posted 11-27-2013 06:24 AM                  

Report: NSA spied on porn habits to discredit Muslim radicalsBy Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News
The NSA targeted suspected Muslim radicals by gathering evidence of visits to pornographic sites in order to harm their reputation, according to a report Wednesday based on a document provided by leaker Edward Snowden.

A classified document about intercepted communications – or “signals intelligence” – concluded that “radicalizers appear to be particularly vulnerable in the area of authority when their private and public behaviors are not consistent,” according to a Huffington Post article co-authored by investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald.

Advertise | AdChoicesNBC News was not immediately able to confirm the authenticity of the document.

Dated Oct. 3, 2012, the document, identifies six Muslims identified by the agency as “exemplars” of how “personal vulnerabilities” can be learned through electronic surveillance, and then exploited to undermine a target's credibility, reputation and authority, the report said.

One of the six is described as a “U.S. person" - either a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident.

A report set to be published in Spain's El Mundo newspaper will feature leaked information from Edward Snowden that says the NSA monitored 60 million phone calls in Spain last December.
The document, which the Huffington Post said was provided by Snowden, lists thedDirector of the NSA as its originator and the Departments of Justice and Commerce and the Drug Enforcement Administration among its recipients.

Greenwald, who until recently worked for U.K. newspaper The Guardian, was the first to report the contents of the classified documents seen by Snowden.

U.S. authorities have never formally confirmed the veracity of any of Snowden’s documents, but it has charged the former intelligence contractor with leaking classified information.