Glenn Greenwald to join Pierre Omidyar’s new media project

Glenn Greenwald – The Guardian journalist who broke the Snowden leaks story – is to join a new media project being set up by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.

Glenn Greenwald confirmed he was leaving The Guardian for the mass media outlet being planned by French-born billionaire Pierre Omidyar.

Laura Poitras, the documentary-maker who connected Glenn Greenwald with Edward Snowden, is also expected to join.

Edward Snowden leaked details of US government surveillance programmes.

He is now living in Russia, where he was granted temporary asylum after fleeing Hong Kong in June, shortly after the revelations were published.

On Wednesday, British PM David Cameron accused The Guardian of having knowingly compromised national security by publishing the leaks.

Glenn Greenwald, a US citizen based in Brazil, insists that none of the information he published could have damaged national security.

Announcing his new project in a statement, Pierre Omidyar said he wanted to support “independent journalists in a way that leverages their work to the greatest extent possible, all in support of the public interest”.

His project, he said, was in its early stages but he had approached Glenn Greenwald and found that he and fellow Americans Poitras and Jeremy Scahill, an investigative journalist, were already contemplating something similar.

“We had a lot of overlap in terms of our ideas, and decided to join forces,” said Pierre Omidyar.

Pierre Omidyar said his new outlet would be independent of other media with the focus on allowing independent journalists to “pursue the truth in their fields”.

“And, I want to find ways to convert mainstream readers into engaged citizens,” he said in the statement.

Pierre Omidyar’s existing projects include the US-based Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm which operates in some of Africa’s most troubled countries.

Forbes magazine estimated Pierre Omidyar ‘s net worth to be $8.5 billion (6.3 billion euros) last month.

Announcing his departure in a statement on Tuesday, Glenn Greenwald said he was embarking on a “once-in-a-career dream journalistic opportunity”.

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