this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2025
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This right here is a perfect example of how misinformation spreads so easily, intentionally or not.
Most people simply don't pay much attention to details about things that aren't directly affecting them. Signal and insecure were the things taken away from that debacle, not that it was entirely Hegseth that fucked up.
Not that the issue boiled down to simply adding someone to a thread they shouldn't have been in, which happens all the time to people with regular text messaging. We expect that government officials should be verifying what they're doing when handling classified info. The fact it was a modified and insecure version of the app wasn't actually part of the issue. And that Hegseth fucked it up a second time didn't even register apparently.
Because it was ILLEGAL to use for official comms, not because it was insecure... It's illegal because it makes the mandatory record keeping impossible. Because it works so well.
But also because it is wrong to use a general purpose messaging app for sharing war plans. You want an environment where you can not easily pick the wrong person or chat. Where only officials are even possible to interact with.
On an app like signal you can invite the wrong person by accident (as happend) or you could accidentally pic the wrong chat and post into your family or friend chat. That should not be possible for official business of this kind.
Still, absolutely no fault of signal. Great app. Use it. Just not for official super secret government business.