Pentagon leaks: Behind the veil of Discord platform where US secrets were exposed
The leaking of US intelligence documents which has exposed highly classified information about the war in Ukraine reportedly began on a gaming platform.
The documents that have left the Pentagon scrambling for answers were shared on a range of social media sites and are believed to have originated from a private group on Discord. Members claim they were never meant to be made public.
Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the US Air National Guard, was arrested over the leaks.
But what is Discord, who are its users and does it have links to the far-right?
Just another gaming app?
Discord started in 2015 as an online hangout for gamers and a social tool. It grew during the COVID pandemic as a forum for its mostly 18 to 24-year-old users to gossip or even help each other with homework.
Players can create or join “servers” both public and private, where people can meet and hang out, chatting via text, video, or voice.
Private “invite only” servers can also be created. Each server can be broken down into channels for specific topics.
More than 150 million people visit Discord every month, according to co-founder and chief executive Jason Citron.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Moment suspect in US documents leaks was arrested
The company hosts 21,000 servers – the vast majority of which are dedicated to gaming with others focused on topics like entertainment and music.
Who uses Discord?
Psychologist and director of the International Gaming Research Unit, Mark Griffiths, says Discord initially started with discussions about gaming strategy but has since evolved.
“Gamers, particularly young, male gamers might go online to find an audience that may actually listen to them. The people on these groups – their core identity is gaming – because of the amount of time they spend on it,” he said.
Discord is most popular with men aged 18-24.
Around 38% of its web users and nearly half of its Android app users are from Generation Z and they are roughly 75% male, according digital intelligence platform, Similarweb.
Read more:
Who is Jack Teixeira?
What do the documents say and how did they get out?
It is a “completely anonymous” and “very male platform,” said human behaviour technologist and psychotherapist Catherine Knipps.
She said: “You easily can make up a random username and make a false identity. As humans, we’re always looking for connection.”
She adds that a sense of belonging is “so important” and “people will adopt new personalities online for the sake of fitting in with their communities”.
Jack Teixeira has been arrested over the Pentagon leaks
Who is the ‘OG’ and what’s Thug Shaker Central?
Some of the leaks are believed to have started on Discord.
Roughly two dozen users in a reportedly private chat group called Thug Shaker Central talked about their favourite guns and shared memes and jokes – some of which were racist. The group also discussed wars including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Teixeira, who went by the handle, OG, reportedly drew admiration from the group’s mostly young members. He was identified by the New York Times as the leading figure in the chat group.
‘Documents were never meant to leave the group’
In interviews with the paper, members of the group said it started out as a place where young men would gather to talk about their love of guns and play war-themed video games.
They claimed the secret documents they discussed were meant to be purely informative and were never meant to leave the group.
They also said they saw Teixeira as the group’s unofficial leader, claiming he wanted to teach younger members about the realities of war.
Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts
But the documents gained more attention after one of the members posted them on a public forum.
In a company statement, Discord said it is cooperating with law enforcement and “as this remains an active investigation, we cannot provide further comment at this time”.
How were the documents leaked and where did they go?
According to the New York Times, Teixeira began posting original documents from October to March, with a member of the group claiming the airman posted around 350 documents.
The paper reports that on 2 March, a member of the private group known as “Lucca” was involved in a conversation about the Ukraine war in a public Discord group where he published several dozen documents.
On 5 April, according to investigative website Bellingcat, the documents started circulating through pro-Russian Telegram channels and on 4chan.
Connection with the far-right?
This is not the first time Discord has been embroiled in controversy.
In 2017, white supremacists used the platform to plan the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville where a counter protester was killed.
Following the rally, Discord closed a number of accounts associated with the events in Charlottesville and said it would “continue to take action” against white supremacy and all forms of hate.
Then in May 2022, a white teenager posted racist memes and recorded his thoughts on Discord before shooting 10 people dead at a grocery store in Buffalo.
The details, kept on a private group, included months of racist, anti-semitic entries along with step-by-step descriptions of the teenager’s assault plans. Discord said 15 users would have had access to entries before the attack. There was no evidence anyone saw them before then.
The platform said it removed the details and banned the teeanger’s account as soon as it became aware of them. The company said it also took steps to prevent content related to the attack from spreading.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.
In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Pic: AP
Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.
“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.
“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”
Sexual assault claims
Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
‘An incredible champion’
Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.
“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.
“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.
“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.
“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.
Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.
She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.
‘A survivor’
After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.
She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.
“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Pope’s funeral, Vatican sources have told Sky News.
The US and Ukrainian presidents had a “very productive discussion”, according to a White House Official, and have also agreed to hold further talks after the service.
They are among world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who are attending the funeral of Pope Francis.
Follow live updates: Zelenskyy among world leaders joining thousands of mourners
There was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square when the Ukrainian leader walked out.
The former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.
Trump and Zelenskyy meet for first time since Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine, and is their first face-to-face meeting after a very public row between the presidents at the White House in February.
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, in a post on X.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
US
Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine are ‘very close to a deal’ – and says ‘two sides should now meet’
Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal” with “most of the major points agreed” – as he called for the two sides to meet.
Shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, the US president said high-level officials should now meet to “finish [the deal] off”.
“A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’.
“Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Ukraine-Russia peace talks explained
Throughout the week, the US president has criticised both Ukraine and Russia for failing to agree to a peace deal.
On Wednesday, he accused Mr Zelenskyy of harming talks on Truth Social, saying “the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE”.
A day later, after nine people were killed in Kyiv after a Russian missile and drone strike, Mr Trump said: “Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”
The president and other officials have also threatened to withdraw from negotiations if no progress is made toward a deal.
It comes after Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Putin-Witkoff meeting
The talks allowed Russia and the United States to “further bring their positions closer together” on “a number of international issues”, a Kremlin aide said.
Speaking earlier on the flight to Italy, Mr Trump said he hadn’t been fully briefed on Mr Witkoff and Mr Putin’s meeting – but added it was a “pretty good meeting”.
Read more:
US and Russia talks moving in ‘right direction’, top diplomat says
A ‘barbaric’ 24 hours in a ‘horrendous’ war
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Ukraine has repeatedly said it would not accept a deal conceding land or handing over sovereignty to Russia.
However, Mr Trump said in an interview with TIME magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” describing the region as a place where Moscow has “had their submarines” and “the people speak largely Russian”.
“Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” he added. “It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”
When asked on Friday about Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Zelenskyy did not want to comment but repeated that recognising occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway