Where is Edward Snowden? Whistleblower Silent Since Russia Invaded Ukraine

Whistleblower Edward Snowden, who was granted asylum by Russia in 2013, has not tweeted since right after Vladimir Putin‘s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, despite previously being a prolific user of the social media platform.

Snowden would typically tweet to his 5.2 million followers several times a day. The last message he wrote was an ambiguous one on February 27, three days after the start of the war.

Snowden is a former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) which revealed global surveillance programs. Hailed in equal measure as a hero and a traitor, his revelations sparked a global debate on the surveillance of citizens.

Wanted in the U.S. where he would face espionage charges, he was granted permanent Russian residency in 2020.

“I’m not suspended from the ceiling above a barrel of acid by a rope that burns a little faster every time I tweet, you concern-trolling ghouls,” he wrote in his last message which was retweeted 3,207 times and got more than 42,000 likes.

“I’ve just lost any confidence I had that sharing my thinking on this particular topic continues to be useful, because I called it wrong,” he added in the message in what was likely a reference to the war.

I’m not suspended from the ceiling above a barrel of acid by a rope that burns a little faster every time I tweet, you concern-trolling ghouls. I’ve just lost any confidence I had that sharing my thinking on this particular topic continues to be useful, because I called it wrong.

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 27, 2022

Users speculated as to its meaning in a thread. “I guess the rope snapped, because this Comrade Snowden’s last comment on a pretty big topic,” wrote one.

User Jimmy Sjolund wrote on March 12: “So, am I the only worried that @Snowden hasn’t written a tweet since the 27th of February?” Another said, “Missing from this tweet, after almost a full week of the…