Sarah Snowdon has had hundreds of strangers thank her online over the last few days. Every time she refreshes Twitter, she says, she has at least five new mentions, mostly people praising her courage and conviction.

Those strangers might want to double-check their spelling though, because theyre actually trying to thank renowned whistleblower Edward Snowden.

When Snowden joined Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, he was quickly greeted by a million followers and global media coverage. He also chose the simple handle of @snowden. Sarah Snowdon had a similar idea when she joined Twitter in 2008, taking the handle @snowdon.

Theyre saying, Im so glad @snowdon is on Twitter. Hes my hero. Some [other] people are confused, Sarah Snowdon said.

Though Edward Snowden has had a small but steady stream of negative tweets directed at him, the tweets at Sarah Snowdon have been mostly positive, she said. For now, shes just watching it happen, and not correcting anybody.

I havent responded. I think I retweeted one guys tweet because it was really funny, she said.

Its not the first time her Twitter handle has been the source of confusion, either. Shes been occasionally confused for Snowden before, but before Tuesday she was more often mistaken for Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. Snowdon the person regularly gets tagged in pictures of hikers who have made the ascent up the British landmark.

Theyre always tweeting at me, either because they think Im Edward Snowden, or they think Im Mt. Snowdon Im used to it now, she said.

The extra attention hasnt been annoying, she said, though she does hope the surge of tweets dies down after a few days.

I think its hilarious. I really respect Edward Snowden, so I think its great Im glad hes on Twitter, she said.

Edward Snowden previously considered joining Twitter on Sept. 25, in an interview with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. During the interview, Tyson suggested Snowden join the social network.

I tried to find you on Twitter. Whats your handle? Tyson asked.

I dont actually have one yet, he responded.

You need a Twitter handle. @snowden maybe? Tyson suggested.

Link:
Edward Snowden fans mistweet Toronto woman | Toronto Star

Edward Snowden supporter and Twitter comedian Jon Hendren went on HLNto talk about Snowden's decision to join Twitter and ended up talking about Edward Scissorhands.

In the beginning of the interview Hendren spoke about Snowden being a hero, but soon switched to a conversation about Edward Scissorhands.

"To cast him out, to make him invalid in society, simply because he has scissors for hands," said Hendren with a straight face, "I mean thats strange."

HLNanchorYasmin Vossoughiandidn't object toHendren or appear to notice what he was doing. Hendren continued, "People didnt get scared until he started sculpting shrubs into dinosaur shapes and whatnot."

Vossoughianwent on to ask Hendren about Snowden seeking asylum in Russia. Hendren said that casting him out is wrong. "Were treating him like an animal, like somebody who should be quarantined and put away. Just because he was created on top of a mountain by Vincent Price, incomplete with scissors for hands and no heart, uh, Edward Scissorhands is a complete hero to me."

Still not responding, Vossoughianpressed Hendren to talk about Snowden's decision to go to Russia, a place known for abusing human rights.

"I mean, where else is he going to go? You know?" said Hendren. "We cast him out. We got scared when he poked a hole in a waterbed with his scissor finger, and that was just unreasonable of us."

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Twitter Comedian Pranks HLN, Talks About Edward Scissorhands ...

Edward Snowden has joined Twitter. 7 tweets and 855K followers later, he has given the world the perfect thing to talk about. The account he follows: The National Security Agency.

Forbes

We all know why this ex-CIA employee became America's favourite traitor. After blowing the whistle on the NSA - wherein he revealed classified surveillance programs - he has since been in asylum, currently in Russia.

For some he's a hero, for others he's a patriot and many other consider him a traitor. He has been interviewed via video links several times already, and he continues to do so from an undisclosed location.

But now, his glorious arrival on Twitter puts him in direct contact with the public, and his first tweet is a perfect celebration of it:

And within half-an hour of this tweet, Twitterverse exploded. While some welcomed him, others bombarded him with questions like:

Snowden's response couldn't be better:

Not even God himself could resist the urge to welcome Snowden aboard:

But the one account that he follows has caught everyone's fancy. As per the Intercept, the handle @Snowden was discussed for three years before its ownership was officially handed to the whistleblower.

Snowden's Twitter bio reads: "I used to work for the government. Now I work for the public"

If you haven't already followed him, do it now! Trust us, Snowden's one handle you wouldn't want to miss!

Follow this link:
Whistleblower Edward Snowden Joins Twitter, Follows The One ...

Perhaps nobody on the planet knows more about intelligence protocol than Edward Snowden. If Snowden says it's "completely ridiculous" to believe that Clinton's emails were safe, then yes, it's fair to include his viewpoint in any critique of Hillary Clinton's latest controversy. In addition, since I believe Senator Bernie Sanders is desperately needed at this point in U.S. history, and electing Clinton or a Republican would essentially be nominating the same president on war and foreign policy, it's important to address relevant analysis of the email controversy.

There seems to be a bizarre paradigm of thought among some Democrats that prevents any scandal associated with Hillary Clinton from being a part of debate or discussion. When Anthony Weiner questioned the legitimacy of Sanders running as a Democrat, or when Senator Claire McCaskill attacked Bernie for being "too liberal" and "extreme," ironically there was never any uproar or indignation among those who claim to support unity among progressives.

Just recently, a pro-Clinton super PAC tried to link controversial statements made by Hugo Chavez to Bernie Sanders. Also, let's not bring up Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign against Barack Obama. If you don't think Clinton's 3 AM ad in 2008 contained a "racist sub-message," then read the analysis of a Harvard sociologist and remember the viewpoint ("black people are incensed over all of this") of South Carolina's James Clyburn.

Therefore, since we know that some Clinton supporters have no qualms about comparing Bernie Sanders to a Fox News socialist or even linking him to Hugo Chavez, let's simply address reality while others genuinely "go negative." The reality is that other intelligence experts have come to the same conclusion as Snowden.

However, even before the email issue, it's important to note why Sanders will defeat Clinton even without a breakthrough from the FBI or CIA.

One look at the Huffpost Pollster interactive chart shows why Sanders will win the Democratic nomination and the presidency. This election will be about polling trajectory and nothing else, when it comes to analyzing public opinion. Without billionaire donors and simply with a grass roots effort, Bernie Sanders has gone from 4% support on January 12, 2015 to 27.5% on September 27, 2015. No, Sanders doesn't need to go negative on anyone. Stating the obvious, however, isn't negative. If Bernie Sanders can get to 7 points within Clinton, without an official statement from the FBI about Clinton's emails being a threat to national security, then imagine if Snowden is correct.

What if Edward Snowden is correct to believe that it's "completely ridiculous" to think Clinton's emails were safe? If this is true, then it's feasible to foresee a breakthrough in the FBI investigation. Yes, it's logical to assume that national security was jeopardized if Snowden and others feel Clinton was reckless with her intelligence protocol. We're then looking at a Bernie Sanders landslide victory in the Democratic primaries.

Edward Snowden isn't part of a GOP conspiracy and has no incentive other than to illustrate a relevant viewpoint, when he addressed Clinton's private emails and server. I have no incentive to write this piece other than to highlight a key distinction between two Democratic candidates. Also, I am voting only for Senator Bernie Sanders and nobody else.

In addition, the person weighing in on this topic is more than just an expert on intelligence and national security issues. First, Snowden is a whistleblower who fostered a national discussion about domestic spying. His actions weren't treason, resulted in "needed transparency" and we've had a national debate about civil liberties and the Bill of Rights because of his actions. Furthermore, if Clinton can store classified and "Top Secret" emails (whether or not many were retroactively classified is irrelevant, there were also "born classified" emails) and the FBI owns the server of a presidential candidate, then as I've advocated, bring Snowden home.

Yes, Bernie Sanders will win the presidency because of his bold message and policies, but since Clinton's PAC's and supporters will inevitably fabricate a narrative about Sanders, the least any writer can do is simply state the facts. A POLITICO article titled Snowden: No way Hillary's private server was secure highlights why the Democratic Party should be concerned about Hillary Clinton in a general election:

Edward Snowden blasted Hillary Clinton's assertion that her State Department emails were secure on a private server, calling the notion "completely ridiculous" in excerpts of an interview with Al Jazeera English published Thursday.

"When the unclassified systems of the United States government, which has a full-time information security staff regularly gets hacked, the idea that someone keeping a private server in the renovated bathroom of a server farm in Colorado, is more secure is completely ridiculous," Snowden said, referring to the physical location of the server hosted by Denver-based Platte River Networks.

Simply claiming something is legal doesn't make it right, and Snowden goes on to say that if anyone acted like Clinton, "they would not only lose their jobs and lose their clearance, they would very likely face prosecution for it."

In my analysis of 2016, I've tried my best to make relevant distinctions between Sanders and Clinton. In my recent appearances on Ring of Fire and The Benjamin Dixon Show, I highlight why Clinton had essentially been a Republican on issues ranging from war and foreign policy to gay marriage, Keystone XL, the TPP, and other topics. As for my views on foreign policy, I've also appeared on Ring of Fire to discuss my thoughts on Dick Cheney and Jeb Bush.

With Snowden's commentary of Hillary Clinton's email practices, however, my opinions on politics take a backseat to the potential of a president who can't type an email without a nationwide scandal. You might think Hillary Clinton would make a fine president, but you can't say Edward Snowden doesn't know anything about intelligence protocol.

Another article in The Hill titled Snowden: Clinton's email server 'a problem', highlights Snowden's belief of why Clinton failed to keep intelligence secure:

"This is a problem because anyone who has the clearances that the secretary of State has, or the director of any top level agency has, knows how classified information should be handled," he said, according to excerpts of an Al Jazeera interviewairing Friday.

"If an ordinary worker at the State Department or the Central Intelligence Agency ... were sending details about the security of the embassies, which is alleged to be in her email, meetings with private government officials, foreign government officials and the statements that were made to them in confidence over unclassified email systems, they would not only lose their jobs and lose their clearance, they would very likely face prosecution for it," he added.

Therefore, Clinton's email server, at least according to one of the top experts on the planet pertaining to intelligence protocol, is "a problem." It's also an issues because unlike the excuse of "convenience," top officials know exactly how "classified information should be handled."

As for Snowden's comments, don't think Democratic superdelegates and party officials aren't worried about the email issue. A New York Times article titled Hillary Clinton's Handling of Email Issue Frustrates Democratic Leaders explains why the DNC is already worried:

Democratic leaders are increasingly frustrated by Hillary Rodham Clinton's failure to put to rest questions about her State Department email practices...

Interviews with more than 75 Democratic governors, lawmakers, candidates and party members have laid bare a widespread bewilderment that Mrs. Clinton has allowed a cloud to settle over her candidacy -- by using a private email server in the first place, since it was likely to raise questions about her judgment, and by not defusing those questions once and for all when the issue first emerged in March.

To simply say that nobody is concerned about this ignores the reality that leaders within the Democratic Party know that deleted emails could doom a general election.

Not everything is "Benghazi." Hillary Clinton is competing against Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination and a genuine distinction should be made, not just on issues, but on character. If you feel that Clinton's stances on war, foreign policy, and gay marriage warrant the presidency, then you might be a "Facebook liberal." As for me, I'm voting for Bernie Sanders. He doesn't need a Clinton scandal to win the Democratic nomination, but he will win the nomination in a landslide of Edward Snowden is correct.

Read this article:
If Edward Snowden Is Right About Clinton's Emails, Bernie ...

Hours after the man who achieved international notice for leaking thousands of National Security Agency documents joined Twitter, Republican presidential candidate and former New York Gov. George Pataki called on the social network to revoke Snowden's account.

"Twitter is a great American company that should not give a platform to terrorists or traitors -- @Jack shutdown @Snowden today," the former New York governor tweeted at Twitter cofounder and CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey.

Pataki also called Snowden "a traitor who put Americans at risk, hides in Russia and belongs behind bars."

Pataki's comments caught the attention of Glenn Greenwald, one of the journalists who received and published reports based on the leaked documents. Greenwald mocked Pataki, tweeting, "Hi, I'm running for President. My support in all polls is an asterisk. And I'm here to say who should and shouldn't be allowed on Twitter."

For his part, Dorsey welcomed Snowden to Twitter.

As of this writing Snowden has over 680,000 followers on Twitter.

Read more here:
George Pataki calls for Twitter to ban Edward Snowden ...

Edward Snowden, the fugitive who exposed the mass-surveillance practices at the National Security Agency, is now on Twitter, and he already has more followers on the social network than the NSA.

His account, which has been verified by Twitter as authentic, isn't hard to find: It's @Snowden. His attorney, Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union, confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that Snowden himself controls the account.

Snowden gained almost 300,000 followers in less than two hours after he tweeted his first message Tuesday morning. Soon after, he posted a cheeky swipe at his former employer, the NSA, whose account only has 76,000 followers. (The NSA is also the only Twitter account that Snowden follows.)

See the most-read stories this hour >>

The NSA did not immediately respond to The Times request for comment about Snowden, a former contractor for the agency who has been granted asylum in Russia to avoid espionage and theft charges in the U.S. related to his 2013 leaks. But Twitter's interim chief executive, Jack Dorsey, responded to Snowdens first tweet:

Dorsey's welcome is not an outlier. Although Snowden is officially a wanted man in the eyes of the U.S. Justice Department, his voice has been repeatedly amplified by America's most esteemed mass-media institutions.

After the Guardian and the Washington Post published a series of stories about NSA's surveillance practices based on Snowden's disclosures, judges awarded both outlets Pulitzer prizes.

After documentarian Laura Poitras created a film about Snowden's leaks, "Citizenfour," the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave her an Oscar for best documentary. Snowden's story will also be featured in a major Hollywood movie, "Snowden," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and directed by Oliver Stone.

Twitter, one of Silicon Valley's most popular social-media companies, accommodated Snowden's wish to join Twitter by clearing out an old account that had claimed the @Snowden handle but had not tweeted for three years, according to The Intercept.

A Twitter spokesman did not immediately respond to an interview request from The Times seeking more information about the company's decision to give Snowden the blue "verified" checkmark given to public figures and celebrities.

NEWSLETTER:Get the day's top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

Twitter's policies forbid users from using the service "for any unlawful purposes or in furtherance of illegal activities," which implies the company believes that Snowden using its service while avoiding prosecution doesn't constitute a crime. (U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning also has a verified Twitter account, which is reportedly remotely operated by supporters who relay Manning's messages from prison.)

Snowden himself noted that the government would likely be interested in his presence on Twitter with an allusion to Ft. Meade, Md., the home of the NSA.

Snowden's choice to join Twitter was also notable for security reasons, given that he has shown how the NSA's broad collection of Americans' personal information was made possible by cooperation with the tech and communications companies that often hold that information.

Twitter's terms of service note that the company may collect a user's "IP address, browser type, operating system, the referring web page, pages visited, location, your mobile carrier, device information (including device and application IDs), search terms, and cookie information."

In a recent interview with Fusion, Snowden noted that he was worried about joining social-media services for security reasons.

"Exploit codes [could be embedded] into the transactions Im receiving from a legitimate service and compromise the security of my devices. Ive been working for a long time on improving that and creating set-ups that are more robust and survivable when you do get owned," Snowden told Fusion, adding: "How do you limit the damage? How do you recover in the wake of a compromise? Ive made a lot of strides in that and am looking forward to, hopefully, participating [on social networks] in a more open and active manner in the near future."

One of the tipping points appears to be a recent interview that Snowden conducted with celebrity astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

"I tried to find you on Twitter, and I couldn't find your handle ... you kind of need a Twitter handle, so like, @Snowden, maybe, is this something you might do?" Tyson asked Snowden.

"That sounds good, I think we gotta make it happen," Snowden replied, laughing. "You and I will be Twitter buds ... your followers will be the Internet, me and the NSA, it'll be great."

And sure enough, one of Snowden's first tweets was directed at Tyson, with a nod toward the recent discovery of water on Mars.

Follow @MattDPearce for national news

ALSO:

NSA leaker Edward Snowden seeks return to U.S., on his terms

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'Citizenfour' on Edward Snowden records a gripping moment in history

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Edward Snowden joins Twitter, immediately gets more followers ...

"Can you hear me now?" Snowden tweeted at noon ET, 7 pm Moscow time.

Snowden's Twitter profile bears the blue check mark, meaning Twitter has verified that Snowden is the true owner of the account.

Snowden agreeing to join Twitter was particularly notable because of the warnings he has given about how much the government can learn about individuals from their private and online communications.

Snowden is following only one account - @NSAgov.

"I used to work for the government. Now I work for the public," Snowden's profile reads.

His occupation: Director at Freedom of the Press Foundation, a non-profit "dedicated to helping support and defend public-interest journalism focused on exposing mismanagement, corruption, and law-breaking in government."

Snowden has lived in Russia, where he has been granted asylum, since leaking classified NSA documents to reporters in 2013.

In a second tweet, Snowden noted that water was discovered on Mars and wondered if they check passports at the border. "Asking for a friend," he joked.

Within 45 minutes of his first tweet, Snowden amassed more than 110,000 followers, and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey had written a personal welcome: "Yes!" Dorsey tweeted. "Welcome to Twitter."

Snowden, a hero to some, a traitor to others, was hired by NSA contractor Booz Allen Hamilton in 2013. Shortly thereafter he leaked thousands of classified NSA documents to the journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Evan MacAskill, which were published in The Guardian and The Washington Post.

Snowden fled to Hong Kong and then Moscow, where he stayed for one month before being granted asylum.

Related: Is online privacy a lost cause?

Related: John Oliver lands Edward Snowden interview from Russia

CNNMoney (New York) September 29, 2015: 12:57 PM ET

Excerpt from:
NSA leaker Edward Snowden joins Twitter - Sep. 29, 2015

Given that your technology-challenged uncle managed to finally figure out Twitter last year, the long delay before the abrupt arrival of mad genius/anti-totalitarian savior/ enigma Edward Snowden on the social media platform on Tuesday is a bit of a head scratcher. And given what Snowden managed to do the last time around, a lot of us are wondering, Whats he doing here, now, suddenly? And, most acutely, What does this guy have in mind this time?

Describing himself in his profile asI used to work for the government. Now I work for the public, Snowden announced himself with an inaugural Can you hear me now? (Its a reference, as some picked up, to an old Verizon commercial.)

So far, Snowden has only followed the National Security Agency, a group hes been acquainted with in the past and whose Twitter following he quickly outstripped. (Snowden also made a joke about a thousand people at Fort Meade just opened Twitter.) Jesse Ventura, the show Mr. Robot, the ACLU, and TED guru Chris Anderson have all welcomed him.

As for the question of why now, some speculate that the science geek in Snowden was jolted by the news of water on Mars and wants to follow it better. One of the tipping points appears to be a recent interview that Snowden conducted with celebrity astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Matt Pearce writes in the Los Angeles Times. Pearce quotes from the radio interview:

I tried to find you on Twitter, and I couldnt find your handle you kind of need a Twitter handle, so like, @Snowden, maybe, is this something you might do? Tyson asked Snowden.

That sounds good, I think we gotta make it happen, Snowden replied, laughing. You and I will be Twitter buds your followers will be the Internet, me and the NSA, itll be great.

Snowden tweeted to Tyson when the Mars news broke:

But, on second thought, they could have probably just exchanged emails or something.

The more important question is what Snowden is up to. Maybe he just got lonely in Russia and wanted to send out photos of what he eats at restaurants. (He made a joking reference to cat photos.)

For a guy who once set the world on fire,Snowden has kept a pretty low profile lately. Hes talked about not wanting to be one of the many whistleblowers destroyed by the system they try to take down. Despite the intense focus and risk and egoism that his work required, he has not been relentless or ubiquitous since his 2013 revelations about widespread NSA spying on civilians.

For me, in terms of personal satisfaction, the missions already accomplished, he told the Washington Posts Barton Gellman, near the end of 2013. I already won. As soon as the journalists were able to work, everything that I had been trying to do was validated. Because, remember, I didnt want to change society. I wanted to give society a chance to determine if it should change itself.

Hes not a hero to everyone: Some, and not just patriotic wack-jobs, consider him a traitor or a reckless egomaniac. The New Yorkers Jeffrey Toobin described him as willfully nave about what the NSA, which once employed him, does for a living, calling Snowden a grandiose narcissist who deserves to be in prison.

Whats the role for Snowden these days? We no longer need to be woken up to the fact that the United States security apparatus has become scary and invasive, and journalists on the left, right, and center have begun to pay attention.

But maybe we can take him at his word: That as the director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, a group co-founded by Daniel Ellsberg, hed dedicated to support and defend public interest journalism focused on exposing mismanagement, corruption and law-breaking in government.Government surveillance is likely no better than it was when Snowdens famous leaks broke.

At the very least, Snowden can keep a steady supply of Stupid Government Tricks coming. With Jon Stewart (and David Letterman) offstage now, maybe Edward Snowden is the guy who can keep us simultaneously amused and terrified?

Here is the original post:
Edward @Snowden, Twitter celebrity: How will he use his ...

The exiled whistleblower signed up for Twitter today, using @snowden.

Twitter turned the three-years-dormant userid over to Snowden, who is operating his own account (which has only one entry to it, to date: "Can you hear me now?").

The signup was prompted by Snowden's Snowden's interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson:

You kind of need a Twitter handle. So like @Snowden, maybe? Is this something you might do? Tyson asked.

That sounds good, I think weve got to make it it happen, Snowden replied.

You and I will be Twitter buddies, Snowden told Tyson. Your followers will be: the Internet, me, and the NSA.

Edward Snowden Is On Twitter: @Snowden [Dan Froomkin/The Intercept]

Update: He's following the NSA

James writes, A blend of fact and fiction, players take on the role of an NSA agent tracking down the source of the leaks. Theyll discover the journalists involved, and the real messages sent by Snowden to them at the time.

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Edward Snowden is now @snowden / Boing Boing

Edward Snowden joined Twitter on Tuesday and immediately amassed tens of thousands of followers, so far with just one tweet announcing his arrival on the social media platform, and another responding to astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Tyson encouraged Snowden to start a Twitter account in part two of a long interview on Tysons Star Talk program that came out Friday, in which the two discussed data collection, privacy, the internet, and U.S. agencies like the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

You kind of need a Twitter handle. So like @Snowden, maybe? Is this something you might do? Tyson asked.

You and I will be Twitter buddies, Snowden told him. Your followers will be: the Internet, me, and the NSA.

The Twitter account lists Snowden as the director at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, an organization that promotes transparency and exposure of government mismanagement, corruption and law-breaking. This represents a new public role for Snowden, who stayed largely quiet in the months after the NSA leaks, and has been giving intermittent interviews since. The fact that the only account Snowden follows is the NSA, and that his background image is a collection of newspaper headlines about bulk phone data collection being ruled illegal, shows this may be a combative side of Snowden the public has not seen much of.

Snowden became famous over two years ago when he left his job contracting for the NSA and took a large number of top secret documents with him, which he provided to journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras. Greenwald, Poitras, and others extensively reported from the documents, revealing an unprecedented network of electronic surveillance that shocked the nation and the world.

Snowdens revelations included the mass collection of metadata from phone calls, government backdoors installed in software by some of Silicon Valleys biggest companies, and mass recording of phone calls made to foreign countries. His leaks resulted in a wave of anger against government spying around the world, as well as the USA Freedom Act, intended to reform the NSA.

The leaks accomplished this all without causing any documented harm to Americans in the military or intelligence. Snowden even says he tried to raise concerns with the NSA before resorting to whistleblowing. But several Republicans and Democrats clamored from the beginning for Snowden to be tried for treason, which would potentially result in his execution if found guilty.

Snowden currently has asylum in Russia. He intended to fly to Latin America before the U.S. revoked his passport and stranded him, charging him with three felonies, two of which are under the Espionage Act, a World War I-era law used to prosecute pacifists for publishing newspapers and giving speeches.

Read more:
Edward Snowden Joins Twitter, Trolls The NSA | ThinkProgress