The Intercept

About The Intercept

The Intercept is an American nonprofit news organization based in New York City, devoted to investigative and adversarial journalism. Launched in 2014 with major financial backing from eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar, it was created to provide a home for reporting on the National Security Agency documents leaked by Edward Snowden, and it has since grown into a prominent outlet covering national security, civil liberties, politics, and corporate power. Its nonprofit structure and explicit adversarial stance set it apart from both commercial news sites and traditional newspapers.

Founding and launch

The Intercept was founded by three journalists: Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, and Jeremy Scahill. Greenwald and Poitras had been central to the reporting on Edward Snowden's disclosures about NSA surveillance, work that earned The Guardian and The Washington Post the Pulitzer Prize. In October 2013, Pierre Omidyar announced the creation of First Look Media, a new nonprofit media organization intended as a venue for "original, independent journalism," with a pledged $250 million in funding. The Intercept was its first publication, launching on February 10, 2014, with an initial team of about a dozen journalists. Its debut story drew on the Snowden archive to report on how the NSA's bulk collection of phone records was being used to identify targets for drone strikes.

Ownership and funding model

The Intercept is owned by First Look Media, which is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization. The venture was funded by Pierre Omidyar, the billionaire co-founder of eBay, who said his decision was driven by rising concern about press freedoms in the United States and around the world. Unlike most digital news startups, The Intercept did not rely on advertising or subscriptions for its core support; instead, it operated on philanthropic funding channeled through the nonprofit structure. This model was designed to insulate its journalism from commercial pressures, though it also made the organization dependent on the continued support of its benefactor. In March 2014, the company named former Gawker editor John Cook as the first editor-in-chief of The Intercept.

Editorial mission and focus

At launch, the founders described a two-part mission. In the short term, the site would aggressively report on the disclosures provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. In the longer term, it aimed to practice adversarial journalism across a wide range of subjects: government secrecy, abuses of criminal and civil justice, civil liberties violations, media conduct, social inequality, and financial and political corruption. The publication's reporting has consistently emphasized holding powerful governmental and corporate institutions accountable. Its coverage areas have included surveillance and intelligence agencies, the U.S. drone program, immigration enforcement, policing, the criminal justice system, and American foreign policy.

Major investigations and impact

The Intercept's early reporting mined the Snowden documents for stories about NSA surveillance programs and their use in counterterrorism operations. Beyond the Snowden archive, the outlet developed a reputation for hard-hitting investigations: reporting on the FBI's use of informants, conditions in immigration detention, police misconduct, and the conduct of American wars abroad. A Brazilian edition, Intercept Brasil, launched in August 2016 and went on to publish the "Vaza Jato" (Car Wash Leaks) series in 2019, revealing private messages suggesting improper collaboration between former judge Sergio Moro, prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, and others in Brazil's Operation Car Wash anti-corruption probe — reporting that reverberated through Brazilian politics. Intercept Brasil became an independent organization in October 2022.

Notable journalists and staff

The Intercept's masthead has included many prominent reporters and editors. Co-founders Greenwald, Poitras, and Scahill set its direction in the early years. Its staff over time has featured investigative reporters such as James Risen, Ryan Grim, Lee Fang, Murtaza Hussain, Alice Speri, Liliana Segura, and Ken Klippenstein, among others. Jeremy Scahill, the author and documentarian known for his reporting on private military contractors, hosted the site's Intercepted podcast. The newsroom combined veteran investigative reporters with younger journalists, and its ranks have been a source of both influential reporting and public internal debates about the organization's direction.

Audience and reach

As a nonprofit investigative outlet, The Intercept never pursued mass-market scale in the manner of commercial news sites, but it built a substantial and loyal readership. By September 2019, the site's website was estimated to receive around 3.1 million unique visitors per month, with hundreds of thousands of followers on social media platforms. Its stories have frequently been picked up and amplified by larger outlets, extending its influence well beyond its direct audience. The publication's most consequential investigations have shaped public debate on surveillance, national security, and law enforcement.

Podcasts and multimedia

Alongside its written reporting, The Intercept developed an audio presence. Its flagship podcast Intercepted, hosted by Jeremy Scahill, offered long-form interviews and reported segments on politics, war, and civil liberties. A second podcast, Deconstructed, hosted at various times by Mehdi Hasan and Ryan Grim, focused on political analysis and interviews. The organization also produced documentary and video work, extending its adversarial journalism into multimedia formats and reaching audiences beyond its website's readers.

Internal disputes and departures

The Intercept's history has been marked by high-profile internal conflicts. In October 2020, co-founder Glenn Greenwald resigned, accusing editors of political censorship after they declined to publish his article on the Hunter Biden laptop controversy without additional evidence; the organization disputed his account, saying he had been asked to support his claims with evidence rather than being censored. Greenwald moved to the newsletter platform Substack. Laura Poitras also departed in 2020 amid public disagreements about the organization's leadership and direction. The departures prompted wide discussion in media circles about editorial independence, the influence of nonprofit funders, and the challenges of sustaining adversarial journalism within an institution.

Controversies and criticism

The Intercept has faced criticism on several fronts. In 2017, the outlet came under intense scrutiny after Reality Winner, an NSA contractor who leaked a classified document about Russian election interference to The Intercept, was quickly identified and arrested; press advocates and journalists questioned whether the outlet's handling of the document had exposed its source, prompting debate about source-protection practices across the industry. The organization has also faced criticism from commentators across the political spectrum: some have accused it of an overly adversarial posture toward Democratic administrations, while others have questioned its editorial judgments on national security reporting. Supporters counter that adversarial scrutiny of power is precisely the publication's purpose.

Awards and recognition

The Intercept's journalism has earned significant recognition. Its founding reporting on NSA surveillance contributed to the body of work honored with the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2014 (awarded to The Guardian and The Washington Post for the Snowden revelations, in which Greenwald and Poitras played central roles). The outlet's reporters have won and been nominated for major journalism honors including the George Polk Awards and other investigative reporting prizes. Intercept Brasil's Vaza Jato reporting drew international attention and acclaim.

Outlook

More than a decade after its launch, The Intercept continues to publish investigative journalism from New York as part of First Look Media's nonprofit portfolio. It has outlasted the departures of its famous co-founders and adapted to a changing media environment in which nonprofit investigative outlets play an increasingly important role. Its future will depend on sustaining philanthropic support, attracting top investigative talent, and continuing to produce the kind of high-impact accountability reporting that defined its first decade.