Trump officials accidentally added The Atlantic's EIC to a Signal group chat about the US' Houthi war plans; Signal is not approved for sharing classified info

U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn't think it could be real.

The Atlantic 2025-03-25 Jeffrey Goldberg

Discussion

The Daddy Complex The Daddy Complex on x
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
@jacklondonbluesky Jack London on bluesky
Stupid of US regime to use Signal for conversations about military action - even if they'd not included a journalist in the group — Signal encryption is no defence against Israeli Pegasus phone hacking software - sold to multiple regimes — www.theguardian.com/us-news/ 2025...
@matthewdgreen Matthew Green on bluesky
I looked away from the Internet for five minutes only to find that the Secretary of Defense is sending classified war plans via Signal. www.theatlantic.com/politics/ arc...
@aricohn.com Ari Cohn on bluesky
As ever (well particularly now I guess), the greatest assurance we have that government will not be able to pull off/get away with its worst designs is its utter incompetence. — It's seemingly far worse than the headline indicates. — www.theatlantic.com/politics/ arc...
@ronfilipkowski Ron Filipkowski on bluesky
The fact that a reporter was inadvertently given access to this in real time shows that Pete Hegseth & the rest of this crew are bumbling incompetents who are going to get a lot of intelligence officials and others killed at some point. www.theatlantic.com/politics/ arc... [imag…
@neguse.house.gov Rep. Joe Neguse on bluesky
If you read one article today, make it this one. — Total incompetence, yet again. And putting our national security at great risk.
@evangreer Evan Greer on bluesky
no amount of strong encryption will protect you from drunk-dialing The Atlantic while planning war crimes [embedded post]
@davidallengreen Dag on bluesky
“The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.” — ~ All the President's Men — www.theatlantic.com/politics/ arc...
@noupside Renee DiResta on bluesky
Must-read. First, for the insights into administration dynamics. — Second, because we all know that legal records aren't being properly kept, and this makes it very clear. Ordinary people get threatened and penalized over this. “Leaders” will not be. [embedded post]
@bgrueskin Bill Grueskin on bluesky
“I had strong doubts that this text group was real, because I could not believe that the national-security leadership of the United States would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans.” — Gift link to this jawdropping @jeffreygoldberg.bsky.social story ⤵️ …
@SeanCasten@mastodon.social Sean Casten on mastodon
I cannot stress this enough - so many of the people in the Trump WH, including Trump himself would NEVER pass even the most rudimentary background checks. They have access to intel only because the Senate Republicans confirmed their incompetencies. https://www.theatlantic.com/ .…
@nwbrownboi @nwbrownboi on threads
I have constantly posted here about how Signal is an incredible app and very private and encrypted. While I stand by that, I must add the caveat that if you add the editor in chief of The Atlantic to your group chat, privacy is not guaranteed.
@yasharali @yasharali on threads
It's worth noting that most of the senior officials on that Signal group chat have SCIFs (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities) installed in their homes—SCIFs that are installed and maintained by the U.S. government. This includes Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, Waltz, CIA …
@ginnyhogan_ Ginny Hogan on threads
The Atlantic piece itself was a little dry. I wish they'd accidentally added a Buzzfeed editor. I would have much preferred to read “15 Emojis Senior Trump Officials Used to Celebrate Bombing Yemen that Only 90's Kids Will Understand”
@jbillinson Josh Billinson on threads
We finally may have a political Signal mishap funnier than when Bill De Blasio accidentally sent the “Bill de Blasio is on Signal!” message to every single reporter he had ever given his number to.
@jbillinson Josh Billinson on threads
the senior administration official juggling multiple text threads on what to do about the group chat leak has the chance to do the funniest thing possible
@nwbrownboi @nwbrownboi on threads
you know the Apple Intelligence summaries of Signal messages in the White House group chat must go crazy
@hillaryclinton Hillary Clinton on x
👀 You have got to be kidding me. https://www.theatlantic.com/ ... [image]
@thegrugq Thaddeus E. Grugq on x
Signal's encryption is irrelevant to the discussion. The real problem with sharing Top Secret data over Signal is not the security of the app, it's the security of the phone. And mobile phones are not secure against state level threat actors.
@moxie Moxie Marlinspike on x
There are so many great reasons to be on Signal. Now including the opportunity for the vice president of the United States of America to randomly add you to a group chat for coordination of sensitive military operations. Don't sleep on this opportunity...
@jeffjarvis @jeffjarvis on x
Next you hear news organizations complain about being read by AI, remember this: There can be only one original and authoritative version of the Yemen Signal story: Goldberg's. Every other news outlet rewrote it. [image]
@atrupar Aaron Rupar on x
Trump on his cabinet members using Signal to text war plans to a reporter: “I don't know anything about it. I'm not a big fan of The Atlantic. To be it's a magazine that's going out of business. But I know nothing about it. You're saying that they had what?” [video]
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
Best place to hide a dead body is page 2 of The Atlantic magazine, because no one ever goes there
@jayinkyiv @jayinkyiv on x
Trump admin priorities laid bare in leaked Signal group chat. 1. Hatred for Europe 2. Protect Saudi interests 3. Extort Europe This administration is Putin's ultimate fantasy. [image]
@jimmysecuk Jimmy Rushton on x
“Actually, inadvertently leaking Top Secret U.S. military battle plans to a reporter just shows how smart we are...”
@micsolana Mike Solana on x
the good news is signal actually is secure provided you don't invite the editor-in-chief of the atlantic to your group chat
@jpodhoretz John Podhoretz on x
I feel about Signal the way I feel about bluesky—the last thing I need is another way to text.
@kaitlancollins Kaitlan Collins on x
Asked about the explosive report in The Atlantic, President Trump says he hasn't heard about it until now. “I don't know anything about it. I'm not a big fan of The Atlantic. To me, it's a magazine that's going out of business...You're telling me about it for the first time.”
@yashar Yashar Ali on x
BREAKING Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was accidentally included in a Signal group chat with top Trump administration officials, where top-secret war plans related to Yemen were shared. Full Story: https://www.theatlantic.com/ ... [image]
@hissgoescobra John Jackson on x
If you listen to nothing else today, listen to this. @mccaffreyr3 explains we must assume Signal had been penetrated by foreign intelligence services, that everyone on that chat knew it was wrong, and the risks imposed on our soldiers by this egregious arrogance. [video]
@shashj Shashank Joshi on x
Waltz and Hegseth are very lucky that this info ended up in the hands of a responsible journalist who redacted sensitive information and reported the newsworthy elements in careful fashion. That was not a surefire thing.
@jengriffinfnc Jennifer Griffin on x
NSC statement: “At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain. The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing
@peterbakernyt Peter Baker on x
The must-read of the week (recognizing it's only Monday): What happens when the president's national security team accidentally includes a journalist on a theoretically highly secret group chat about an upcoming military operation. @JeffreyGoldberg https://www.theatlantic.com/ ..…
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
not sure that most folks really understand how many of the world's most powerful people are just riffing about insanely consequential stuff in group chats both in the public and private sector
@kristincbrown Kristin Brown on x
NEW: Defense Secretary Hegseth tells pooler @ellee_watson that “nobody was texting any war plans” and calls @JeffreyGoldberg a “deceitful and highly-discredited so-called journalist who's made a profession of peddling hoaxes” - as the fallout from the Atlantic article continues […
@jasjwright Jasmine Wright on x
Jeff Goldberg better than me tho bc I would have stayed on that chain until Jan 2029
@yashar Yashar Ali on x
President Trump, when asked about the Atlantic story in which The Atlantic's editor-in-chief was accidentally included in a Signal group chat with his top officials discussing Yemen war plans, said he knows nothing about it... [video
@matthew_d_green @matthew_d_green on x
You should use Signal. Seriously. There are other encrypted messaging apps out there, but I don't have as much faith in their longevity. In particular I have major concerns about the sustainability of for-profit apps in our new “AI” world.
@jengriffinfnc Jennifer Griffin on x
The Trump administration does not deny this Signal group chat about the war planning for the Yemen strikes is real. Trump's top national security advisers added reporter @JeffreyGoldberg @TheAtlantic to the war planning text chain on non-government social media app, perhaps
@shelbytalcott Shelby Talcott on x
“I don't know anything about it, I'm not a big fan of The Atlantic...you're saying that they had what?” Trump says when asked about military plans being discussed over Signal, and the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic being inadvertently added to those discussions. “You're
@georgewept George Wept on x
I get that the folks at the Atlantic hate Trump but it seems to me that publishing this kind of information makes you look like you hate America. Ask yourself, if it was Biden's guys, would you have done this?
@jpodhoretz John Podhoretz on x
I think we can realistically assume all national security communications are compromised, now and forever, and that basically we're living on borrowed time. See you in the next life. This is only 10 percent joking.
@nathanjrobinson Nathan J Robinson on x
what's funny to me about this story is that The Atlantic is so obviously a core part of the pro-war propaganda apparatus that someone thought of adding the editor in chief to a Pentagon group chat. He thinks this makes Trump admin look bad, I think it makes Atlantic look bad too.…
@atrupar Aaron Rupar on x
just think if Jeffrey Goldberg didn't voluntarily leave that group chat. they never would've figured out he was in there.
@nycjim Jim Roberts on x
A normal president would be ripsh*t over the utterly dangerous buffoonery demonstrated by Hegseth, Vance, Waltz and others. Trump will find away to excuse it ... or complain about “fake news.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@grimkim Kim Kelly on x
imagine being given a secret front row seat to the inner workings of an authoritarian regime led by the worst people alive and then hurriedly removing yourself because it's not “appropriate”
@hadas_gold Hadas Gold on x
“I would think that there are probably worse people that you could text your secret plans to but it appears that Goldberg has acted responsibly here in writing this article and while he outs a lot of the process of what happened he did not specifically publish the war plans...” […
@loudmouthjulia Julia Alexander on x
Somewhere, someone at Meta saw “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans” followed by the word “Signal” and let out the most earth shattering sigh of relief it wasn't WhatsApp.
@ronfilipkowski Ron Filipkowski on x
The fact that a reporter was inadvertently given access to this in real time shows that Pete Hegseth & the rest of this crew are bumbling incompetents who are going to get a lot of intelligence officials and others killed at some point. https://www.theatlantic.com/ ... [image]
@jimmysecuk Jimmy Rushton on x
Hey Tulsi, I have a line on an “unauthorized release of classified information” you might be interested in. My DMs are open. Or, you know, just hit me up on Signal.
@rakeshsfnyc Rakesh Agrawal on x
Clippy: “it looks like you are about to send national security information to a journalist. Continue?”
@matthew_d_green @matthew_d_green on x
Signal was designed to be a consumer-grade messaging app. It's really, really good for that purpose. And obviously “excellent consumer grade” has a lot of intersection with military-grade cryptography just because that's how the world works. But it is being asked to do a lot!
@benjysarlin Benjy Sarlin on x
[image]
@cryptadamist @cryptadamist on x
when i read about Trump's war team accidentally adding a reporter to their private group chat i think of this sentence from a 1933 cable to FDR from berlin: “The majority are woefully ignorant and unprepared for the tasks which they have to carry through every day.”
@shashj Shashank Joshi on x
Absolutely incredible. The Trump admin accidentally adds the editor of the Atlantic to a Signal group. Then Pete Hegseth sends him details of the US strikes on Yemen hours ahead of time incl. “precise information about weapons packages, targets & timing” https://www.theatlantic.c…
@asteadwh @asteadwh on x
Curious decision to voluntarily leave the chat imo. Deserves more explanation. Obviously a good story but leave feeling like what we learned feels small compared to what we could've. https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
@presssec Karoline Leavitt on x
Jeffrey Goldberg is well-known for his sensationalist spin. Here are the facts about his latest story: 1. No “war plans” were discussed. 2. No classified material was sent to the thread. 3. The White House Counsel's Office has provided guidance on a number of different
@dodresponse @dodresponse on x
. @SecDef response to the @TheAtlantic article.... “You're talking about a deceitful and highly discredited “so-called journalist” [video]
@cbhessick Carissa Byrne Hessick on x
It seems clear to me that when government officials use Signal, WhatsApp, private servers etc to communicate about government business, they are doing so in order to avoid transparency laws. That should be a scandal even if a reporter isn't accidentally added to the group chat.
@ianbremmer Ian Bremmer on x
oddly, war plans leak has been most discussed news story on twitter/x all day.
@mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x
These revelations will crush Trump with his original base of email protocol adherence fanatics https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
@kenklippenstein Ken Klippenstein on x
If it was safe enough to discuss in text, it's safe enough to publish. Really disgraceful how cowardly the Atlantic's refusal to publish the message here is [image]
@dieworkwear Derek Guy on x
me reading national security secrets bc i've been accidentally added to a group chat [image]
@sree Sree Sreenivasan on x
Thank you, @JeffreyGoldberg, for not waiting for a book deal to reveal this. 🙏
@matthew_d_green @matthew_d_green on x
I have too many reasons to worry about this but that's not really the point. The thing I'm worried about is that, as the only encrypted messenger people seem to *really* trust, Signal is going to end up being a target for too many people.
@osinttechnical @osinttechnical on x
This is possibly the most insane national security story in the last 50 years. Includes a massive text chain between senior members of the Trump admin gaming out foreign policy and war plans on Signal, and they accidentally added a reporter to the group chat. [image]
@brianstelter Brian Stelter on x
>> @JeffreyGoldberg “knew two hours before the first bombs exploded that the attack might be coming. The reason I knew this is that Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, had texted me the war plan at 11:44 a.m.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
@itsmattslaw Matt Margolis on x
dance like no one is watching text like the editor of the Atlantic was accidentally added to the group chat and is reading everything
@richardhanania Richard Hanania on x
Trump administration confirms the Atlantic story, within the story itself, MAGAtards still don't believe it. [image]
@davidfrum David Frum on x
It's an ironic PS to the amazing @JeffreyGoldberg story that the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic is more responsible with US national security information than any of the principals of the Trump national-security team. https://www.theatlantic.com/ ... [image]
@danlamothe Dan Lamothe on x
White House press secretary doubles down on denial. She notably does *not* deny that sensitive details of a then-forthcoming military operation were shared over Signal. She does deny that classified information was. Many people who handle this info find that hard to believe.
@billybinion Billy Binion on x
And here we have Trump's national security adviser who added The Atlantic's editor to a group chat about dropping bombs in Yemen. Absolutely beyond parody.
@mikenelson586 Mike Nelson on x
Lurking in the chat like [image]
@bing_chris Chris Bing on x
Exploit vendors holding signal vulnerabilities: [image]
@speechboy71 Michael A. Cohen on x
Pretty insane that Mike Waltz put 18 national security officials in a group chat to discuss war plans ... and not one of them said “should we be doing this on Signal?”
@maxwelltani Max Tani on x
people are rightfully upset about this atlantic story because it gets at a truly alarming issue: being added to large, ongoing group texts without consent [image]
@stacycay Stacy on x
Me and the homies planning d-day in our signal group chat [image]
@castellimatt Matt Castelli on x
Former CIA officer here. This is more than “loose lips sink ships”, this is a criminally negligent breach of classified information and war planning involving VP, SecDef, DCIA, National Security Advisor - all putting troops at risk. America is not safe. [image]
@ericgeller Eric Geller on x
Trump's Cabinet used a Signal group chat for Yemen war planning discussions that included classified information, and we only know about it because they accidentally added the EIC of The Atlantic. Mind-bogglingly bonkers story with serious implications. https://www.theatlantic.co…
@steved3 Steve Ragan on x
When you get invited to the NatSec group chat.... [image]
@danlamothe Dan Lamothe on x
Noting for the record that it appears: 1) @JeffreyGoldberg did *NOT* publish any classified plans despite likely receiving them 2) Did *NOT* publish anything at a time that it would have compromised an operation. Noting clearly now, before partisan takes roll in
@atrupar Aaron Rupar on x
You cannot make this shit up. Sharing this jaw-dropping story with a gift link — give it a read. https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
@schneider_cm Christian Schneider on x
New phone, Houthis
@kenklippenstein Ken Klippenstein on x
Vice President texting the group, “chat are we cooked”
@jamessurowiecki James Surowiecki on x
One obvious reason why Trump's advisers might choose to talk on Signal would be if they do not want their conversations permanently recorded and archived, as is required by federal law.
@markwarner Mark Warner on x
Pete Hegseth's morning routine just dropped. [image]
@shaneharris Shane Harris on x
In 25 years of covering national security, I've never seen a story like this: Senior Trump officials discussed planning for the U.S. attack on the Houthis in a Signal group—and inadvertently added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
r/politics r on reddit
White House inadvertently texted top-secret Yemen war plans to journalist
r/neoliberal r on reddit
Trump Officials in Signal Fiasco Attended Secret Mar-a-Lago Dinner Shortly After Celebrating Bombing
r/50501 r on reddit
The Atlantic Story Blows Hillary's Emails Out of the Water. Impeachment.
r/SanDiegan r on reddit
“We can't chalk this up to a simple mistake — people should be fired for this,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), another Armed Services Committee member.
r/mildlyinfuriating r on reddit
White House inadvertently texted top-secret Yemen war plans to journalist | Trump administration
r/50501 r on reddit
THIS IS WORSE THAN HILLARY'S EMAILS WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE FROM MAGA
r/centrist r on reddit
Congress erupts over Trump admin's Signal leak: “Heads should roll”
r/Longreads r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
r/inthenews r on reddit
Congress erupts over Trump administration's Signal leak: “Heads should roll”
r/FoxFiction r on reddit
Congress erupts over Trump admin Signal leak: “Heads should roll”
r/50501 r on reddit
Congo erupts over Trump admin Signal leak: " oh look they finally hit a button 😞
r/USMC r on reddit
Someone needs to remediate their OpSec training.
r/politics r on reddit
Congress erupts over Trump admin Signal leak: “Heads should roll”
r/conspiracy r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
r/WeTheFifth r on reddit
“I, however, knew two hours before the first bombs exploded that the attack might be coming. The reason I knew this is that Pete Hegseth …
r/PrepperIntel r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
r/geopolitics r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
r/navy r on reddit
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth accidentally texts journalist war plans a couple hours before military operation in Yemen.
r/allinpodofficial r on reddit
Should Trump fire Hegseth over this?
r/Foodforthought r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
r/ScottGalloway r on reddit
Trump admin officials texting war plans: genuinely one of the most bonkers things I've ever read
r/signal r on reddit
“The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans”
r/Fauxmoi r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
r/IronFrontUSA r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
r/technology r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
r/AntiTrumpAlliance r on reddit
No headline does this scoop justice.
r/AirForce r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
r/JoeRogan r on reddit
Pete Hegseth accidentally texted the editor in chief of the Atlantic the war plans for bombing Yemen shortly before actually bombing Yemen, our country is so cooked
r/france r on reddit
The Trump administration accidentally texted me its war plans
r/moderatepolitics r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
r/thebulwark r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
r/NewsOfTheStupid r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
r/Destiny r on reddit
“The Trump Administration Accidentally texted me it's war plans” - The Atlantic
r/IRstudies r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
r/army r on reddit
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth accidentally texts journalist war plans a couple hours before military operation in Yemen.
r/Military r on reddit
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans - The Atlantic
@drewharwell.com Drew Harwell on bluesky
Pete Hegseth, in his Fox commentator days, about Hillary Clinton's emails: “Everyone knows what top secret means. ... If you're hiding that on a private server, that's a very real problem and likely criminal charges [should] follow” www.washingtonpost.com/technology/ 2...
@timshorrock Tim Shorrock on bluesky
As I was saying ... “Trump's Washington runs on secret chat app Signal. The encrypted chat app beloved by Elon Musk and foreign dissidents has been embraced by federal government workers, DOGE and military planners.” — www.washingtonpost.com/technology/ 2... 👇 [embedded post]

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Trump officials accidentally added The Atlantic's EIC to a Signal group chat about the US' Houthi war plans; Signal is not approved for sharing classified info

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