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Twitter Leaked Obama's Visit To Afghanistan

Posted by samzenpus on from the was-that-a-secret? dept.

hypnosec writes "When you're the President of the United States, sometimes certain activities you're involved in can be hard to keep secret — and yesterday was no exception, after Twitter let it slip that Obama was secretly in Kabul. On Tuesday, the White House released a fabricated itinerary — consisting of all-day meetings in the Oval Office to cover up the fact that Obama was secretly flying to Afghanistan. Whilst only a few US journalists were aware of this event, by mid-morning, a lot more people were suddenly in on the revelation courtesy of Twitter. The first tweet to let the virtual cat out of the bag was Afghanistan news site TOLOnews which reported: 'United States President Barack Obama has arrived in Kabul to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai.'"

5 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. headline incorrect by Klync · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I love to hate on twitter as much as the next slashdotter, but the summary makes it clear that the headline is incorrect and misleading, possibly to the point of damaging Twitter's reputation. What you *meant* to say was:

    Afghanistan news site TOLOnews Leaked Obama's Visit To Afghanistan (via Twitter)

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    Not to be confused with Col.
    1. Re:headline incorrect by icebike · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is still a bit concerning. If the media saw AF1 land, that's one thing. If the media got wind of the POTUS arriving from the current Afghan Administration or Intelligence agencies, they have some leaks that need fixing and US Security and Intel should take note.

      As for Twitter? Their role here was the non-story. Sorry.

      Look, Airforce One is hardly a stealth aircraft, especially when trailed by a constantly refueled squadron of Airforce / Navy fighters.

      There is no route to Afghanistan that does not cross some other country's air space, and you can bet that not every single air traffic controller between here and Kabul keeps his mouth shut all the time. The miracle is that Obama could get from the Whitehouse to the airport with no one leaking that info on twitter.

      In this world, expectations of surprise visits are all to be taken with a wink and an nod. Even when the press in in a feeding frenzy over the Secret Service's bimbo in Colombia, this visit was well known in the US Press.

      Its amazing that Twitter didn't break the news first. (It probably did, but nobody noticed).

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    2. Re:headline incorrect by petersam · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm not even sure that "leaked" is the correct word to use. He was in Afghanistan. It's hard to hide Air Force One, the motorcade, etc. They were reporting the news, i.e. what they're expected to do.

  2. Twitter is a communication medium by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Substitute another (imagine "Telephone leaked Obama's Visit to Afghanistan") to see how truly silly your headline is.

  3. Memes by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 5, Funny

    More like TROLOLOLONews, amirite?

    (crickets)

    Ah, the hell with ya.

    Anyway, it wasn't leaked until he was on the ground in Kabul? Is that so bad?