Glenn Greenwald

Glenn Greenwald is an American journalist, author, and attorney best known for his role in publishing the Edward Snowden disclosures — revealing the massive scope of global surveillance programs run by the NSA and its allies.

A constitutional lawyer by training, Greenwald began blogging on national security issues in 2005, driven by concerns over civil liberties during the George W. Bush administration. He joined Salon as a contributing writer in 2007 and moved to The Guardian in 2012.

In June 2013, Greenwald began publishing a series of reports based on classified documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. The revelations exposed global surveillance programs including PRISM, the collection of phone metadata on millions of Americans, and the tapping of fiber-optic cables. His work contributed to The Guardian winning the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. He also won the George Polk Award for National Security Reporting alongside Ewen MacAskill and Laura Poitras.

The story was chronicled in Laura Poitras’ Oscar-winning documentary “Citizenfour,” in which Greenwald appears as a central figure.

In 2014, Greenwald co-founded The Intercept, a digital publication dedicated to adversarial journalism, where he edited until his resignation in October 2020.

Greenwald has also written several New York Times bestselling books, including “No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State” (2014) and “With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful” (2011). His 2021 book “No Secrets: The Never-Ending U.S. Surveillance State” continued his examination of government secrecy and accountability.

Known for his fierce independence and willingness to challenge both political establishments, Greenwald’s reporting has reshaped public understanding of surveillance, government secrecy, and press freedom.