Can People Get Added to Signal Chats by MAGIC?

In the age of encrypted messaging and cyberwarfare, we tend to think of breaches in terms of malware, backdoors, or foreign agents. But the strangest leak of 2025 may have involved none of those things. Instead, it might have hinged on something far older than tech: a name, a misclick, and a little bit of what feels like… magic.

The story begins with Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, suddenly finding himself in a Signal group chat filled with senior U.S. officials—including the Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Advisor—discussing real-time military strikes in Yemen. For days, he observed in silence as classified operational details flew back and forth. Not one person noticed. No alert. No flag. Just one wrong “Goldberg.”

The government called it a glitch. But here’s where the modern myth kicks in. Trump’s longtime personal attorney, Jay Goldberg, passed away in 2022. He was one of Trump’s most trusted legal fixers, known for his discretion and loyalty. He’s also the perfect name for an alias—because he can’t talk, can’t sue, and can’t contradict the narrative. If Trump used “Jay Goldberg” or “JGoldberg” as a pseudonym on Signal, and someone was told to “add Jay to the chat,” then Signal’s autofill could’ve made the wrong match… and summoned a journalist instead.

That’s not hacking. That’s digital necromancy. That’s bureaucracy crossed with plausible deniability, wrapped in the sleek UI of an app built for activist privacy. And once the journalist was inside? Nothing stopped. The war planning continued. Not a single official questioned his presence—until it was too late.

So, can people get added to Signal chats by magic? Not real magic. But in a system running on names, shortcuts, and shadows, sometimes the ghost you summon is one keystroke away. And the consequences? Very real.