Chat App Discord at Center of Investigations Concerning Pentagon Document Leaks
Logo of popular chatting app ‘Discord’ where First Class Airman Jack Teixeira leaked classified US intelligence. Photo: Dado Ruvic | Reuters
The popular chatting app Discord is in the midst of investigations concerning the leak of classified US intelligence by 21year-old First Class Airman Jack Teixeria. The leaked intelligence includes sensitive information concerning the Russia-Ukraine war, material revealing the US spied on foreign allies, and information obtained from penetration into Russian government communications. Teixeira leaked the documents in a private Discord group. The use of Discord to spread the information calls attention to concerns about social media’s ability to impact national security. The FBI arrested Teixeira on Thursday.
Discord launched in 2015 as a chatting platform for video game fans. It is organized in ‘servers,’ where users can create a public or private invite-only online community based on their interests. Since its inception, the app has gained 150 million users and has 19 million active servers on any given week.
Discord has been involved in criminal investigations in the past. The perpetrators of shootings in Highland Park, Illinois and Buffalo, New York, each detailed their plans for the crimes on Discord servers. Discord denounced the harmful use of their platform at the time and cooperated with law enforcement during the investigations.
The app’s latest legal controversy comes from Teixeira’s use of it to leak Pentagon documents, an action that will potentially impact US national security. As a computer systems technician, First Class Airman Teixeira assisted analysts in organizing classified Pentagon reports and passed a background check required for top-secret clearance.
Outside of work, Teixeira belonged to a private Discord server with about a dozen members that discussed various topics, including the Ukraine war. Intending to ‘educate and impress,’ Teixeira sent paragraphs of information from classified documents and added his thoughts to the content in late 2022. In January, he began posting photos of classified documents. In early March, a user spread the documents to a larger group, where at least ten files got distributed to a large Minecraft-themed Discord server.
The photographs of documents Teixeira sent appeared creased and folded, and several bore a ‘top secret’ label, putting them at the peak level of classification. Some documents appeared doctored, and some were labeled NOFORN, meaning they could not get shared with foreign intelligence agencies.
The files Teixeira leaked contained details about Ukraine’s forces and military equipment and classified information on the US government’s contributions to Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Other files reported information about leaders of Israel’s spy service Mossad and discussions from the South Korean government about artillery sales to Ukraine, revealing the US has spied on foreign allies. The incident likely will not affect US-South Korean relations, as both countries agreed several documents appeared fabricated. The US assured their allies that they were committed to safeguarding sensitive material.
US Airman Jack Teixeira was arrested Thursday for leaking classified US intelligence. Photo: WCVB| AP
The leaks blindsided the Biden administration. Biden instructed officials to determine why the Airman had access to so many classified documents in the first place. The administration is communicating with allies to alleviate concern and preserve trust in US intelligence. The administration also directed military and intelligence agencies to increase the security of classified information.
Discord released a statement about the situation that outlined the complexity of the situation and explained the challenges of policing what Teixeira posted, given their current terms of service. Discord reinforced their willingness to cooperate with law enforcement as investigations are ongoing.
The leak of this classified information could negatively affect Ukraine’s counteroffensive efforts against Russia this Spring. Among allies, it could also undermine trust in US intelligence agencies. The situation highlights concern and distrust in mobile apps regarding national security. It reveals the ease at which an individual can spread classified information to a large number of people in a short time.
Currently, the US cannot legally monitor private online chat rooms. Former General Counsel of the National Security Agency Glenn Gerstell emphasized that the US does not want a government that monitors private internet chat rooms. Discord stressed in their statement that only US officials could identify if a document is classified intelligence or not; thus, US intelligence agencies will have to work with Discord to prevent future widespread leaks.