Reuters falsely suggested that Russia may have been behind the Pentagon documents leak after obtaining information from three unnamed U.S. officials.
A trove of classified material containing highly sensitive information on the war in Ukraine began circulating widely on social media in late March, prompting the Pentagon and Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the cause of the leak. The outlet published an April 7 report with the headline, “Russia likely behind U.S. military document leak, U.S. officials say,” in which it cited three unnamed officials who blamed the leak on either pro-Russian elements or the Kremlin itself.
The officials told Reuters of their suspicions due to the documents appearing to alter the number of Russian casualties, according to the article.
Another L for anonymous U.S. officials.
This from six days ago. https://t.co/vPi5MtSrAI
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) April 13, 2023
Kinda big yikes for Reuters here now https://t.co/Jcg7C4yNgx pic.twitter.com/DVtxL2FkoN
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) April 13, 2023
On Thursday, the FBI arrested 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, who serves in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, for the leak. Teixeira reportedly oversaw a private server on the Discord messaging platform, which consisted of young males in their late teens, 20s and 30s, where he posted the documents under the name “OG.” (RELATED: Kirby Warns Journalists Not To Report On Leaked Pentagon Papers)
The Independent published an article with a similar headline — “Russia likely behind classified Pentagon documents leak, US officials say.” The story cited Reuters’ reporting of the few officials who believed Russia was behind the leak.
The outlet received backlash on social media for publishing the false assertion.
“Russia or pro-Russian elements are likely behind the leak of several classified U.S. military documents posted on social media… three U.S. officials told Reuters.” — one week ago,” journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote.
“Russia or pro-Russian elements are likely behind the leak of several classified U.S. military documents posted on social media… three U.S. officials told Reuters.” — one week ago.
Corporate media outlets print what the CIA tells them to say regardless of truth: https://t.co/rTqMrKLJHS
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 14, 2023
Another day, another Russia hoax from the state propaganda media. @Reuters https://t.co/5vuNpM5Ymk
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) April 14, 2023
It was pretty apparent Russia wasn’t behind the leaks when the only thing doctored was the casualty estimates and even then it was a pretty crappy attempt. https://t.co/tAgSuw1t4r https://t.co/coho99xWm7
— Elias Atienza (@AtienzaElias) April 13, 2023
Things that didn’t age well for $500:
“Russia or pro-Russian elements are likely behind the leak of several classified U.S. military documents posted on social media that offer a partial snapshot of the war in Ukraine, three U.S. officials told Reuters.” https://t.co/EvJy5mxhZ4
— Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) April 14, 2023
The documents specifically detailed the weaknesses in Ukrainian air defense networks, NATO’s plans to rebuild Ukraine’s military and the position of Ukrainian troops, CNN reported.
