to this story?
FOCUS QUESTIONS
How might this leak affect the U.S. relationship with other countries, such as Ukraine?
Media Literacy: Why do you think the producers of this segment chose not to reveal all the content of the slides they reviewed? What interest does it serve to keep those slides secret even though the slides have already been publicly leaked?
Alternative: See, Think, Wonder: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What story would you want to find out more about? Where would you go to learn more?
FOR MORE
What students can do: Dig deeper into what is known about the leak. After watching both videos, discuss — what does the U.S. government still not know about the leak? Why are these unknown details important?
Essay questions
- What are the implications of this leak for US national security?
- What measures can be taken to prevent future leaks of classified information?