Bin Laden

How the War on Terror Set the Stage for Today’s Moderation Wars

The case of an American citizen who became a top propagandist for al-Qaeda looms large over our modern free speech battles.

Tech News Lucas Ropek Feb 24

We Could Soon Open a Pandora’s Box of Impossible Speech Laws

Experts say social media platforms could face dozens of unworkable, contradictory speech laws if the Supreme Court upholds Texas's tech censorship law.

Tech Policy Mack DeGeurin Feb 23

Bin Laden, Burglars, and Banks: The Supreme Court Considers Twitter’s Role in Terrorism

The justices heard arguments to determine whether or not the recommendation of ISIS-related content on Twitter amounted to aiding and abetting terrorists.

Tech Policy Mack DeGeurin Feb 22

This Memo Killed Osama Bin Laden

The pen is mightier than the Seal Team 6, or something like that. Read the letter that officially made Bin Laden a dead man, straight off of CIA letterhead. Before the commandos stormed his suburban Pakistani compound, before it was live tweeted, before the advanced imaging, before the war dogs, before the killer shot and…

Tech News Sam Biddle Apr 26

This Is What The Government Told Gizmodo About Osama Bin Laden’s Body

Months ago, I asked the Pentagon for its visual records of Osama bin Laden’s sea burial under the Freedom of Information Act. Today, I received a thick packet of No— a complete denial that any records exist. Read it. The core of the response is this: the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs…

Tech News Sam Biddle Dec 15

China Building Its Own Osama-Killing Stealth Black Hawks

But don’t worry! They’re just 1:144 scale toys. If this is the extent of Chinese reverse-engineering efforts, then the Pentagon can probably wipe the sweat off its trillion dollar brow. I’d still like one of these for my desk, though. From the looks of it, the “Operation Geronimo Stealth Helicopter” is based largely off the…

Tech News Sam Biddle Jun 6

Bin Laden’s Ex-Girlfriend Starts Twitter War with Rapper

Well this is certainly bizarre. You might think author and former love of Osama bin Laden (!) Kola Boof might want to keep a low profile. Given, you know, the whole having sex with Bin Laden thing. Not quite! Boof, not content to probably have many millions of people detest her for romancing the world’s…

Tech News Sam Biddle May 25

How Twitter Was Fooled Into Thinking bin Laden Watched The IT Crowd and Big Bang Theory

Amidst stories of war-dogs, secret choppers, and hard drives chockablock with porn, there was a small furore on Twitter about Osama bin Laden watching hit UK TV show The IT Crowd—or was it Big Bang Theory? Turns out, it was all an elaborate hoax by The IT Crowd’s writer. https://gizmodo.com/the-navy-seal-team-6-dog-is-a-bigger-badass-than-you-5798745 We all know how Chinese…

Television Kat Hannaford May 24

This May Be the Other Stealth Helicopter Used In the Osama Attack

What you are looking at here may not exist, but it’s likely to be the stealth heavy transport helicopter that carried backup SEAL commandos in the final hunt for Osama bin Laden. It looks appropriately powered by ninja stars. The blades design is striking, but not new. We have seen those before—a similar contraption is…

Tech News Jesus Diaz May 20

Secret Stealth Drones Spied on Bin Laden Months Before Kill Mission

How do you monitor the whereabouts of the world’s most wanted criminal, deep inside a radar-infested region of a country that doesn’t want you there? With this stealth drone, which gave the US eyes on Osama’s compound from above. The Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel doesn’t look much like the Predator drone fleet—and for good reason.…

Tech News Sam Biddle May 18

Obama Puts an End To Fake Photo Shoots

Say good-bye to reenactments and fake photo shoots in the White House. President Obama decided these staged photo ops were “a bad idea” and ended this long-standing practice. He would say that after getting caught-out, wouldn’t he. https://gizmodo.com/pictures-of-obamas-speech-announcing-bin-ladens-death-w-5799770 The controversy exploded after people discovered most of the photos of the President’s historic bin Laden speech…

Tech News Kelly May 13

Osama bin Laden Was a Geek

The myth of Osama in the Cave pervades American terror culture. Before we found him in a house, we imagined him in a cave, as a West-hating hermit. But Osama was no luddite—tech helped shape his terror. https://gizmodo.com/how-osama-bin-laden-was-found-5797588 The New Yorker’s recent profile of Bin Laden—as a child, a father, a murderous mastermind—all share a…

Tech News Sam Biddle May 12

This Is What We (Ridiculously) Thought Osama Was Hiding in Ten Years Ago

We caught and shot Osama bin Laden in a rundown, decrepit compound, lacking any direct contact with the outside world. But in 2001, the Times of London (and the Pentagon) thought he was living in a comic villain’s super fortress. The absurd graphic, birthed from rumors stacked upon rumors originating with a former Russian soldier,…

Tech News Sam Biddle May 9

Obama Cracks Wise After the Operation to Find bin Laden

Tensions were high during the decision-making process that would lead up to the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Success depended on the precision of the Navy SEALs team in order to kill this slaughterer of thousands. So, with success met and their mission accomplished, the team had to be sure they’d…

Tech News Kwame Opam May 7

The CIA Watched bin Laden For Months From Right Down the Block

In a safehouse in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a small team of CIA spies lived and worked for months. Their mission: collect information on a nearby compound suspected of housing the world’s most notorious terrorist. The base of operations—abandoned once its mission was accomplished—had been established shortly after Osama bin Laden’s hideout (pictured above) had been identified…

Tech News Brian Barrett May 6

Bin Laden Was Daydreaming about Train-Derailing Terror Plot

What do you do when you’re a terrorist pent up in a huge, rundown compound with no phone or internet? Write down “vague, aspirational” terror plots in your notebook, the NYT reports. Like derailing a train on Christmas. The semi-plot, seized in a cache of documents when Bin Laden’s house was raided, hadn’t been put…

Tech News Sam Biddle May 6

Is This the Navy’s Secret Helicopter?

Ever since SEAL Team 6 blew up its downed, stealth Black Hawk, aviation geeks around the globe have been trying to figure out what the hell it was. One flight expert has gathered the clues and created this detailed rendering. https://jalopnik.com/that-downed-us-aircraft-was-a-secret-stealth-helicopter-5798199 David Cenciotti, the brain behind the sketch, has serious credentials: he’s a former member…

Tech News Sam Biddle May 5

Hyperspectral Imaging Helped Kill Osama bin Laden. But What the Hell Is It?

Killing ol’ OBL wasn’t just the work of SEAL Team 6—the beyond-badasses had a cadre of support staff backing them up behind the scenes, including classified hyperspectral imaging device experts. So, uh, what does that mean? https://gizmodo.com/meet-seal-team-6-the-bad-asses-who-killed-osama-bin-la-5797701 It’s a way of seeing what the naked eye can’t… Hyperspectral means above or beyond the spectrum—in this…

Tech News Sam Biddle May 4

Check Out the Demolished SEAL Team 6 Chopper from Space

Although no Americans were hurt in Osama bin Laden’s takedown, one MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter didn’t make it back—and was subsequently blown apart by US commandos. Here’s the scene, as a satellite whizzed by at 17,000 mph. [GeoEye via Danger Room] https://gizmodo.com/the-berzerker-black-hawk-helicopter-that-helped-kill-os-5797783 Satellite imagery by GeoEye, annotation by Danger Room

Tech News Sam Biddle May 3

CSI bin Laden: Commandos Use Thumb, Eye Scans to Track Terrorists

The U.S. forces who killed Osama bin Laden in his Abbottabad compound were more than expert marksmen. Some of them were forensics experts as well, using sophisticated tools to ensure that they got the right man. Speaking at a White House briefing, counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said he had “99 percent” certainty the commando team…

Tech News Spencer Ackerman - Wired May 3

Bin Laden

How the War on Terror Set the Stage for Today’s Moderation Wars

We Could Soon Open a Pandora’s Box of Impossible Speech Laws

Bin Laden, Burglars, and Banks: The Supreme Court Considers Twitter’s Role in Terrorism

This Memo Killed Osama Bin Laden

This Is What The Government Told Gizmodo About Osama Bin Laden’s Body

China Building Its Own Osama-Killing Stealth Black Hawks

Bin Laden’s Ex-Girlfriend Starts Twitter War with Rapper

How Twitter Was Fooled Into Thinking bin Laden Watched The IT Crowd and Big Bang Theory

This May Be the Other Stealth Helicopter Used In the Osama Attack

Secret Stealth Drones Spied on Bin Laden Months Before Kill Mission

Obama Puts an End To Fake Photo Shoots

Osama bin Laden Was a Geek

This Is What We (Ridiculously) Thought Osama Was Hiding in Ten Years Ago

Obama Cracks Wise After the Operation to Find bin Laden

The CIA Watched bin Laden For Months From Right Down the Block

Bin Laden Was Daydreaming about Train-Derailing Terror Plot

Is This the Navy’s Secret Helicopter?

Hyperspectral Imaging Helped Kill Osama bin Laden. But What the Hell Is It?

Check Out the Demolished SEAL Team 6 Chopper from Space

CSI bin Laden: Commandos Use Thumb, Eye Scans to Track Terrorists

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