Pentagon leaks: how Discord video game chat platform landed in the spotlight

The largest leak of classified Pentagon documents since Edward Snowden has placed a popular free chat platform for the video gaming community in the spotlight.

Discord began in 2015 as a chat app for gamers to discuss strategy in multi-player video games, but owing to its privacy features, it has morphed into a secure space to have secret discussions. This has inadvertently attracted users seeking to disseminate hate speech without being reported.

Unlike most social media, such as Twitter or Facebook, the platform is decentralised, with communities organised into public or private groups known as servers, for gamers to interact. Most servers hosted on Discord are invitation-only and private, not allowing outsiders to find or even search for them.

Each group or server in Discord has several channels, which function as separate chatrooms, divided by topic. At any given time, a server can host hundreds of thousands of users. Discord is currently valued at $15bn (£12bn).

Screenshots from this group show Lucca posting multiple documents detailing the conflict in Ukraine, maps, intelligence briefings, and other high-security information from 1 March 2023. Kralj confirmed that no one from law enforcement had contacted him or any other Discord moderators.

It is from Telegram, and subsequently Twitter, that the documents caught the attention of the Pentagon, starting a manhunt that concluded with the arrest of Jack Teixeira on Thursday night.