Gov. Parson releases video attacking newspaper for viewing HTML | Hacker News Reader

Gov. Parson releases video attacking newspaper for viewing HTML

youtube.com

59 pointsvermontdevil26 comments

This whole incident reminds me of the Tuttle OK vs Centos incident from 2006

https://www.theregister.com/2006/03/24/tuttle_centos/

Does anyone have context on what the newspaper “hacked”? The video implies that some teachers’ SSNs were in plaintext on the HTML of a government site, I believe.

Right, the SSNs were in plaintext in the html code, and the reporter is a "hacker" for looking at in the browser, reporting the problem to the state, and then to the public. I wonder if browser makers are complicit for including the source view feature.

Previously on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28946392

In the incident that enraged Parson, a Post-Dispatch reporter found that Social Security numbers for teachers, administrators and counselors was visible in the HTML code of a publicly accessible site operated by the state education department. HTML code is the programming that tells the computer how to display a web page.

The newspaper informed the state of the problem and promised not to publish any story until the issue was fixed.

https://missouriindependent.com/2021/10/21/parson-doubles-do...

I have seen some claims that the data was base64-encoded, but I can't find any confirmation of it.

That isn't encryption though, it's just a transformation. More on Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base64

Not an American, I genuinely struggled with whether this was satire or not.

Not a great sign for a campaign video?

If the journalist was using a “big tech” browser that doesn’t keep the HTML secret, it’s perfect. Big tech is leaking state secrets too.

US voters are as prone to putting emotion over fact as anyone, this as won’t hurt him with anyone who might have voted for him and strengthens him with his base.

Also not an American, but that clip does have some Verhoeven Starship Troopers news vibes.

It is not satire. Most of our elected officials are corrupt and tech illiterate.

He doesn't care about the truth, and would rather lie to his base to get reelected than do what's right. He is a disgrace to our society and should be prosecuted for this.

He should certainly be removed from office.

> He doesn't care about the truth, and would rather lie to his base to get reelected than do what's right.

Politics 101, unfortunately.

I'd like to think this isincorrect, but maybe I'm just being naive.

When's he's next up for election? I think it's time to vote this clown out of office. If he's being this stupid about this, what else can he be stupid about?

It's not stupidity, it's ignorance. Fundamental lack of technological literacy. Means he is deeply unqualified for his job, and should be removed.

Four days old. Not released or produced by Parsons, but by a PAC that supports him.

Given that the Youtube votes are currently 1,000 to 1 against, are we sure the PAC _supports_ him? With friends like those who needs wolverines feasting on your organs?

It’s probably that bad because of news articles calling it out

Has he denounced it yet?

Obviously this ad is just the latest in a long line. But it's exceptional because it's on a fresh topic and so at odds with objective reality, common sense, and an open society that it can't be waved away through relativism. Is there anything to be done about this Lugenpresse political movement, besides crossing our fingers and hoping that enough people have retained their faculties such that the Republican party implodes rather than explodes?

I'm reminded of Moldbug's call to build a more trustworthy source of truth (somewhat ironic, I know). The current zeitgeist is definitely a correction from how the mainstream media has been traditionally manipulating. But rather than appreciating more reliable sources, it seems that people are more interested in confirming their biases rather than confronting uncomfortable truths. I'm at a loss of how this can be reformed through grassroots information technology, besides taking steps to protect myself from whatever societal decay lies ahead.

I'm a left-leaning independent, but tech illiteracy and general incompetence or lack of integrity has nothing to do with Republican or Democrat.

For context, I'm a small-l libertarian (I don't drink the party's pathological kool aid).

If this were a straightforward attack on another candidate, then I'd classify it as the usual "lack of integrity". But rather it is an unsolicited attack on the press as an institution, over an objective situation could instead be clarified by anyone with mild technical knowledge. It echos the growing Lugenpresse chant that is most certainly specific to the current Republican party.

Unless this energy dissipates, increasing rejection of outside information sources can only lead to societal collapse. Which is why I objectively ask what can be done. Obviously the top-down view is to tie this in to Facebook's (et al) ill behavior, but from a bottom up perspective seemingly the only thing to be done there is for people to switch to decentralized media. But it's hard to see a motive force for things to converge when it appears that people don't appreciate truth that clashes with their Party's dogma.

My hacking tool of choice is curl.

Yes, but how did you “decode the HTML” like the hackers did? Did you hack in to the IETF and steal the secret UTF-8 spec?

i dont think ive ever seen a video so thoroughly downvoted.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com