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User:Geo Swan/Osama bin Laden's alleged cache of pornography

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When Navy SEALs raided his last hideout, and killed Osama bin Laden, they were reported to have retrieved Osama bin Laden's cache of pornography.[1] David Randall, writing in The Independent, reported that the claims triggered skepticism.[2] In May of 2015 the USA published the titles of 39 books that were part of bin Laden's library.[3][4] However, it was widely noted that officials had chosen to keep secret the details of the pornography found in bin Laden's hideout.

Reuters was the first source to publish information about the cache of pornography.[5] Reuters cited officials who insisted on anonymity.[6] They described the cache as "modern", and containing video. Although Reuters noted that the officials they cited said there was no way for analysts to know that it had been bin Laden himself who acquired or viewed the collection, subsequent press reports routinely describe the collection as belonging to bin Laden personally -- not the other adult men in the compound.

Some sources speculated that the porn collection was used as base material for steganography -- the embedding of hidden information.

References

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  1. ^ Frank Cerabino (2015-05-21). "Imaging the Osama bin Laden porn collection". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2015-05-26. The U.S. has started releasing some of the material Navy Seals took during the successful 2011 raid that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. This may be damage control from a fascinating article investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published this month in the London Review of Books.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ David Randall (2011-05-15). "Did Bin Laden really have secret porn stash?". The Independent. Retrieved 2015-05-26. Claim by US officials provokes widespread ridicule and suspicion.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Swati Sharma (2015-05-20). "Chomsky, Woodward and 9/11 conspiracy theories: Bin Laden's English-language bookshelf". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Four years after the bin Laden raid, the United States has declassified a list of 39 English-language books the former al-Qaeda leader had on display at his home.
  4. ^ Carlos Lozada (2015-05-20). "Bob Woodward's reaction to Osama bin Laden reading his book". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. I reached out to Woodward for his reaction to the news that bin Laden had kept "Obama's Wars" with him in Abbottabad. When asked what the al-Qaeda leader should have taken away from the book, and what other Woodward books would have been relevant
  5. ^ Catarina Cowden (2015-05-26). "Osama Bin Laden's Porn Collection Won't Be Made Public, Unfortunately". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 2015-05-27. Evidence of the pornographic material was first reported back in 2011 just weeks after the raid which left Osama Bin Laden dead on site. First published by Reuters, officials claimed there was an extensive collection which was very modern. They were unclear how the porn reached the hideout though, considering it had no Internet connection.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Mark Hosenball, Tabassum Zakaria (2011-05-13). "Exclusive: Pornography found in bin Laden hideout: officials". Washington DC: Reuters. Retrieved 2015-05-27. The officials said they were not yet sure precisely where in the compound the pornography was discovered or who had been viewing it. Specifically, the officials said they did not know if bin Laden himself had acquired or viewed the materials.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)