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Do not fill this in! ====Edward Snowden leaks and intervention by the UK government==== In June 2013, the newspaper broke news of the secret collection of [[Verizon Communications|Verizon]] telephone records held by [[Barack Obama]]'s administration<ref name="reuters.com"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Haughney|first1=Christine|last2=Cohen|first2=Noam|date=11 June 2013|title=Guardian Makes Waves, and Is Ready for More|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/business/guardian-reaps-benefits-from-nsa-scoop.html|access-date=31 December 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111181508/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/business/guardian-reaps-benefits-from-nsa-scoop.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and subsequently revealed the existence of the [[PRISM (surveillance program)|PRISM surveillance program]] after it was leaked to the paper by former [[National Security Agency|NSA]] contractor [[Edward Snowden]].<ref name="theguardian.com"/> ''The Guardian'' said a [[DSMA-Notice]] had been sent to editors and journalists on 7 June after the first ''Guardian'' story about the Snowden documents. It said the DSMA-Notice was being used as an "attempt to censor coverage of surveillance tactics employed by intelligence agencies in the UK and US".<ref name="pg190613">{{cite news |last1=Ponsford |first1=Dominic |title=Guardian spying revelations were in breach of DA-Notice guidance |url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/guardian-spying-revelations-were-in-breach-of-da-notice-guidance/ |access-date=9 November 2021 |work=Press Gazette |date=19 June 2013 |archive-date=9 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109065555/https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/guardian-spying-revelations-were-in-breach-of-da-notice-guidance/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The newspaper was subsequently contacted by the British government's Cabinet Secretary, Sir [[Jeremy Heywood]], under instruction from Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister [[Nick Clegg]], who ordered that the hard drives containing the information be destroyed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23776063 |title=Edward Snowden files: No 10 contacted Guardian |publisher=BBC News |date=21 August 2013 |access-date=6 March 2016 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304125055/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23776063 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The Guardian''{{'s}} offices were then visited in July by agents from the UK's [[Government Communications Headquarters|GCHQ]], who supervised the destruction of the hard drives containing information acquired from Snowden.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.theage.com.au/news/world-news/rusbridger-tells-of-hard-drive-destruction-4680075.html |title=Guardian's Alan Rusbridger tells of hard drive destruction | Video |publisher=Media.theage.com.au |date=21 August 2013 |access-date=6 March 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084018/http://media.theage.com.au/news/world-news/rusbridger-tells-of-hard-drive-destruction-4680075.html |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' said it had destroyed the hard drives to avoid threatened legal action by the UK government that could have stopped it from reporting on US and British government surveillance contained in the documents.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Borger |first1=Julian |title=NSA files: why The Guardian in London destroyed hard drives of leaked files |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/20/nsa-snowden-files-drives-destroyed-london |access-date=10 August 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=20 August 2013 |language=en |archive-date=4 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204030346/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/20/nsa-snowden-files-drives-destroyed-london |url-status=live }}</ref> In June 2014, ''[[The Register]]'' reported that the information the government sought to suppress by destroying the hard drives related to the location of a "beyond top secret" internet monitoring base in [[Seeb, Oman|Seeb]], Oman, and the close involvement of [[BT Group|BT]] and [[Cable & Wireless plc|Cable & Wireless]] in intercepting internet communications.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/06/03/revealed_beyond_top_secret_british_intelligence_middleeast_internet_spy_base |title=Revealed: GCHQ's beyond top secret middle eastern internet spy base |work=The Register |first=Duncan |last=Campbell |author-link=Duncan Campbell (journalist, born 1944) |date=3 June 2014 |access-date=16 September 2017 |archive-date=25 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625063147/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/06/03/revealed_beyond_top_secret_british_intelligence_middleeast_internet_spy_base/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Julian Assange]] criticised the newspaper for not publishing the entirety of the content when it had the chance.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.twitch.tv/reddit/v/113771480|title=I am Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks β Ask Me Anything|date=10 January 2017|last=Assange|first=Julian|language=en|publisher=Reddit|minutes=68|access-date=15 January 2017|via=Twitch|archive-date=14 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114130832/https://www.twitch.tv/reddit/v/113771480|url-status=live}}</ref> Rusbridger had initially covered the Snowden documents without the government's supervision, but subsequently sought it, and established an ongoing relationship with the [[Defence minister|Defence Ministry]]. ''The Guardian'' coverage of Snowden later continued because the information had already been copied outside the United Kingdom, earning the company's US website, ''[[Guardian US|The Guardian US]],'' an [[Pulitzer Prize for Public Service|American Pulitzer Prize for Public Service]] in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2014 Pulitzer Prizes |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112112738/http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2014-International-Reporting |access-date=14 February 2023 |website=The Pulitzer Prizes |archive-date=12 January 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Rusbridger and subsequent chief editors would sit on the government's [[DSMA-Notice|DSMA-notice]] board.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aROJDwAAQBAJ&q=d-notice.+the+guardian.+snowden&pg=PA161|title=Journalism in an Age of Terror: Covering and Uncovering the Secret State|last=Lloyd|first=John|date=30 October 2016|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781786731111|pages=160β165|language=en|access-date=14 November 2020|archive-date=21 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121073109/https://books.google.com/books?id=aROJDwAAQBAJ&q=d-notice.+the+guardian.+snowden&pg=PA161|url-status=live}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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