Glenn Greenwald facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Glenn Greenwald
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Greenwald in 2014
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| Born | Glenn Edward Greenwald March 6, 1967 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Journalist and author |
| Education | George Washington University (BA) New York University (JD) |
| Genre | Political and legal commentary |
| Subjects |
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| Employers | The Intercept (2014–2020) The Guardian (2012–2013) Salon (2007–2012) |
| Notable works |
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| Spouse |
David Miranda
(m. 2005; died 2023) |
| Children | 2 |
Glenn Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American journalist and author. He used to be a lawyer.
In 1996, Greenwald started his own law firm. He focused on cases about the First Amendment, which protects freedoms like speech. In 2005, he began writing online about national security. He was worried about how the government was handling civil liberties after the September 11 attacks. He also spoke out against the Iraq War.
Greenwald wrote for Salon starting in 2007. He then joined The Guardian newspaper in 2012. In 2013, he published important reports based on secret documents from Edward Snowden. These documents showed details about global surveillance programs. His work helped The Guardian win a Pulitzer Prize in 2014. He also won a George Polk Award.
In 2014, Greenwald helped start The Intercept, an online news organization. He was an editor there until 2020. After that, he began publishing his own newsletter. In 2019, through The Intercept Brasil, he shared leaked conversations about a big corruption case in Brazil. He now hosts a show called System Update on Rumble.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Greenwald was born in Queens, New York City. His family moved to Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, when he was a baby. His parents separated when he was six years old. Greenwald grew up without practicing a religion.
He went to Nova Middle School and Nova High School in Davie, Florida. When he was 17, he tried to run for a seat on the Lauderdale Lakes City Council. He tried again in 1991 but was not elected. After that, he decided to focus on law school.
Greenwald earned a degree in philosophy from George Washington University in 1990. He then got his law degree from New York University School of Law in 1994. He said that being on his college debate team helped him develop skills for his future career.
Working as a Lawyer
From 1994 to 1995, Greenwald worked in the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. In 1996, he co-founded his own law firm. He worked on cases involving U.S. constitutional law and civil rights. He often worked for free to help people.
Greenwald explained that he was committed to defending free speech for everyone. He said it was important to protect this right even for people he disagreed with. In 2005, he decided to stop practicing law full-time. He wanted to do other things that he felt could make a bigger impact, like political writing.
Journalism Career
Starting His Blog and Writing for Salon
In October 2005, Greenwald started his blog called Unclaimed Territory. He wrote about national security issues. In 2006, his blog won an award for "Best New Blog." He was known for criticizing both Republicans and Democrats.
In February 2007, Greenwald became a writer for the Salon website. His new column and blog replaced Unclaimed Territory. He often wrote about government investigations and political candidates.
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Greenwald wrote about U.S. Army Private Chelsea Manning, calling her a "whistle-blower" and a "national hero." He also criticized the conditions in which Manning was held in prison. During his time at Salon, he was called "the American left's most fearless political commentator."
Working for The Guardian
In July 2012, Greenwald joined the American part of Britain's Guardian newspaper. He wrote a weekly column and a daily blog. He said he wanted to reach new readers and be in a different environment.
Reporting on Global Surveillance
In late 2012, Greenwald was contacted by Edward Snowden. Snowden was a former contractor for the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). Snowden said he had secret documents he wanted to share. Greenwald found it difficult to use the secure communication methods Snowden suggested at first. Snowden then contacted filmmaker Laura Poitras.
Greenwald began working with Snowden in early 2013, after Poitras asked him to meet. Snowden then started giving documents to both of them. The first of Snowden's documents were published on June 5, 2013, in The Guardian. Greenwald reported on a secret court order that required Verizon to give the NSA phone data. Greenwald said Snowden's documents showed how much the government was watching people.
His work on the Snowden story helped The Guardian win the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2014. Greenwald's reporting was also shown in the documentary Citizenfour, which won an Academy Award. In the 2016 movie Snowden, actor Zachary Quinto played Greenwald.
Speaking Out
In August 2013, Greenwald spoke to the Brazilian National Congress. He said the U.S. government used fighting terrorism as an excuse to spy on other countries for business reasons. In December 2013, he told the European Parliament that many governments were not supporting Edward Snowden. He also said that the UK was a big threat to the privacy of European citizens.
Greenwald stated that the goal of the NSA and the British agency GCHQ was to remove individual privacy around the world. On October 15, 2013, Greenwald left The Guardian for a new journalism opportunity.
Starting The Intercept
eBay founder Pierre Omidyar provided money for The Intercept. Omidyar said he was worried about press freedoms. Greenwald, along with Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill, were creating a platform for independent journalism. Omidyar approached them, wanting to start his own media organization. This organization, First Look Media, launched The Intercept on February 10, 2014. Greenwald was an editor there.
In October 2020, Greenwald resigned from The Intercept. He said it was because of censorship and broken agreements. He claimed editors stopped him from reporting on certain topics. The editor-in-chief, Betsy Reed, disagreed with his claims. After leaving, Greenwald began publishing his work on his own.
New Platforms: Substack, Locals, and Rumble
After leaving The Intercept, Greenwald started publishing his articles and comments on Substack. This is an online platform where people can subscribe to newsletters. He gained many subscribers there.
In 2023, Greenwald announced he would host System Update. This is a nightly show on Rumble, a video-hosting platform. The show features Greenwald talking about political issues and interviewing guests. Guests have included academics, politicians, and journalists. Greenwald also publishes his Substack work on Locals, which is Rumble's alternative to Substack.
Reporting on Brazilian Politics
On June 9, 2019, Greenwald and other journalists from The Intercept Brasil released messages. These messages were exchanged between members of a big corruption investigation in Brazil called Operation Car Wash. The messages suggested that officials involved in the case might have acted unfairly.
The Brazilian Federal Police arrested a hacker who confessed to getting the messages. The hacker said he gave copies to Greenwald. The Intercept did not confirm their source, citing press freedom. Greenwald faced challenges because of his reporting. However, a Supreme Court justice ruled that any investigation of Greenwald related to his reporting would be illegal, protecting press freedom.
In January 2020, Greenwald faced charges related to computer hacking by Brazilian prosecutors. They claimed he was part of a group that hacked into officials' phones. Greenwald called these charges an attempt to attack a free press. Many organizations supported him. In February 2020, a federal judge dismissed the charges against Greenwald.
Books by Glenn Greenwald
Greenwald's first book, How Would a Patriot Act? Defending American Values From a President Run Amok, was published in 2006. It became a New York Times Best Seller.
His second book, A Tragic Legacy, looked at the presidency of George W. Bush. It was also a New York Times bestseller. He also wrote Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics.
His fourth and fifth books were With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful and No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State. No Place to Hide was on The New York Times Best Seller list for six weeks.
Greenwald wrote Securing Democracy: My Fight for Press Freedom and Justice in Brazil. This book, published in 2021, describes his reporting on the leaked phone calls in Brazil and the challenges he faced.
Personal Life
In 2005, Greenwald met David Miranda in Rio de Janeiro. They later married and lived in Rio de Janeiro.
In 2017, Greenwald and Miranda became legal guardians of two brothers from Brazil. They formally adopted the boys in 2018. Miranda was a congressman in Brazil. Greenwald and Miranda were friends with Marielle Franco, a Brazilian human rights advocate.
Greenwald does not practice an organized religion. He has said he believes in the "spiritual and mystical part of the world." He also practices yoga. In May 2023, Greenwald announced that Miranda had passed away after a long illness.
Awards and Recognition
Greenwald received the first Izzy Award in 2009 for his work in independent media. He also won the 2010 Online Journalism Award for his reporting on Chelsea Manning.
His reporting on the National Security Agency (NSA) earned him many awards. These include the George Polk Awards for National Security Reporting and the 2013 Online Journalism Awards. He also won the Esso Award for Excellence in Reporting in Brazil. He was the first foreigner to win this award. He also received the 2013 Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The team Greenwald led at The Guardian won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for their NSA reporting.
In 2014, Greenwald received the Geschwister-Scholl-Preis, a German literary award, for the German version of No Place to Hide. He also received the McGill Medal for Journalistic Courage from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
See also
In Spanish: Glenn Greenwald para niños
