Edward Snowden, the former contractor for the United States National Security Agency who leaked classified information and was accused of espionage, had a eventful day on the X social media app on May 2. During this time, he expressed his strong disapproval towards various individuals, ranging from the current governor of South Dakota to the world’s richest person.
Snowden, a well-known whistleblower who sought asylum in Russia until 2022 when he was granted full citizenship, has gained significant media attention following his whistleblowing incident. He has attained celebrity status, particularly within technology-based communities, and is recognized for his outspokenness on matters pertaining to freedom and privacy.
Elon Musk, another prominent figure in the technology industry known for his vocal opinions on freedom-related issues, found himself on the receiving end of Snowden’s criticism during his tirade on May 2. Musk had posted a poll questioning whether individuals who replace the American flag with another flag should be deported to the respective country. In response, Snowden delivered a lesson on freedom of expression, emphasizing the constitutional protection afforded to Americans and raising a hypothetical scenario involving the substitution of the United States flag with the McDonald’s logo.
Snowden also took to X to issue a final warning regarding Bitcoin. He expressed his long-standing concern that privacy should be integrated into the protocol level of the cryptocurrency, and emphasized the urgency of addressing this issue. The warning came following the news of the shutdown of Wasabi Wallet developer zkSNACKs, although the specific nature of Snowden’s warning remains unclear. Nonetheless, Snowden has been a vocal advocate of cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin, for an extended period of time.
Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota became the target of Snowden’s pointed commentary after his remarks on free speech and Bitcoin. Noem faced significant backlash across social and traditional media after excerpts from her upcoming book revealed that she had shot a 14-month-old puppy. Noem defended her actions as legal and even claimed that the puppy was untrainable and posed a danger. It was these comments that triggered Snowden’s comparison between excessive force in law enforcement and Noem’s policies regarding farm animals. In his post, Snowden referred to Noem as a “puppy-killer” and sarcastically alluded to the potential justification of the shooting by the police union, suggesting that the puppy posed a threat to Noem’s life.