The Wire - June 26, 2024

//The Wire//2000Z June 26, 2024//
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//BLUF: TENSIONS REMAIN HIGH REGARDING POTENTIAL INVASION OF LEBANON. SCOTUS ISSUES CONTROVERSIAL RULING ON FREE SPEECH. WIKILEAKS CONTENT ON RUSSIA HOAX DELETED.//
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-International Events-
Middle East: Growing tensions continue regarding the potential Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Several nations have so far recommended their citizens leave Lebanon or at minimum to be aware of the potential for crisis due to the increased risk of a widening conflict. This morning, both Germany and the Netherlands have issued updated guidance regarding the severity of the situation in Lebanon. AC: Most statements have either encouraged a preemptive evacuation, or have contained varying statements affirming the severity of the situation on the ground, along with the logistical challenges that will occur should large-scale evacuations be needed at a later time.
-HomeFront-
USA: Several archives of files have been deleted from the main Wikileaks website following a possible mandate related to the plea deal accepted by Julian Assange. AC: So far, the main archive of files deleted are related to the DNC email leak scandal, which became infamous following the Russia Collusion Hoax and the murder of Seth Rich.
Washington D.C. – The SCOTUS has ruled in favor of the White House regarding a lawsuit alleging that federal agencies had banned speech in violation of the 1st Amendment. Dissenting Justices have argued that this directly allows federal agencies to influence (or even outright ban) speech, and in effect degrades the 1st Amendment by allowing federal agencies to silence speech that they deem to be “misinformation”.
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Analyst Comments: The Wikileaks archive deletion is probably one of many line items related to various political powers cleaning house before the election, and the events that transpire afterwards. Likewise, while many may theorize that the Wikileaks deletion is linked with Assange’s plea deal, the destruction of evidence may be related to the recent Supreme Court decision earlier this morning. If this theory holds water, much more substantial data deletion is to be expected over the coming days and weeks.
Wikileaks itself is probably the most backed-up website in history, with thousands of mirrors of the content that was contained within the most contentious of archives, such as the one recently deleted. Deleting such smoking-gun documents only casts more scrutiny on such details, but this also highlights the larger issues of digital data preservation; that sometimes, particularly valuable data that does not reach the heights of importance of Wikileaks (but is still substantial evidence of criminal activity) can be deleted from the public consciousness with a keystroke.
Regarding the ruling by the SCOTUS, the full judgement (and dissenting opinions) are worth examining for one’s self, as always. However, as this judgement is taking place during one of the most significant election years in U.S. history, this move will without question grant de facto authority to a plethora of federal agencies, who have been exceptionally eager to continue information operations more openly throughout the United States. As such, the preservation of digital files, information, or otherwise politically contentious material is paramount as the technical capabilities of sharing information become targeted even more substantially as the election season continues.
Analyst: S2A1
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