CNN interview with author of discredited Sunday Times story on Snowden is painful to watch

If you haven’t seen it, you owe it to yourself to watch this video. It’s CNN’s George Howell interviewing Sunday Times buffoon Tom Harper about his now-discredited report that said the governments of Russia and China have decrypted files leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

As Cory wrote earlier on Boing Boing about this “reporter” from the Rupert Murdoch-owned rag,

Tom Harper wrote the ridiculous cover story in the Sunday Times in which anonymous government sources claimed that the Russians and Chinese had somehow gained the power to decrypt copies of the files Edward Snowden took from the NSA, depite the fact that these files were never in Russia and despite the fact that the UK government claims that when criminals use crypto on their communications, the state is powerless to decrypt them.

In the CNN interview, Harper literally repeats the “the official position of the British government,” over and over. This is possibly the best bad interview ever of all time.

CNN/Howell: “So essentially you’re reporting what the government is saying, but as far as evidence to substantiate it, you’re not really able to explain that at this point?”

Sunday Times/Harper: “No.”

Got it.

And don’t forget, The Sunday Times has threatened copyright action against The Intercept for reproducing a screenshot of the paper with Harper’s story on it, in an article pointing out the paper’s silliness.

This screengrab of a Sunday Times cover, published by The Intercept, is the subject of copyright threats issued to The Intercept by the Sunday Times.

Previously: “‘Reporter’ who wrote ridiculous story about Snowden leaks in China admits he was just acting as a government stenographer.”
“Sunday Times sends copyright threat to The Intercept over critical article”