It is deeply shameful that the article can't even spare a sentence to describe what the documents are and their relevance to the public interest, instead generically describing them as "documents about top-secret U.S. surveillance programs". Instead, we see a simplified fugitive-manhunt story, with a smattering of speculative fear-mongering about China and Russia.

The unsubtlety of the smear campaign against Snowden is exceeded only by its seeming effectiveness so far. Here's hoping a new document drops soon to force a shift in the conversation.