Luke Harding is exactly the kind of overton window journalist the deep state loves. He touts all the same poorly evidenced claims relating to the last 4 years of Russia-gate narrative in a sloppy fashion in a not so subtle attempt to push his newest book, Shadow State, which does the same I assume.<p>Between his false wikileaks claims, his questionable Snowden book, his unquestioning buy-in on the Litvenko propaganda, and his unskeptical attachment to the Steele dossier, he has lost credibility in spades among those looking for a journalist that tells hard truths.<p><pre><code> “This is old-style espionage,” said David Clark, a former special adviser to the late foreign secretary Robin Cook. “You find a human source who is willing to be persuaded to do this for money from an intelligence service.
“We have become very used to the idea that everything is done in the virtual world of hack and leak. This feels like a bit of a throwback.”
</code></pre>
I don't know how any purporting to be a serious journalist on the topic can even think to put this kind of an exerpt in an article. This is just normal espionage, the same way we all do it. I think the take away is just that... Harding isn't a serious journalist, and you'd be better off looking elsewhere for your analysis. (if it's even his <i>analysis</i> in the first place!)<p>The Guardian sure has gone downhill since Snowden... it's such a shame.