Comments on: Redaction Action https://habitablezone.com/2018/08/10/redaction-action/ Sun, 19 Apr 2026 21:38:00 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2018/08/10/redaction-action/#comment-42784 ER Wed, 09 Jan 2019 16:33:23 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=72424#comment-42784 Its just treason. And its not treason for political or ideological reasons. That, at least, would be understandable. These guys are only in it for the money. Its just treason. And its not treason for political or ideological reasons. That, at least, would be understandable. These guys are only in it for the money.

]]> By: RL https://habitablezone.com/2018/08/10/redaction-action/#comment-42782 RL Wed, 09 Jan 2019 07:16:06 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=72424#comment-42782 <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/paul-manafort-russia-collusion-776399/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/paul-manafort-russia-collusion-776399/</a> https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/paul-manafort-russia-collusion-776399/

]]> By: Robert https://habitablezone.com/2018/08/10/redaction-action/#comment-41864 Robert Fri, 10 Aug 2018 18:20:45 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=72424#comment-41864 I'm not sure which method they used to black out the text in this case, but the classic stupid move is to set the background to black behind black text. If "you printed out the [document], or brought the file up on your computer to read", you couldn't read the text. But nothing prevents you from selecting the text, causing it to reverse color and become visible; and to copy it. That may be what happened in this case, if the text was still visible to a search. As a general (universal) rule, digital documents are chock full of metadata that can give away the game if you have something to hide. Like the author's name; wasn't that one of the things that got Manafort in trouble with PDFs? Another classic trap is geolocation in images. I had a buddy a few years ago send me digital images of his cannabis crop, I checked, and sure enough the latitude and longitude of his plantation was embedded in the images. I was on the phone instantly. I'd say by now most smart journalists check public documents for metadata and stupid redaction tricks. I know I do, and I'm not a journalist, and my intelligence is often disputed. But the truth is in there. I’m not sure which method they used to black out the text in this case, but the classic stupid move is to set the background to black behind black text. If “you printed out the [document], or brought the file up on your computer to read”, you couldn’t read the text. But nothing prevents you from selecting the text, causing it to reverse color and become visible; and to copy it. That may be what happened in this case, if the text was still visible to a search.

As a general (universal) rule, digital documents are chock full of metadata that can give away the game if you have something to hide. Like the author’s name; wasn’t that one of the things that got Manafort in trouble with PDFs?

Another classic trap is geolocation in images. I had a buddy a few years ago send me digital images of his cannabis crop, I checked, and sure enough the latitude and longitude of his plantation was embedded in the images. I was on the phone instantly.

I’d say by now most smart journalists check public documents for metadata and stupid redaction tricks. I know I do, and I’m not a journalist, and my intelligence is often disputed. But the truth is in there.

]]> By: RL https://habitablezone.com/2018/08/10/redaction-action/#comment-41863 RL Fri, 10 Aug 2018 17:04:28 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=72424#comment-41863 <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/story?id=95836" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">In fact, they select for low IQ individuals</a>... and then are shocked at the brutal behavior they exhibit... https://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/story?id=95836 In fact, they select for low IQ individuals… and then are shocked at the brutal behavior they exhibit…

https://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/story?id=95836

]]>