Preview

Edward Snowden: Hero Or Hero?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
446 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Edward Snowden: Hero Or Hero?
Overall, the media sources give contradicted characteristics to the same facts from the Edward Snowden biography and his actions after decoding of the NSA files. Likewise, the supporting newspapers had several claims that portrayed him as the defender of privacy rights, because in their opinion Snowden was the smart and patriotic person who reached the high position without the good educational background. However, Snowden sacrificed everything in his life for his country without any monetary gains, as he believed in the accuracy of his actions. Thereby, the journalist named him as a whistleblower and compared him with Daniel Ellsberg, who also supported Snowden. As a result, the supporting newspaper demonstrated their support and asked to pardon for him, because Snowden was a hero for them. One the other hand, the other media sources illustrated him as a traitor who didn’t have enough education to understand the harmful consequences to nation protection from terrorism. The newspapers stated that he could double agent who worked for the other country. Also, the claims about educational background affected the legality of his actions, as the politicians said that the PRISM program was approved by the US court, and Snowden violated the nondisclosure agreement that he had with NSA. Therefore, …show more content…
These research papers debate the real motive of Snowden and advocating the result of his actions. However, on 27 November 2015, Obama administration announced the end of the NSA surveillance program by December since the US Court declared the NSA spying program unlawful. (Lorenzo, 2015). As a result, after this announcement I think the most media sources will justify the Snowden’s actions because of success in his attempt to defend the citizen’s privacy rights. Accordingly, the newspapers will mostly demonstrate him from the positive side and compare with other whistleblowers’

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unit 432

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Discuss the ethics of the program and Edward Snowden’s actions, applying one or more of the following theoretical frameworks: Kant’s categorical imperative, Mill’s utilitarianism or libertarianism, or Locke’s natural rights.…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nearly three years ago, in 2013, Edward Snowden – a former American National Security Agency (N.S.A.) contractor – leaked anywhere from a hundred to two hundred thousand classified documents, that proved the existence of massive global surveillance, including of American citizens as well as top world leaders, run by the USA with the active cooperation of many allied governments as well as telecommunication and technology companies.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout its long history, America has been tormented by a stream of its own traitors. Among those traitors many people believe that Edward Snowden and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg have been some of them. They have both done different deeds that have effected and impacted America in many different ways. Edward Snowden exposed holes in the country’s national security that could have proved disastrous in the future and should be pardoned for his crimes in light of this.…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I chose to focus my analysis on Edward Snowden and his disclosure of classified domestic surveillance documents. When the leak first came out, I was upset at the thought of my privacy being violated by the NSA. However, the feeling dissipated when I considered the protection making that sacrifice affords. The NSA, like many organizations, are sometimes faced with ethical dilemmas. Occasionally, there is no right answer. Thus, the decision made, while not ideal, is the lesser of evils. In his TED talk interview, Snowden stated, “Your rights matter because you never know when you're going to need them” (TED, 13:20). While I admit his statement did trigger the reexamination of my stance, I arrived at the same position. Perhaps, I will look back…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In recent discussions of Edward Snowden, a controversial issue has been whether or not he was wrong for leaking government information. On the one hand, some argue that he is an American hero. From this perspective, it is a good thing that he exposed the inappropriate surveillance tactics of the American government. On the other hand, however, others argue that he is a traitor. From this perspective, he betrayed his country by leaking information to other countries. In the words of President Barack Obama, “If any individual who objects to government policy can take it into their own hands to publicly disclose classified information, then we will not be able to keep our people safe, or conduct foreign policy” (Mason). In sum, then, the…

    • 1669 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Edward Snowden is a criminal, yet known as a hero. He knew the consequences if he released the private information to the public. He simply wanted to let America know what actions the government is doing today. He confirmed that the U.S. government, without having any proof of a warrant, collects phone call logs and keeps them in file. The second leak he announced was the N.S.A., who wants to track down foreign suspects, and or criminals, has the capacity to access emails from U.S. based Internet companies. Most people were in disbelief about this information because they thought they had their own freedom on the internet and taking phone calls. Others did not react to Snowden's information because they already suspected it. Either way, this issue is important to be aware about because it can let citizens know what the N.S.A is capable of doing.…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edward Snowden Argument

    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Edward Snowden was a hot topic in the news in 2013 after he released classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) to the media. This leak contained information about global surveillance performed by the United States, which involved monitoring email, tracking cell phones, and logging phone calls. Not only did this action force him into asylum overseas to avoid arrest, but it ultimately caused an uproar in the media and amongst the American public. The controversy surrounding Snowden involves the rights of the public vs. the surveillance programs performed by the U.S. While many condemn Snowden for betraying the national security of his country, many applaud him for exposing the…

    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    meow

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In May 2013, Edward Snowden, a CIA and NSA employee, risked his career and freedom to do something he felt was right; let the world know that the United States had programs such as the interception of telephone metadata, PRISM, XKeyscore, and Tempora internet surveillance programs. This was called the most significant leak in US history by some and sparked up the discussion about the balance between national security and civil liberties. The country needs to strike a balance between national security and civil liberties by sacrificing some of one to give way for more of the other.…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    NSA leaked

    • 1272 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Given the massive amount of information being released, even devoted news junkies have felt overwhelmed. Al Jazeera’s comprehensive timeline of every Snowden revelation includes short summaries along with links to the original articles, but overload is inevitable. Highlighting the key details and making sense of the revelations’ global impact is no small feat.…

    • 1272 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    domestic terrorism

    • 1144 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There is an unavoidable issue which continues inconclusive, whether Edward Snowden is a whistleblower, or a traitor. Those who support him call him a hero, a man protecting the people. Others view him as nothing but a traitor or defector. The people agree that his actions were unjust and are considered domestic terrorism on the United States. Snowden signed a contract under NSA, which he agreed to keep their secrets but he broke the contract by leaking information to the public. This was an enormous concern to political officials because that information leaked can be used by enemies of the United States.…

    • 1144 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Former C.I.A. employee Snowden leaked classified information about the National Security Agency’s programs. In other words, Snowden broke the law, and in doing so, he opened the eyes of the public to what some would perceive as an invasion of privacy. Those same people who perceived Snowden’s act of civil disobedience as an act of heroism would argue that this invasion of privacy is unjust according to the U.S. Constitution. In the event of Snowden’s civil disobedience, Snowden created distrust between Americans and the U.S. government by insinuating that the American government was unjustly infringing upon the rights of its citizens, and suggesting that there should be no circumstances in which this is legal or accepted by the American people. The reality is, however, that without organizations such as the N.S.A. there to monitor Americans from afar, the American nation would be open to millions of threats. In fact, those who view Snowden as a hero would likely view things differently if for example the safety of their nation was compromised by a secret terrorist organization within the United States which, without the efforts of the N.S.A.’s programs, had gone undetected. If this was the case, they would likely be arguing in favor of creating these programs rather than demolishing them. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that in the case of Edward Snowden’s act of civil disobedience, society was negatively impacted by…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    To ensure expressive, associational, and privacy rights are strengthened instead of being compromised by new technology is the goal of the Protecting Civil Liberties and protect the core democratic rights when corporate and government practices that rely on new technology that invades these rights. The government regularly tracks all calls of nearly every common American and spy on a large number of Americans’ international calls, text messages, and emails. Whistle blower Eric Snowden, a contractor with NSA, willfully and knowingly exposed the government’s most sensitive surveillance techniques without authorization and the most fundamental rights as individuals. The ACLU has been fighting for over 12 years to end government surveillance’s lack of oversight that allows it to invade the rights and lives of millions of Americans. When the case against mass surveillance reached the Supreme Court several years ago, was dismissed due to lack of sufficient evidence of the secret programs. Leading the way, the ACLU’s struggle to rein in the surveillance superstructure which strikes at the core of our privacy rights, freedom of speech and association will continue. ("ACLU: National…

    • 1583 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the essay “Privacy Under Attack”, the authors explains that people in today’s society are experiencing violation of their privacy by the government, the companies, and the criminals.The authors explains that criminals are not only people who would violate our privacy. They explained that the government would violate the citizens privacy for citizens’ safety by usage of surveillance cameras all over the place. The government is using these to find out about the criminal activities and to prevent crimes, as the authors explained. Furthermore, the authors explained that the companies are also violating the privacy right of the citizens through spreading of the personal information that were collected…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edward Snowden, a NSA computer professional, fueled the already strong stereotype of government being corrupt and hypocritical by revealing the government agencies’ surveillance operations on the public. The leak initiated controversy, and many debate whether Snowden was an American hero who is attempting to prevent tyranny or a traitor who is selling Russia classified information. The United States government has charged Snowden with violation of the Espionage Act, and they are attempting to apprehend him to face trial in the U.S. In reality, Snowden displays both. He held the government accountable to its hypocrisy and violation of the constitution as the government has done before in the condoning of slavery and segregation, and he took refuge in an enemy of the United States which escalated tensions and provoked possible conclusions on his true…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    All the countries establish in its political constitution and in its legislation, the duty of the government to look over the life of its citizens, protecting them from the risk: the internal threats (inside the proper country) and external (outside the country) That is why, it is admitted, and it is even required, that the government possess a structure of intelligence that resists the action of dangerous forces, however lately, it has been found that in order to get information that may be useful to protect citizens , the government itself reach private information from all its citizens as well. That is why this essay aims to point out the risks this action (spying) implies for all and aims to answer thereupon,” Why government should not spy on us.”…

    • 806 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays