Edward Snowden and journalist Laura Poitras awarded truth-telling prize

The 2014 Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling was awarded Monday to Edward Snowden and Laura Poitras. The award, named for the Vietnam veteran who helped uncover the My Lai Massacre and later became an investigative journalist, is the latest honor bestowed upon the reporting efforts related to the Snowden files.

Snowden, a former intelligence contractor and whistleblower, was awarded the prize based on his actions in exposing the extent of the National Security Agencys warrantless surveillance.

Edward Snowden.

In early 2013, Snowden released a trove of top-secret US government documents to Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald, which revealed that the US government has established phone and Internet dragnets to sweep up data en masse. The leak has sparked global debate about government surveillance ever since.

Poitras, a filmmaker and journalist, was awarded for her work in helping Snowden disclose the documents related to such government surveillance efforts.A celebrated documentary filmmaker and investigative reporter prior to her contact with Snowden, Poitras was the first to establish encrypted contact with Snowden. Her efforts ultimately led to the exposure of the NSAs vast warrantless surveillance operation.

Laura Poitras.

Congress and the American public continue to debate how best to characterize Snowden, who is believed to be residing in Russia and faces criminal prosecution in the United States.

In addition to these most recent accolades, there has been widespread praise of the reporting work related to the Snowden disclosures.In February, four reporters working on Snowden disclosuresPoitras, Greenwald, Ewen MacAskill, and Barton Gellmanreceived the Polk Award for National Security Reporting. The Guardian, for which Greenwald and MacAskill have written, was named newspaper of the year at the British Press Awards for its national security reporting. The Pulitzer Prizeswill be announced on April 14.

In deciding on these two recipients, the awards committee explained:

We have selected Edward Snowden and Laura Poitras for their work in exposing the NSAs illegal and unconstitutional bulk collection of the communications of millions of people living in the United States. Their act of courage was undertaken at great personal risk and has sparked a critical and transformative debate about mass surveillance in a country where privacy is considered a constitutionally protected right.

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Edward Snowden and journalist Laura Poitras awarded truth-telling prize