Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
    • Reason TV
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • Free Media
    • The Reason Interview
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • Freed Up
    • The Soho Forum Debates
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Log In

Create new account

Policy

Rest of PRISM PowerPoint Slides Being Kept Under Wraps

There's more info than what has been published

Reason Staff | 6.10.2013 6:20 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

What's in Edward Snowden's 41-slide PowerPoint deck that's so hot that nobody dare publish it?

Now that Snowden has revealed himself to the world as the NSA whistleblower, details about his interaction with the press are surfacing. And at the center of the drama is a still mostly-unpublished 41-slide presentation, classified top secret, that Snowden gave to the Washington Post and the Guardian to expose the NSA's internet spying operation "PRISM".

Only five slides from the presentation have been published. The other 36 remain a mystery. Both the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald and the Post's Barton Gellman have made it clear that the rest of the PowerPoint is dynamite stuff … which we're not going to be seeing any time soon. "If you saw all the slides you wouldn't publish them," wrote Gellman on Twitter, adding in a second tweet: "I know a few absolutists, but most people would want to defer judgment if they didn't know the full contents."

Even Greenwald, who urged me rather strongly in 2010 to publish Bradley Manning's personal chats, is taking a more conservative view of the NSA's PowerPoint. "I'm not going to discuss our legal advice with you," Greenwald wrote on Twitter, "but we're not publishing NSA tech methods."

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Battlestar Galactica Actress Tweets About Gun Safety, Loses Half Her Twitter Followers: UPDATED

Reason Staff
PolicySurveillanceScience & TechnologyCivil LibertiesNSAMediaPrivacySecrecy
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (1)

Latest

Pamela Colloff on America's Biggest Jailhouse Snitch, Wrongful Convictions, and Criminal Justice

Billy Binion | From the November 2026 issue

Police Destroyed Their Homes and Businesses. The Supreme Court Won't Say Who Should Pay.

Billy Binion | 10.25.2026 7:00 AM

Vinay Prasad on Anthony Fauci, COVID-19 Restrictions, and RFK Jr.

Zach Weissmueller | From the November 2026 issue

Iowa Voters Don't Want Police or Flock Tracking Their Cars. Politicians Are Still Catching Up.

Davide Mamone | 10.24.2026 8:00 AM

Trump Wants To Force Data Centers To 'Make Their Own Electricity.' Deregulation Would Work Better.

Josh Pauzé | 10.23.2026 5:30 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS Add Reason to Google

© 2026 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Reason

The All-Argentina Issue is Here

New from Reason: a look into what Javier Milei has accomplished and what it will take to make the most of Argentina’s window for real change. Out now for subscribers.

Subscribe & Start Reading Learn More