Fool Me Once

Whistleblowing has always been part of the American political landscape, stretching as far back as 1772. Documents known as The Hutchison Letters exposed the titular Massachusetts governor urging for stricter infringements on colonists’ liberties. They were published in the Boston Gazette after Benjamin Franklin sent them to John Adams.

Notable leaks of confidential information include the Watergate Scandal in 1972, which resulted in President Richard Nixon’s resignation two years later for covering up the burglary and wiretapping of the Democratic National Committee headquarters; the Plame Affair in 2003, which was named after the leaked identity of a CIA agent; and contractor Edward Snowden’s 2013 release of National Security Agency documents detailing the surveillance of American citizens. Despite the legal consequences Snowden faced, which led to his exile, he claimed that he would “be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that [he] love[s] are revealed even for an instant” (Greenwald, Glenn, et al. “Edward Snowden: The Whistleblower Behind the NSA Surveillance Revelations.” The Guardian, 11 June 2013).

Cable news and the internet changed the face of whistleblowing, offering more widespread channels and access. Snowden’s cache of intel was leaked to journalists and later published by The Guardian and The Washington Post, but he was also assisted by Wikileaks. Founded by hacker turned editor (and controversial figure) Julian Assange in 2006, the website Wikileaks rose to prominence with its publication of international government, military, and corporate secrets provided by whistleblowers intended for the consumption of the general public. Similarly, in Fool Me Once, Corey “The Whistle” Rudzinski hosts a website for leaked intel.

In 2010, disillusioned intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning leaked a massive trove of documents to Wikileaks after uncovering human rights violations committed by the US Army and CIA in Afghanistan and Iraq during the so-called “War on Terror.” The leak included video taken of a July 12, 2007, Baghdad airstrike. Apache helicopters were dispatched to the location of an earlier, minor attack against an American Humvee. The pilots fired missiles at a group of men, only some of whom were armed. More strikes followed; gunfire hit a van and a building used for cover. Among the dead were Reuters correspondents Saaed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen and a van driver, Saleh Matasher Tomal, who tried to help Chmagh; two of Tomal’s children were injured as well. The claim that the incident was an accident was dispelled by the unedited video, dubbed “Collateral Murder,” in which the US soldiers “aim and fire at the group, then revel in their kills” (Bumiller, Elisabeth. “Video Shows U.S. Killing of Reuters Employees.” The New York Times, 5 April 2010). This incident has many similarities with that in which Maya is involved in Fool Me Once; she kills civilians without clearance, and a video is leaked.

The American public has reacted with ambivalence to Manning’s actions: “To some, Manning is a heroic whistleblower; others, including the U.S. military, consider her a traitor” (Davies, Dave. “Chelsea Manning Shared Secrets With WikiLeaks. Now She’s Telling Her Own Story.” NPR, 17 Oct. 2022). Manning’s 35-year sentence for charges including espionage was commuted by President Barack Obama in 2017.