--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He [Edward Snowden] has been careful with…" description: "\"“He [Edward Snowden] has been careful with his info, doling it out to responsible news organizations — The Post, the New York Times, the Guardian, etc...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/richard-cohen-5202_politics_he-edward-snowden-has-been-careful-with_1660144.jpg" --- # He \[Edward Snowden\] has been careful with his info, doling… ![“He [Edward Snowden] has been careful with his info, doling it out to responsible news organizations — The Post, the New York Times, the Guardian, etc. — and not tossing it up in the air, WikiLeaks style, and echoing the silly mantra “Information wants to be free.” (No. Information, like most of…” quote by Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/richard-cohen-5202_politics_he-edward-snowden-has-been-careful-with_1660144.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/richard-cohen-5202_politics_he-edward-snowden-has-been-careful-with_1660144.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/richard-cohen-5202_politics_he-edward-snowden-has-been-careful-with_1660144.jpg) > ““He \[Edward Snowden\] has been careful with his info, doling it out to responsible news organizations — The Post, the New York Times, the Guardian, etc. — and not tossing it up in the air, WikiLeaks style, and echoing the silly mantra “Information wants to be free.” (No. Information, like most of us, wants a home in the Hamptons.)” – Richard Cohen, Washington Post (10/22/2013)”” [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Snowden shares information selectively with reputable outlets, avoiding indiscriminate leaks, and challenges the notion that data inherently seeks freedom. **In simple terms:** Snowden releases data responsibly, not carelessly. Key Takeaway Share responsibly, verify sources. Themes media ethics information control privacy Mood cautious critical Type analytical ethical When to use this quote - news reporting - government transparency - digital security Key Concepts journalism whistleblowing information theory Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance transparency with security? - What responsibilities do journalists have with sensitive data? A Different Perspective Leaks can still be mishandled despite caution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Edward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edward/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edward-snowden/) [Information Wants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information-wants-749589/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Responsible News](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsible-news-749588/) [Security-state](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security-state-165741/) [Silly man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly-man/) [Snowden Careful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snowden-careful-749586/) [Whistleblowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whistleblowers/) [Wikileaks Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wikileaks-style-749587/) [York Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york-times/) ## Related quotes > [“Miriam is upset. Her voice is stretched and I can't look at her. Perhaps they beat something out of her she didn't get back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/miriam-is-upset-her-voice-is-stretched-and-i-can-t-look-at-her/) [Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/) > [“Should we wrap it all up and simply say that they arrested the innocent? But we omitted saying that the very concept of guilt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/should-we-wrap-it-all-up-and-simply-say-that-they-arrested-the/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Maurice was a silly man. Maurice liked being silly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gibb/maurice-was-a-silly-man-maurice-liked-being-silly/) [Barry Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gibb/) > [Paul Rudd's a really weird, silly, silly man. He gets on 'Friends,' and he gets to show, like, one tiny little window of how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ben-garant/paul-rudd-s-a-really-weird-silly-silly-man-he-gets-on-friends-and-he/) [Robert Ben Garant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ben-garant/) > [“had begun to cry, not at death but at the thought of not crying at death, a silly empty man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/had-begun-to-cry-not-at-death-but-at-the-thought-of-not-crying-at/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“silly man. I know the man I am marrying is destined for great things, as the many remarkable things he has done thus far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-de-la-cruz/silly-man-i-know-the-man-i-am-marrying-is-destined-for-great-things/) [Melissa de la Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-de-la-cruz/) > [“To be astonished at everything, of course, is silly, while to be astonished at nothing is much more handsome, and for some reason is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/to-be-astonished-at-everything-of-course-is-silly-while-to-be/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [It's easy enough to make the truth look silly. A man never seems more foolish-like than he does when he's speaking his whole mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-allingham/it-s-easy-enough-to-make-the-truth-look-silly-a-man-never-seems-more/) [Margery Allingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-allingham/) > [“It is true that a man (a silly man) might make change itself his object or ideal. But as an ideal, change itself becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/it-is-true-that-a-man-a-silly-man-might-make-change-itself-his-object/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Silly man, doesn’t he know money is imaginary?” It’s paper that turns into numbers on screens, after all. It’s there, then it’s gone. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/silly-man-doesn-t-he-know-money-is-imaginary-it-s-paper-that-turns/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [I'd like to say I'm a very silly man. But I'm not that silly. I'm not throwing any diamond ring down a toilet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-clarke/i-d-like-to-say-i-m-a-very-silly-man-but-i-m-not-that-silly-i-m-not/) [Michael Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-clarke/) > [Learning, like traveling and all other methods of improvement, as it finishes good sense, so it makes a silly man ten thousand times more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/learning-like-traveling-and-all-other-methods-of-improvement-as-it/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Mr. Collins is a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly man; you know he is, as well as I do; and you must feel, as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/mr-collins-is-a-conceited-pompous-narrow-minded-silly-man-you-know-he/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [You know, you grow up with the image of John Travolta being super cool - 'Saturday Night Fever,' Brian De Palma, handsome young god...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/you-know-you-grow-up-with-the-image-of-john-travolta-being-super-cool/) [Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/) > [“History remembers Mussolini as the buffoonish Fascist, the ineffective silly man of Italy who led a lame military campaign in the Second World War,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/history-remembers-mussolini-as-the-buffoonish-fascist-the-ineffective/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) ## More by Richard Cohen > [Republicans remain silent because Trump is doing what they want - lowering taxes on the rich, eviscerating regulations, bulldozing the environment, and insisting that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/republicans-remain-silent-because-trump-is-doing-what-they-want/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [Myths have a certain staying power because, really, they are aspirational - not always who we are, but always who we want to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/myths-have-a-certain-staying-power-because-really-they-are/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [We are a segmented society, living in our individual bubbles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/we-are-a-segmented-society-living-in-our-individual-bubbles/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [Maybe the best example of the unmuscled hero is Humphrey Bogart in 'Casablanca.' Bogart was 15 years older than Ingrid Bergman, and it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/maybe-the-best-example-of-the-unmuscled-hero-is-humphrey-bogart-in/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [Israel may be beloved, but for American security, it is not essential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/israel-may-be-beloved-but-for-american-security-it-is-not-essential/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [We grow up to respect the gray. Black or white, one or the other, is childish. It represents the worldview of someone who does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/we-grow-up-to-respect-the-gray-black-or-white-one-or-the-other-is/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [The ultimate question is whether the name Donald Trump will be attached to an era - whether he will so change America that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/the-ultimate-question-is-whether-the-name-donald-trump-will-be/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [When I was a kid, I went door to door in my neighborhood asking for donations to the Jewish National Fund, best known then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/when-i-was-a-kid-i-went-door-to-door-in-my-neighborhood-asking-for/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [I met Clinton during her husband's first campaign for the White House. It was 1992, New Hampshire, and both Clintons had stopped at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/i-met-clinton-during-her-husband-s-first-campaign-for-the-white-house/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [In power politics, it's usually not enough to be liked. A nation has to be considered essential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/in-power-politics-it-s-usually-not-enough-to-be-liked-a-nation-has-to/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [Heroism is a matter of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/heroism-is-a-matter-of-choice/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [My father was raised in an orphanage, and my mother was an immigrant from Poland whose first childhood memory was of hunger. Somehow, despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/my-father-was-raised-in-an-orphanage-and-my-mother-was-an-immigrant/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [It's all right with me if Roman Polanski is freed by the Swiss authorities who have detained him at the request of the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/it-s-all-right-with-me-if-roman-polanski-is-freed-by-the-swiss/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [“The book is warm. The book is handy. The book is handsome to the eye. The book occupies the shelf of the owner and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/the-book-is-warm-the-book-is-handy-the-book-is-handsome-to-the-eye/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [I don't like what George Zimmerman did, and I hate that Trayvon Martin is dead. But I also can understand why Zimmerman was suspicious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/i-don-t-like-what-george-zimmerman-did-and-i-hate-that-trayvon-martin/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) [Explore all 102 Richard Cohen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) ## More Edward quotes > [“Edward: I don't know whether to put my fingers in my ears and go la-la-la or find more of your guards so we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/edward-i-don-t-know-whether-to-put-my-fingers-in-my-ears-and-go-la-la/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [I wondered to myself why no one else had seen him standing so far away, before he was suddenly, impossibly saving my life. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/i-wondered-to-myself-why-no-one-else-had-seen-him-standing-so-far/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“More importantly in my view, the Obama administration has treated whistleblowers with scandalous harshness, especially those from inside the intelligence community. The hardest point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucas/more-importantly-in-my-view-the-obama-administration-has-treated/) [Edward Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucas/) > [“Where are we going?” she asked. “Mr. Durbin’s sheep have begun to lamb, and I wanted to see how the ewes are doing.” He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/where-are-we-going-she-asked-mr-durbin-s-sheep-have-begun-to-lamb-and/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [I've never met Snowden, I've never spoken with him personally. I mean, he's extremely smart. Very, very smart. I guess he was a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-gun/i-ve-never-met-snowden-i-ve-never-spoken-with-him-personally-i-mean/) [Katharine Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-gun/) > [It's a problem for him because he's got - like Edward VII had - nearly all his lifetime to wait until he becomes Monarch.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-holden/it-s-a-problem-for-him-because-he-s-got-like-edward-vii-had-nearly/) [Anthony Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-holden/) > [“The single biggest lesson of the whole Snowden fiasco is that America's own sloppiness made it vulnerable: whether to misguided whistleblowers, saboteurs or foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucas/the-single-biggest-lesson-of-the-whole-snowden-fiasco-is-that-america/) [Edward Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucas/) > [“The cliché that “everything leaks; it all comes out in the New York Times eventually” is emphatically not true, above all for sensitive compartmented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/the-clich-that-everything-leaks-it-all-comes-out-in-the-new-york/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [“The way everyone looked at me made me uncomfortable. Even Edward. It was like I had grown a hundred feet during the course of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/the-way-everyone-looked-at-me-made-me-uncomfortable-even-edward-it/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [Any country that grants asylum to Snowden risks retaliation from the United States, including diplomatic isolation and costly trade sanctions. Several don't seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/any-country-that-grants-asylum-to-snowden-risks-retaliation-from-the/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [“As an American historian, I am required to keep an accurate and truthful historical record.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/as-an-american-historian-i-am-required-to-keep-an-accurate-and/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I tensed for the spring, my eyes squinting as I cringed away, and the sound of Edward's furious roar echoed distantly in the back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/i-tensed-for-the-spring-my-eyes-squinting-as-i-cringed-away-and-the/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [ Odd as this might sound, I suppose I’m glad you’re here, Jacob. \[Edward Cullen\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/odd-as-this-might-sound-i-suppose-i-m-glad-you-re-here-jacob-edward/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [Snowden is an orderly thinker, with an engineer's approach to problem-solving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/snowden-is-an-orderly-thinker-with-an-engineer-s-approach-to-problem/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [I think that Mr. Snowden raised some legitimate concerns. How he did it was something that did not follow the procedures and practices of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-that-mr-snowden-raised-some-legitimate-concerns-how-he-did-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) [Browse all 310 Edward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edward/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He [Edward Snowden] has been careful with his info, doling it out to responsible news organizations — The Post, the New York Times, the Guardian, etc. — and not tossing it up in the air, WikiLeaks style, and echoing the silly mantra “Information wants to be free.” (No. Information, like most of us, wants a home in the Hamptons.)” – Richard Cohen, Washington Post (10/22/2013)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Cohen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/he-edward-snowden-has-been-careful-with-his-info-doling-it-out-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Edward" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/he-edward-snowden-has-been-careful-with-his-info-doling-it-out-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/richard-cohen-5202_politics_he-edward-snowden-has-been-careful-with_1660144.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/richard-cohen-5202_politics_he-edward-snowden-has-been-careful-with_1660144.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/richard-cohen-5202_politics_he-edward-snowden-has-been-careful-with_1660144.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He [Edward Snowden] has been careful with his info, doling it out to responsible news organizations — The…” — Richard Cohen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Richard Cohen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He [Edward Snowden] has been careful...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/he-edward-snowden-has-been-careful-with-his-info-doling-it-out-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/he-edward-snowden-has-been-careful-with-his-info-doling-it-out-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```