Wikipedia's first sentence called it “american lawyer”. Today it says “american journalist”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “American journalist, lawyer and writer”. It now reads “American journalist (born 1967)”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2015 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2015
Glenn Edward Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American lawyer , journalist and author.1Greenwald worked as a constitutional and civil rights litigator . At Salon he contributed as a columnist and blogger , focusing on political and legal topics. He has also contributed to other newspapers and political news magazines, including The New York Times , the Los Angeles Times , The American Conservative , The National Interest and In These Times . In February 2014 he became, along with Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill , one of the founding editors of The Intercept . Greenwald was named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2013. Four of the five books he has written have been on The New York Times Best Sellers list. Greenwald is a frequent speaker on college campuses, including Harvard Law School , Yale Law School , the University of Pennsylvania , Brown University , UCLA School of Law , the University of Wisconsin and the University of Maryland . He frequently appears on various radio and television programs. Greenwald has received awards including the first Izzy Award for independent journalism, in 2009, and the 2010 Online Journalism Award for Best Commentary. In June 2013 Greenwald became widely known after The Guardian published the first of a series of reports detailing United States and British global surveillance programs, based on classified documents disclosed by Edward Snowden . The series on which Greenwald worked along with others won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service . His reporting on the National Security Agency (NSA) won numerous other awards around the world, including top investigative journalism prizes from the George Polk Award for National Security Reporting, the 2013 Online Journalism Awards, the Esso Award for Excellence in Reporting in Brazil for his articles in O Globo on NSA mass surveillance of Brazilians (becoming the first foreigner to win the award), the 2013 Libertad de Expresion Internacional award from Argentinian magazine Perfil , and the 2013 Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation . His work on the NSA files was in part the subject of the film Citizenfour , which won the 2014 Academy Award for Best Documentary . Greenwald appeared onstage at the Oscar ceremony with the film's director, Laura Poitras, as she accepted the award. Greenwald lives in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , the hometown of his partner, David Michael Miranda. Greenwald has stated that his residence in Brazil is the result of an American law, the Defense of Marriage Act , barring federal recognition of same-sex marriages, which prevented his partner from receiving a visa to reside in the United States with him. Greenwald has also cited fears of arrest should he move back to the U.S. US Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit . When "Glenn Greenwald" is provided as a search term selecting the "author" field: (1) "Madness of Crowds"; (2) "Selective Amnesia"; (3) "Watching the Detectives"; and (4) "Authoritarian Temptation." Greenwald, Glenn (April 25, 2008). In These Times . 30 (8) . Art of The Possible (January 16, 2006). Art of the Possible Blog .2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 667046549.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Glenn Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American lawyer, columnist, blogger, and author. He has also contributed to other newspapers and political news magazines, including The New York Times , The Los Angeles Times , The American Conservative , The National Interest , and In These Times . Greenwald is the author of three books: How Would a Patriot Act? (2006) and A Tragic Legacy (2007), both New York Times bestsellers ; and Great American Hypocrites (2008). In March, 2009, he was selected, along with Democracy Now's Amy Goodman , as the recipient of the first annual Izzy Award by the Park Center for Independent Media, an award named after famed independent journalist I.F. "Izzy" Stone and devoted to rewarding excellence in independent journalism. The selection panel cited Greenwald's "pathbreaking journalistic courage and persistence in confronting conventional wisdom, official deception and controversial issues." His commentaries "on surveillance issues and separation of powers" have been cited in The New York Times , in The Washington Post , in United States Senate floor debates, and in House "official ... reports on executive power abuses," and he appears on various radio and television programs as a guest political pundit . "What Kind of Democrat Will Specter Be?" ( Web ) . The New York Times . The New York Times . "When Can Bonus Contracts Be Broken?" ( Web ) . The New York Times . The Los Angeles Times . "Author Search: Glenn Greenwald" ( Web ) . The Search facilty (which times out after linking) lists 4 articles when "Glenn Greenwald" is provided as a search term selecting the "author" field: (1) "Madness of Crowds" ("Loyalty to Bush is the criterion for conservatism."); (2) "Selective Amnesia" ("Being a pro-war pundit means never having to say you're wrong."); (3) "Watching the Detectives" (a review of State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration , by James Risen ); and (4) "Authoritarian Temptation" ("In an age of expansive executive power, the take-no-prisoners style that made Giuliani a respected mayor might be taken literally.") Glenn Greenwald (April 25, 2008). "Rechecking the Balance of Powers" ( Web ) . In These Times . 30 (8). There is a dedicated page with a subscribable Web feed to his media show podcasts at Salon Radio called Glenn Greenwald Radio .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 365908378.
The opening as it stood in 2020 22 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
American journalist, lawyer and writer Glenn Edward Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American journalist, author, and former attorney .He is best known for publishing a series of reports detailing previously unknown information about American and British global surveillance programs.These reports were based on classified documents provided by Edward Snowden .Greenwald worked as a constitutional attorney for ten years before he began blogging on national security issues and then contributing for Salon and The Guardian .At the time, Greenwald was considered one of the most influential opinion columnists in the United States.In June 2013, while at The Guardian , he wrote a series of reports on the documents released by Snowden.Along with other reporters, Greenwald won both a George Polk Award and a Pulitzer Prize for the reporting.Later in 2013, Greenwald founded The Intercept with Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill , where he was co-editor for several years.He has written several best-selling books, including No Place to Hide .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 964903728.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 5 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
American journalist, lawyer and writer (born 1967) Glenn Edward Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American journalist, author, and former lawyer.In 1996, Greenwald founded a law firm concentrating on First Amendment litigation.He began blogging on national security issues in October 2005, when he was becoming increasingly concerned with what he viewed as attacks on civil liberties by the George W.Bush Administration in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks .He became a vocal critic of the Iraq War and has maintained a critical position of American foreign policy.Greenwald started contributing to Salon in 2007, and to The Guardian in 2012. In June 2013, while at The Guardian , he began publishing a series of reports detailing previously unknown information about American and British global surveillance programs based on classified documents provided by Edward Snowden . His work contributed to The Guardian ' s 2014 Pulitzer Prize win and he was among a group of three reporters who won the 2013 George Polk Award .In 2014, he cofounded The Intercept , of which he was an editor until he resigned in October 2020.Greenwald subsequently started self-publishing on Substack .Through The Intercept Brasil in June 2019, Greenwald published leaked conversations between senior officials involved in Operation Car Wash , a corruption case in Brazil.The conversations appeared to show the investigative judge acting prejudicially towards Lula in the lead up to the 2018 elections .Greenwald was charged with cybercrimes by Brazilian prosecutors over the leaks in January 2020, though the charges were dismissed by a federal judge a month later. @ggreenwald (May 9, 2023).He would have turned 38 tomorrow" ( Tweet ) – via Twitter .The Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178103573.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
American journalist (born 1967) Glenn Edward Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American journalist, author, and former lawyer. In 1996, Greenwald founded a law firm concentrating on First Amendment litigation. He began blogging on national security issues in October 2005, when he was becoming increasingly concerned with what he viewed as attacks on civil liberties by the George W. Bush administration in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks . He became a vocal critic of the Iraq War and has maintained a critical position of American foreign policy. Greenwald started contributing to Salon in 2007, and to The Guardian in 2012. In June 2013, while at The Guardian , he began publishing a series of reports detailing previously unknown information about American and British global surveillance programs based on classified documents provided by Edward Snowden . His work contributed to The Guardian ' s 2014 Pulitzer Prize win and he was among a group of three reporters who won the 2013 George Polk Award . In 2014, he cofounded The Intercept , of which he was an editor until he resigned in October 2020. Through The Intercept Brasil in June 2019, Greenwald published leaked conversations between senior officials involved in Operation Car Wash , a corruption case in Brazil. The conversations appeared to show the investigative judge acting prejudicially against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the lead up to the 2018 elections . Greenwald was charged with cybercrimes by Brazilian prosecutors over the leaks in January 2020, though the charges were dismissed by a federal judge a month later. He now hosts the show System Update on Rumble . @ggreenwald (May 9, 2023). He would have turned 38 tomorrow" ( Tweet ) – via Twitter . The Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1297599211. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “american lawyer”. Today it says “american journalist”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “American journalist, lawyer and writer”. It now reads “American journalist (born 1967)”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
american lawyer
Now
american journalist
Sections that no longer exist
Present on October 6, 2023, absent today, with no near-matching heading in the current article and the article shorter overall, so this is not a renamed heading or a topic absorbed into a fuller treatment. 2 sections of 400 characters or more gone since October 6 2023, with the article 4,955 characters shorter.
Later comments
Israel and accusations of antisemitism
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.