A surprising situation has developed involving Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, and Mike Waltz, the U.S. National Security Adviser. Goldberg was accidentally added to a private group chat on Signal where sensitive U.S. military plans to bomb Yemen were being discussed. This mistake has now raised serious questions about national security, privacy, and journalism ethics.
How Did a Journalist Get Access to a Sensitive Chat?
According to Goldberg, on March 11, he received a message request from Mike Waltz on Signal, a secure messaging app. Goldberg accepted the request and found himself part of a group chat titled “Houthi PC small group.” The chat included high-level U.S. officials, such as Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The Atlantic later confirmed that Waltz himself was the group administrator, and a screenshot showed Goldberg (listed as “JG”) as a participant.
Waltz claimed that Goldberg had somehow added himself to the group or that some kind of technical error occurred. Goldberg dismissed this claim, calling it “crazy”, and pointed out that Signal only allows people to be added through their phone number, username, or QR code.
Photos Reveal They’ve Met Before
Although Waltz claimed to have “never met” Goldberg and even said he couldn’t recognize him in a lineup, photos surfaced showing the two together at an event at the French Embassy in 2021.
When asked about the photos, Goldberg simply said, “If your eyeballs see us together, then I guess your eyeballs are seeing us together.”
What Did the Group Chat Contain?
Goldberg didn’t publish anything from the chat right away. He waited until more than a week after the U.S. airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen to write about it. In his first story, he didn’t share the actual texts because he believed the information was too sensitive.
However, after several officials, including President Trump, said the messages were not classified, Goldberg checked with the government and then decided to publish the full messages from the chat.
These texts showed that Defense Secretary Hegseth shared real-time military plans, such as:
- When fighter jets would take off
- What kind of weapons would be used
- Details of the target locations
Why Did Goldberg Decide to Publish the Messages?
Goldberg explained that as a journalist, it’s his duty to inform the public, especially when national security is at risk. He said, “If I’m such a bad guy, why does Mike Waltz have my number? Why was I added to this group?”
He added, “The public has a right to know when something as serious as a national security breach happens. Important U.S. military plans were being shared in a Signal chat group, which is not a secure platform for this type of communication.”
This story shows just how important it is for government officials to be careful about information security. Accidentally adding a journalist to a group discussing secret military plans is a major mistake. Goldberg may not have been meant to see the messages, but once he did, he followed journalistic rules and eventually published them with care.
This event has now sparked wider conversations about transparency, responsibility, and secure communication in national security matters.